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Introduction to Business

Working the Net

Introduction to BusinessWorking the Net
  1. You want to start a job at a company like Herbalife or Rodan+Fields and work at home. Do a search of the U.S. Census database at http://www.census.gov to get information about the work-at-home market. Then visit http://www.jbsba.com to expand your research. Then visit the Rodan+Fields (http://www.rodanandfields.com) or Herbalife (http://www.herbalife.com) website and explore the career opportunities. Summarize your findings.
  2. Visit the Strategic Business Insights website at http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com, and click on the VALSTM link. First, read about the VALS survey and how marketers can use it. Describe its value. Then take the survey to find out which psychographic segment you’re in. Do you agree or disagree with the results? Why or why not?
  3. How good was the marketing strategy you developed in Question 2 of Preparing for Tomorrow’s Workplace? Using advice from the marketing section of Entrepreneur (http://www.entrepreneur.com) or other resources, revisit your marketing strategy for the business you selected, and revise the plan accordingly. (Entrepreneur’s article “Write a Simple Marketing Plan” is a good place to start.) What did you overlook? (If you didn’t do this exercise, pick one of the businesses and draft a marketing strategy using online resources to guide you.)
  4. Visit an online retailer such as Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com), PCConnection.com (http://www.pcconnection.com), or cvs.com (). At the site, try to identify examples of leader pricing, bundling, odd-even pricing, and other pricing strategies. Do online retailers have different pricing considerations than “real-world” retailers? Explain.
  5. Do a search on Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com) for online auctions for a product you are interested in buying. Visit several auctions, and get an idea of how the product is priced. How do these prices compare with the price you might find in a local store? What pricing advantages or disadvantages do companies face in selling their products through online auctions? How do online auctions affect the pricing strategies of other companies? Why?
  6. Pick a new consumer electronic product such as a digital camera, HDTV, or laptop computer. Then go to shopping bot http://www.dealio.com. Compare prices, information, and ease-of-use of the site. Report your findings to the class.
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