Hello team Groundbreakers!! ;)
Here's a little report on the achievements of AIESEC Singapore 2008/2009. We have achieved our exchange targets and I'm very proud of the efforts of the previous MC team and all the LCs! We managed to complete 109X as of this evening, a 65% growth from last year! :) This places us in a good position globally (although not within AP, we slipped the ranks). But no worries, we will grab our position back and make an even stellar comeback!
Yes! Most countries globally are starting to wake up to AIESEC 2010 and our vision - every single day everyone is better understanding what the organization should be doing : the full AIESEC XP! Competition will be tougher than ever within the global network but I absolutely have faith in every single one of you to deliver on our goals! :D
1200X here we come! Are you ready for a year ahead of working smart, being fully aware of our resources and making full use of them? ;D
Our term begins tomorrow 8am :D
Cheers,
Cheryl
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Destroy the Competition with Positioning Strategy
The Corner Office
Destroy the Competition With Positioning Strategy
By Steve Tobak
June 4th, 2009 @ 12:22 pm
An exasperated CEO stood up in the board meeting and exclaimed, “Is that all you marketing &#*$s know how to do, compete on price?!”
Before you get too excited, that CEO was cursing at me. And no, that wasn’t all I knew how to do. But he did have a point, and it’s even more relevant now than it was back then. In today’s marketplace where everybody’s competing for the same shrinking budget and differentiation is hard to come by, marketers often think of price as their only lever.
That’s just incompetent marketing, plain and simple.
There are lots of ways to differentiate a product. You can even create the perception of differentiation, if you’re creative enough. It’s called product positioning and it’s something of an art.
Here are Five fundamental product positioning principles that will help you destroy the competition:
1. Find a product attribute that captures the customer’s imagination.
It’s so easy to get trapped in the same old box of features and benefits. If you can’t differentiate that way, look at the problem with fresh eyes and fresh data. Find a new attribute that can get customers excited and focus your positioning around it.
2. Market share gains are expensive. There’s simply no way around this.
Market share comes at a heavy cost and your product planning and positioning must reflect that or your P&L will suffer and you’ll end up back at the drawing board. The cost is a function of how entrenched the leaders are and the perceived “switching cost” for customers.
3. Reinvent the “customer experience.”
Nothing matters more, and it’s not just for Internet and B2B. Just as with product attributes, you can shake up the competitive landscape by rethinking the customer experience in new terms. What’s important to customers changes as a function of time and market conditions. Take advantage of it.
4. Only target up, not down the totem pole.
Publicly and to customers, always position your product relative to the market leader. It elevates your product in terms of customer perception. That said, train your sales force (and other internal groups) on features - benefits versus all competitors. That’s a whole different story.
5. Infrastructure (or ecosystem) as a competitive barrier.
This is an important and often ignored aspect of product planning and positioning. Many products and services, especially in technology, require related companies and industries to support them in some way. If you get enough support for your product, it can be an extraordinarily effective competitive barrier that you can
use in positioning.
Here’s a great example that utilized four of the five principals. When Toyota entered the luxury automotive sector with the Lexus brand, it 1) made “ergonomics” and “quality” the new “performance” and “luxury,” 2) initially undercut the competition to gain entry and early market share, 3) created a lowstress and more respectful showroom experience, and 4) targeted Mercedes and BMW - up the totem pole.
Apple also uses positioning strategy extraordinarily well. Can you think of other examples?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Input for ICX and OGX from the perspective of an EP
Being a person who actually goes through the exchange process has given me lots of new insights about how we can manage exchange better. I wish to share my insights here, in hope that it will help us to deliver high quality exchange!
For ICX:
Integration, not servicing
I had an integration officer, not reception officer. The notion of integration means I am guided to embed myself in the society and AIESEC activities, being introduced to LC members and build a network with them. It is a long-term thing, rather than a short-term reception. It’ll be great to have an integration syllabus so that every integration officer knows all the must-dos.
Bring the intern to register at respective embassy
I realized it is a must to register ourselves at our respective embassies when we will be staying at a foreign country for long, so that the embassy can contact us for activities or emergency. How important is this? For Malaysians, failure to do so can cost you your citizenship!
Ask for flight itinerary
Forget about asking for various flight information such as time and date, ask directly for the flight ticket or flight itinerary and every information is there accurately. It is a simple thing which unfortunately a lot of us don’t do!
Invite interns to update the preparation booklet
A local sees the country differently from a foreigner, and both groups give and need different information. Thus, inviting existing interns to share their experience on adaptation and put this information on preparation booklet can provide future incoming interns invaluable information that smoothen their preparation. For example, in Cameroon culture, every time you ask someone to go out and eat together, it means that you have to pay for the person. This is something every Cameroonian knows and thinks it’s normal for everywhere else, but it is definitely very different in other parts of the world, and this can cost interns a whole lot of money when we unknowingly asked people to eat out together! This sort of embedded information can only be sensed and pointed out by interns.
Interns want to be involved in AIESEC activities
Here we are treated like a member under the care of TM, and we are informed about LC meetings and various activities. Interns attend conferences here too. This has helped me to make friends with a lot more AIESEC members, and from there learn more about the society. INTRODUCE INTERNS FORMALLY TO THE LC AT LC MEETINGS. Let the intern do a self introduction, country presentation, have Q&A, etc.
Do talent management for your interns
Interns are a valuable asset to the LC. VPICX should know each intern’s strengths and introduce them to people who can tap into their strength. For example, Germans are well-known for being efficient, so the LCP learns from Jana the German intern on to run the LC more efficiently.
If possible, match TNs with real AIESEC EPs
Rather than pocket recruited EPs.
Real AIESECers are a source of inspiration to members and can provide valuable input and experience to our AIESEC functions. And this is a way to show our support for full AIESEC experience.
Match rightly
Make sure TN manager understands the job description well and have read the EP’s qualification well, to ensure a good fit between the job and the EP. After the match, initiate and facilitate the communication between EP and TN so that the EP and TN can better understand each other and clarify job scope.
Actively communicate with EPs and TN about the job
Here the TN mangers actively talk to EPs and TNs to check if everything is alright, and to assist their communication with each other, and to intervene when necessary. For example, my boss somehow didn’t know that I am only working 3 days for him and other 2 days for AIESEC PBOX. After I told my TN manager this, he helped me to communicate with the TN to smooth out everything. TN manager is sometimes the only source of help for EPs on work-related problem. So don’t run away from it!
For OGX:
Importance of proactiveness
It is a MUST for a person to be proactive to have a quality internship experience. To proactively adapt, proactively propose to the boss for more work when the the internship is too slack, proactively communicate with the TN manager if job reality and what was on the TN form does not match, proactively communicate with the boss for any dispute in work, proactively explore, proactively building own social network. Choose proactive people, or groom the EPs to be more proactive at Preparation Seminar.
Register at own embassy upon arrival
I realized it is a must to register ourselves at our respective embassies when we will be staying at a foreign country for long, so that the embassy can contact us for activities or emergency. How important is this? For Malaysians, failure to do so can cost you your citizenship!
Remind EPs on country presentation
At quality LCs, EPs will be doing country presentation to the LC, so remind EPs on preparing powerpoint presentation, food, and costumes.
Ensure quality communication throughout
After match, EP managers should ask EPs to proactively talk to TN manager and TN to find out more about job demand and country information. This sets them the expectation that you are there for serious internship, and will motivate them to give you a fulfilling internship. Stay communicated with your EPs after realization, to assist in any disputes that can arise. You may be far, but you may be the only source of help for the EP who can be helplessly alone in the new country!
Introduce previous EPs to the EPs
Yuan Tian introduced me an EP who did an internship in Nigeria, and Rina introduced me a lot of people who come from Cameroon. This helped me heaps in my preparation!
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