TO BE COMPLETE....

During our classes we covered lots of topics. To be complete i would like to put 2 or 3 links more on the freemiun, social entrepreneur, and sales.

How to optimize the revenu? This is the main goal of lots of companies. Some tools exist but how we know if it is efficient. On Salesboom website, you can try a full version of their poduct during 30 days. http://www.salesboom.com/

I try to find an example of a social entrepreneur in France and in the tourism sector. This experience talked to me. You do not need to be a big company to be a social entrepreneur. Let's have a look an the following experience "Patrice, entrepreneur social" : http://www.seniorplanet.fr/mag/le-parcours-d-un-entrepreneur-social.14654.html

Sales on web. It is a big market. How can the companies reach the mass customers, given them the impression that they are unique. No doubt about it, and as we saw in class, Venteprivees.com is the leader. But there competitors are on the market like http://www.surinvitation.com.

Thank you for those transformational experiences....

THE E-TRAVEL INDUSTRY – DEFINITIVELY A HEAVY TREND ?

What can be said more about the e-travel industry? After reading a lot and surfing I get the impression that every aspect of this topic seems to be covered. Therefore, I will tempt to give my point of view based on the reality of this market.

Before going further, I do want to put on the table some data that really underline how the travel industry and its influence on the e-business is relevant. According to the UNWTO (Tourism World Organization), 1,6 billions of tourists are expected for 2020 (1,2 billions of interregional tourists and around 400 millions of long-haul travellers).

See below the tables:

Source: UNTWO

Source: UNTWO

More people travelling so more opportunities for the e-travel industry. Let’s have a look on the weight of the sector. The worldwide e-travel market represents 120 billions $. The US market represents 55%, the European one 25%. Click on the the following link to get the all data : http://www.journaldunet.com/diaporama/0608-voyages/index.shtml .Now we can imagine what it could be in 10 years…

The tourist consumption follows the new habits:
-the holidays are shorter,
-more and more people buy their travel on the web,
-so there is more traffic and demands that can generate money.

A travel is a non tangible product often paid before consuming it. The travel is a non materialized product. It will become reality when you enjoy your holiday on the beach… The tourism is a transversal sector. It means that lot of components are useful to get a final product (planes and airports, rooms and hotels, restaurant and food, car rental,…). The only tool at your disposal to have an idea of your future travel was a brochure.

To my mind, the web has materialized the travel. Thanks to the technology developed on the web, people have now the opportunity to prepare in details their trip and have very precise information. The travel websites have made a big step in their presentation and functions. Between the first website “vitrine” (which gave only some information) and the actual ones, the evolution is notable. Why? According to me, the relation to the consumer has changed. Nowadays, the trend is totally consumers oriented. All the services provide on a website a one and unique goal: reach the good customer and of course make money.

The web has totally disrupted the travel market. We passed from an assisted client to a client with expertise. Today, the tools (webcam, geolocalized maps,…) on the web try to convert the information into a buying. We are in an interactive relation. Why? With the development of the e-travel industry, the relation with a traditional travel agent tempts to disappear. The travel agent makes your self easy. People wants to feel themselves secure when they buy a travel. Because as we said, you buy a product that you will enjoy later. Those tools make the clients more confidents when they purchase a trip.

All you ask for in a travel agency, you find it on the web: price comparison, information on the destination, photos, movies…And the big trend of the moment are the experiences of other people. People share their experience of a travel through a website. Those websites create real communities and serenity for future clients.

Here after, some links on websites that fit completely with the trend, and that I found particularly interesting. Let’s begin with Air New Zeland website. They provide to their future customers, a tool that shows where they can go with 50, 100, 150 $... http://promos.airnz.co.nz/howfar . We just finish with the price and what about the hobbies during holidays? Tripbase mixes 5 criteria: nightlife, dinning, shopping, nature, attraction. People slide the bottoms according their hobbies ang it generates several travel propositions
is a price comparison website, which give to the clients the price evolution of an air ticket or hotel room http://tripbase.com/. Word66 – wink to the road 66 – is one of the reference in traveller experience: “Almost 80 000 articles written and updated by travellers like you” http://www.world66.com/

Therefore and according different studies, there are still websites without a buying online system. M Raffour (CEO of Raffour Interactive) compares this situation to someone who hangs up the phone. It could be very frustrated for the potential client. He did research, looked for information and after getting all what he needed, it is impossible to book his travel.

What can we expect of the e-travel industry and its evolution? What kind of new service will reach the potential customer? I am not Nostradamus but why we do not think of new service. We mentioned that travel agent was a security for people. Perhaps a service of on line travel agent should make the customer more confident. Imagine a travel agency with someone in front of you. You are on line and in live with a travel agent, which provides you the same service than in a travel agency. It should not be difficult. It is only the video conference technology.

Let’s think about something else. Everybody knows what it is the stock exchange. Imagine the same thing for the e-travel industry. People can buy on the market airlines tickets, rooms, dinners…and sell them according the rate. I mean that people could be the owners of 1000 air tickets or rooms and put them on the market according the demand. I talk about individuals. I search for on the web if something like that exists. I did not find anything. If someone has heard about it, please let me know!

The development of the e-travel consumption is unavoidable. The traditional travel agencies have to be creative to stay “alive”. Nevertheless, what can we say about Promovacances – e leader of e-travel in France – which has opened traditional travel agency after the big success of their business on the web. We did not talk about the link between the web and the mobile phone. The opportunities of development are huge.

1,6 billions of tourists in 2020! Let’s just thinking of what professionals will have to invent to fit the demand.

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What will be the next step?

Innocentive concept?

How to use the skills and the knowledge all over the world? Definitely, only the web can do it! A website puts on line some challenges to solve. They are posted by companies or organizations. Why? Overall, because they have to find news ideas or concept, in order to develop themselves. Chemicals, pharmaceutical, electronics,…companies use the innocentive centres.

Companies and organizations offer money to people who solve the questions.

People (scientist, students, businessmen,…) who are interested in challenging the projects connect to the market place and choose the challenge to solve. We talk about “crowdsourcing”.

Problems solved and advantages:

-lack of creativity,
-reduce the costs of the R&D,
-take advantage of unlimited brainpower resources,
-have an outside vision of problem

Groups involved in the concept:

1-“the client”: companies and NPO
2-“the suppliers”: scientist, students, businessmen,…

Source of money:

Allowances paid by the companies and NPO.

Questions?

-who guarantee that people who work on the challenge are competent?
-does the industrial spying increase with the “crowdsourcing”?
-will the crowdsourcing “kill” the R&D?

Above, we talk about the companies which use the "crowdsourcing". Lots of them deal with science. Perhaps the Innocentive can be used in hospitallity management. Hotel can submitt the following challenge: how to improve the yield management? It should be the main preoccupation of the hotels and i am sure they work on it every day. Post this question on a innocentive website should be a good source of innovation.

If we can identify one main goal of innocentive, is to find the best product or service for customers. To my mind, they still are the targets! But we can have another lecture. Crowdsourcing has a social role because we don’t ask you if you are black, yellow, arab… We are only searching for skills. Crowdsourcing (or innocentive) works for the human development thanks to "human brain". Considering all those facts, can we talk about R&D globalization?

DOES WEB HAVE LIMITS????

illustration: http://www.lesechos.com/

Social Entrepreneur: a trend?

I have to be honest. I never heard about Social Entrepreneur before studying the subject. Well, it is not totally true. I heard, I read some information about it but I didn’t know that it was about “Social Entrepreneur” or “Social Entrepreneurial”.

When business meets social development! Can we consider it as trend? Frankly, I have a doubt. After reading some stuff about it, I think that it will stay confidential for a long time. I talk about real “Social Entrepreneur”. Of course, big companies have actions oriented on social development but to my mind, it is only opportunism! Those companies have foundations with actions on health, education, local development. But these actions are market oriented. Perhaps I am rude, and I do not want admit that they have good intentions.

Let’s talk about Bill Gates. He gave a big part of his fortune to his foundation (education, health..). We present his foundation as the most powerful one, with $ 67 BILLIONS (source: L’Expansion.com) for his program. It is a good thing, but before this Bill Gates was (and still is) a business man. I do not criticize him, it is just a noting. Newspapers have a business presentation of this foundation

In my opinion, real “Social Entrepreneur” has first in their mind the common interest. They work for the community. They begin their business with this mindset. Of course, they look for return, but profit is not the main goal. Reading the article of Business Week, talking about the B-schools which have an interest in this subject; I asked myself if it is not done because the students are futures managers. The experiences developed in those cases can favour some aptitudes to this kind of responsibility. Before working on the subject, I read about Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) the founder and chairman of the GRAMEEN BANK. After my readings I think that he is a Social Entrepreneur. His bank gives micro-credits for poor people in non developed countries to create their own business. People call him “The poor people banker” In 2006, he get the Peace Nobel Price.

You can click on the following link to have more information about M. Ynus:

http://www.80hommes.com/80portraits/fiche33.htm

Photo: wikipedia