Green Options » business strategy

Review: World Resources Institute Report: The Next Four Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy At the Base of the Pyramid

Amiel Blajchman — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:16:36 +0000

The World Resources Institute’s new(ish) report: The Next Four Billion, draws on household income and consumption surveys of the Base of the Pyramid (see a series of posts on this topic) from over a hundred countries.

Rather than provide case study success story descriptions and results, this report provides an assessment (including easy to read graphs and charts) of various Base of the Pyramid markets. Analysis includes:

A fairly detailed portrait of the BoP including characteristics besides poverty:
- Significant unmet needs; and
- Dependence on informal/subsistence livelihoods
Country and regional overviews of the size and income of the BoP market;
Total market size, including ability to pay; and
A review of the “penalty” faced by BOP consumers in the form of higher prices, poorer quality goods and services, or lack of access to services.

Relevance: Green Businesses, Just Be Real (Book Review)

Leah Edwards — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:41:52 +0000

Book Review– At the beginning of “Relevance: Making Stuff That Matters,” Tim Manners states that “an epidemic of irrelevance has brought once-powerful brands to their knees”. Perhaps, I am a bit younger than Manners, but I do not see what he calls an “epidemic” being anything more than business as usual, but perhaps I just lack perspective.

Some businesses have always been better than others, and once-good companies often lose their way. However, despite Manners’ [Armageddon-sounding] lead-in, I liked this book. The mini case studies Manners has collected show that having a quality, useful product or service is usually a primary requirement for success. You can’t tell consumers you are something fantastic and then not deliver upon that in terms of product usefulness, product quality, the sales experience, customer service levels, etc.

A Strong Brand Is Authentic and Relevant

Your brand is the sum total of the experiences people have with your company and product. If your product is irrelevant or your way of distributing the product is not really

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Your Way to Lower Overhead

Megan Prusynski — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:57:56 +0000

It seems like the price of everything is going up lately, and so is the cost of doing business. One of the best pieces of business advice I’ve heard so far is to keep your overhead costs as low as possible. This can be tricky for a green business, since we often spend a little bit more on sustainable and organic materials and office supplies. But with a little green thinking it’s possible to lower your costs while making eco-conscious decisions. Here’s where our old friends reduce, reuse, and recycle come in.

The key to lowering your overhead while greening your business is simplicity. Keep your operations as simple as possible, and cut out the fluff you don’t need. For some this may mean working from home rather than renting office space. For others it may mean scaling your business down and working smarter with what you already have. Every choice you make has the potential to save (or cost) you money, as well as help (or harm) the environment.