Identify successful marketing communication strategies that apply to a small hair salon

A selected organisation provides hair dressing services and hair products to customers. The aim of this report is to analyse how the small hair salon could improve their marketing communication strategies in order to attract more customers and enhance the relationship between customers and the organisation. The approach to collecting information was to use a questionnaire with 50 participants, to gather primary information and to conduct a secondary research study. The result of this research was to decide that the role of a successful marketing communication strategy is to attract the customer to consume. In order to make the marketing communication strategy successful, it needs to choose a suitable channel that enables it to connect with the customer. New media is an effective channel that can promote the business to the customer and interact with them. New media is also suitable for a small business to use. A recommendation for the organisation is they create their own website page, Facebook page, YouTube video and WeChat group to promote themselves and interact with customers. Those channels are popular in New Zealand, with a high number of active users. Most the organisation customers like to use those channels too, so if the organisation applies those channels to their marketing communication strategy they will be able to attract customers and persuade them to consume more products

The extent to which businesses in New Zealand are willing to pay carbon tax and other related mechanisms of carbon pricing.

Global climate change is the most critical environmental and economic problem that must be addressed. Failure to address the issue of climate change will result in catastrophic and irreversible damage to natural resources. Issues around climate change have been created by problems caused by industrial pollution and reckless deforestation for commercial gains. Therefore, corporations and businesses should be held accountable for damage they cause. The release of greenhouse gasses should be eliminated or reduced and one way to achieve this is by introducing carbon tax. The aim of this research is to determine the awareness and acceptance of carbon tax and carbon related pricing for businesses in New Zealand. This research included different businesses from different sectors to obtain generalisable results. Quantitative data was gathered from 15 businesses using a closed questionnaire. The data gathered by the survey were than analysed using a percentage approach. The research found that the businesses were aware of carbon tax and its importance. The majority of the businesses were prepared to incur extra carbon tax cost however, preferring the upstream method of taxation as they will be taxed based on quantum of emission. The literature and survey agree that revenue collected from carbon tax and related pricing should be used to fund research to reduce carbon emission and present carbon levels to the desired levels to protect the environment and ensure human existence

Daily operations management at a takeaway organisation

The aim of this research project is to distinguish various aspects of the newly established start-up of a takeaway shop and its various activities, in which we will look at the daily operation, consistency in taste, supply chain and delivery related problems. The personality behind this venture had worked with various franchises of the pizza industry. The vision behind the establishment of the takeaway was to introduce the new taste of the pizza on the streets of Hamilton. This franchise has 3 more outlets in Auckland. So, at the end of the study, the outcomes will be helpful for all the outlets. We will look for things that the takeaway does well and do not do well. A SWOT analysis was conducted, and a qualitative approach used to find solutions for problems. Personal observation was also under consideration for the purpose of solutions. The whole research gives a brief idea about problems and suitable solutions for the longer term. Giving some level of responsibility to every employee will make a huge impact on the operations side of the business. Business start-up research is not enough, and still it is under progress for some parts like pizza delivery and consistent supply chain. Its wide spread is a subject for further research

Examining the implications of the anti-money laundering and countering financing of Terrorism Act 2009 on New Zealand accounting firms

Money laundering is the act of introducing illicitly gained funds into the economy to assist in concealing their origin. On October 1 2018, it became mandatory for most New Zealand accounting firms to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. The purpose of this act is to help detect and deter money laundering within New Zealand. The AML/CFT Act creates additional requirements for accounting firms and has severe penalties for non-compliance. This led to the research question of ‘What are the implications of the AML/CFT Act 2009 on New Zealand Accounting firms?’ For this research, interviews were conducted with accounting firms to help identify the costs and implications associated with the AML/CFT requirements. The results revealed that despite the October 1 deadline, accounting firms are still implementing programs. The new requirements were unclear and underestimated by firms. Large money and time costs were reported by all the interview participants and they all feel that the new requirements are excessive. As the AML/CFT Act is still new, it would be beneficial to explore further research in the future that examines the actual impact of maintaining the AML/CFT programs

Strategic planning for a SME

The purpose of this research is to find competitive advantages for an organisation and prepare a long-term strategic planning for the SME. In a New Zealand context, small business enterprises play vital roles in business and the economic sector. However, most small business do not have specific competitive advantage and long-term strategies to compete in the market. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches have been used as mixed method research. Interviews and surveys have been done. Using those methods, researchers are intended to use the most effective implementation methodology to find out the best solution to the problem and cause of a SME. Location and customer satisfaction have been identified as the prime factors for the firm to run the business successfully. The business has been operating smoothly without using any further strategies to compete in the market. Recommendations involve pricing, advertising and stock management

Sales training

This project involves discovering how sales training works and the impacts of sales training. The goal is to show how sales training can help a business grow and to set benchmarks in the market. After the negative impact in the performance of sales representatives of a national company in the sales industry, their management made decisions about changes which need to be taken to get good results from sales training. The method which has been used to complete this study is desktop training, which includes self-experiences and secondary data. It is necessary to have appropriate and successful training which delivers the best to the company. The main aim of this research is to study and analyse the training procedure and processes in a business, since the training process involves more activities that require mental strength with the willingness to perform well with learning. The overall study of the process includes investigating lack of training, practice time and overcoming doubts raised by the customer at the time of performing the job. Hence, it is recommended that businesses should deliver new strategies and conduct more training sessions and online modules, leading to the success and growth of employees

Small business preference for software package

Until late 2016, the majority of small business uses QuickBooks and Excel to do their accounting work. However, the functions of these accounting tools are insufficient, and also the demands of companies are increasing. It has become inefficient and antiquated to use the software. A small business looked for new accounting software, but found that choosing an accounting software system is not straightforward, as every software package consists of different functions for users. The aim of this research was to analyse small business’ perceptions and preferences for accounting software systems in New Zealand. This is followed by an analysis of why users might want to replace their previous accounting software systems. In addition, the requirements for selecting accounting software were analysed. The main method used was qualitative research. Three people were interviewed regarding the reason for replacing their previous accounting software system. The first interviewee had not changed their accounting software system previously, but their reason for replacing their current accounting software system was that their previous accounting software system lacked the functionality he wanted. The second interviewee said e she disliked that the system frequently crashed and that it lacked the features she wanted. The reason why the last interviewee changed her previous accounting software system was that MYOB system could not improve her work efficiency

Trust between service provider and customer in online environments

Nowadays online shopping is getting more and more popular in China. However, opportunities and challenges are coexisting, and the growth of e-commerce is also inevitable. In e-commerce online, trust has become a significant factor hindering development. A New Zealand organisation faces a lot of competitors. In order to increase its market share and remain competitive in the market, the organisation needs to have more loyal customers who repeatedly purchase their products. Therefore, the organisation should find an appropriate way to form or create trust with customers, to retain them. This research investigates how trust has been created in an online environment between an organisation and its customers. A qualitative method was adopted in this research and data collected using semi-structured interviews. The collected data was analysed adopting a thematic analysis method. The research findings show that a two-way communication system is the core factor in forming trust in the online environment. This research suggests that the organisation should consider two-way communication seriously, and develop that as a useful tool to build trust between them and customers; not just as a communication tool but as a tool for trust formation

Understanding customer satisfaction based on the way they evaluate service delivery

With the development of society, the service industry has become the pillar of the world economy. People's demand for service products is getting higher and higher because people are becoming increasing lazy. Through this research, an immigration organisation showed most customers are not satisfied with the price of service, so the aim of the research is to understand customer satisfaction through their interaction with the service provider. This paper used qualitative method and unstructured interviews. Six interviewees obtained through email were used. The results showed that most customers are satisfied with member engagement in service delivery and credibility of the business, and that the organisation should improve staff response to customers’ questions. There are some recommendations. Firstly, that the company needs to have a strategy for training staff to improve customer satisfaction. Secondly, the organisation needs to think about how they can improve credibility because it is essential to customer satisfaction. Finally, the company needs to improve communication quality to reduce customer waiting time by increasing staff numbers for customer satisfaction