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This just happened yesterday and I am still perplexed by this situation. (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by mvplil@alien.top to c/entrepreneur@indiehackers.space

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Context: A business "X" comes into our class and asks us to pitch ideas they can use, and the winners get money. Their social media page is small and has a low follower count for a business. They also mentioned that they would implement the winning idea to their business. The problem that they wanted us to solve was that they wanted to spread awareness and education about CBD products but they cannot use paid advertisements on social media due to restrictions on that topic. We get split into 4 teams. Our team and another team, Team B, decided to target the problem and find a solution to their social media issue. Team C and D came up with ideas that would spread awareness and education. Team D ended up winning 1st place and Team C got second place and both teams got cash.

Here is what our pitched ideas were:

Our Team: Affiliate marketing to bypass the social media issue, 0 upfront cost with opportunities to increase revenue.

Team B: Collecting testimonials and having them posted on reviews of the product.

Team C: pay $30,000 to build a learning app about this product, unknown ROI, does not talk about how they would market the app.

Team D: Promoting the brand through elderly homes, this business's target customers are 25-45-year-olds btw and it's listed on the paper that they gave us.

I understand somewhat why my team didn't win, I was nervous presenting and my presentation could have been revised a few times. But I don't understand how the other team got 1st and 2nd place even though their presentation was only minimally better.

What I don't understand is that as a business, your lifeline is revenue. Our team and Team B addressed the issue allowing them to advertise without getting taken down by Instagram and Facebook. While the other team never addressed the business aspect of their idea. They did say that they will be implementing the 1st place and 2nd place ideas to their business. I just think that having to invest $30k on a learning app(Team C), without knowing how it would generate revenue, don't know if people will even download the app is not a very smart move. The target customers that they have are 25-45-year-olds but they think that promoting their brand in local nursing homes via posters, etc. is not only a good idea, but even better than affiliate marketing or getting testimonials. If they implement the $30k app idea or nursing home idea, they stand no chance against their competitors. I think that the owners had a lot of passion for the product which is why they probably picked Team C and D. But from the point of view of a business, this is probably one of the worst decisions I ever heard of.

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[–] Derp_Animal@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No offense, but all 4 ideas are dreadful. They rewarded the creativity and those who suggested blue-sky ideas. Even though they are dreadful, they are decent food for thought and can be built upon whereas the others are dreadful and bland. Chances are they probably rehashed these a million times before.

[–] mvplil@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Why do they not stand a chance? How do you know the competitors' marketing strategy and the number of leads they get? Because the competitor's marketing strategy is on their website? LOL what is bro yapping about. They stand no chance because instead of taking a smart approach and see what the competitors are doing right, which is affiliate marketing, They rather invest 30K on an educational app that still needs to be marketed. The app does not address how its going to be marketed. On top of that, the other teams did not address the social media issue.

I don't know what businesses you ran that, but according to your statement, I wouldn't even trust you to clean my toilet. Why does a business have to reinvent the wheel if the problem and solution are as clear as day? Its not an opinion, it is a fact that app development and local marketing are inferior to affiliate marketing due to the potential to reach customers.

"But your "idea" was way too generic, too simple, they had already thought about it, and even if they did execute, it would not yield the kind of changes that the business was looking for." OK? what if it was simple? If a roadblock can be removed with a simple idea then it's a working idea. Do I need to do a double-back flip for the idea to be good just being its new? They never executed on the idea, their website does not have an affiliate program. The business stated that they had marketing problems because Instagram and Facebook would not allow them to run paid ads, so literally the only option is to work around it and find another stream of funneling potential customers.

[–] ahminus@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

No, the worst decision I've ever heard of is a business going to a business class for marketing ideas for their product, willing to dole out cash to a bunch of students.