SOCIOLOGICAL CONSULT Proposition

1. NATURE OF BUSINESS a) Details of trading activities.

The nature of the business is communication.

Marshall McLuhan famously coined the phrase: ‘The medium is the message’. And according to some Psychologists when our basic needs are met, we feel balanced, but driven to restore the balance when our needs are not met. (Baldin & Roberts, 2006) Let us put these concepts together to discuss my multi-hyphenate company.

Long before cartons of Coffee for instance came to market, Breakfast meetings were rare in London. Most Brits subscribed to Oscar Wilde’s claim that “Only dull people are interesting at Breakfast” (a sampler from many authors, 2005). From this, you can deduce that I love Coffee. I love Ideas too. It is not unordinary for me for when opportunely meeting a stranger, offering them a pound in return to sharing with me an idea or opinion they have that consumes them.

So, considering this, language and aesthetics plays its part in the evaluation of several satellite propositions within one. In regard to psychological responses to balance and medium.

In 1949, two engineers, Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver, working at Bell Telephone laboratories in the USA published The Mathematical Theory of Communication’ (Baldwin and Roberts, 2006) which is demonstrated in the graphics immediately below. See appendix A.

The Shannon and Weaver process model of communication.

Between the two of them, they developed a theory that illustrated how to compress and send the optimum information down a channel as possible without losing the essential parts that affect meaning. In so doing, they claimed that they could apply their method to all human communication including visual communication. If we expand on the diagram for instance, we decipher that there are at least three initial problems to communication. The technical, Semantic and Effectiveness. See Appendix B.

The commercial visual communication process

Then ultimately, this:

Technical, effectiveness and semantic levels added to the model

In the latter model, one can determine the designer’s increasingly diminished role in disseminating information. In all the diagrammatic examples above, we must exchange a ‘Noise source’ for opinion remembering the adage ‘a brand is not what the designer thinks it is, it is what other people think it is.

1. Value proposition

We can best divide my Limited business into A) the functional and B) the promotional, the stylistic iconic and the charismatic but if we take one – charisma which usually strikes the same chord in everyone. Some insight I have learned is this does not exist on its own in a product or in anyone. It exists in the interaction between an individual or product and an audience or consumer.

Cycle of Service touchpoints

/ Life-Coaching for Individuals themselves or gifts

/Go to httpS://www.sociologicalconsult.com and navigate the site.

/Then, go to booking. The user must choose a date which suits them for a meeting.

/Physically Meet and Zoom for Conversation sessions.

The way these different messages are disseminated has, an effect on, the decoding process. It is important to understand that my sociologist domain is largely at the semantic level of communication, given the role of conveying the intended meaning and being careful not to change or add to it, while perhaps strengthening it. But as the three levels of the technical, semantic and effectiveness operate together, it is important the designer understands the decisions that affect the other two levels as they ultimately affect the business.

To extrapolate, although there are small tangents of thought that one can see throughout multiple business satellites, and the aesthetic is different, there are elements of consistency. It has an element of irony and the satirical, but it is best not to characterize it too much because that starts to limit what it is, as opposed to being open to it evolving.

The trend favourable to this venture is this:

It is a niche market which does not know it exists. And also, it is an ethical site – a site designed for the Age of Aquarius, we are in which new age would approve of anything ethical and would encourage open – mindedness. There needs to be an mature ‘business’ site which appeals to intellect and has edges – not falling to lapsed literal structure and judgement beyond which, where a specific problematic type of ‘data rape’ is not exasperated. It is an original business concept, so cannot be pigeonholed into exactly this or that - to satisfy traditional consumerist models but future consumers. It is aimed at over 14’s to pander to a rite of passage for individuals which is missing from society where much of consumerism is infantilism including alcohol and cigarettes. This site would be a passport to better prospects with social institutions including the psychiatric and criminal justice system, as how users use the site could be influential,

as heightened structured writing should encourage moral behavior. It has the potential to turn itself into a ‘new’ social institution as supposed to an ordinary social institution or none at all.

This is a big opportunity to change the world through dialogue as ‘dialogue has always been a way of approaching knowledge and truth’, luce Irigaray – a contemporary French philosopher. The name of the venture is SOCIOLOGICAL CONSULT

Sociologically counselling clients is ethically different from Psychological for example. By that I mean, the person who sculpted it or rather, produced it – one should not imagine gives his/her product away for free, from a series of lessons - 1st session is free. The latter priced for example as it is as over £20. One should not imagine he/she signs bad contracts. He/she has self-respect for his/her career and work. And he/she never gives away their rights. Compared with Appendix A, although they both try to maintain industry professional practices, the designers of Appendix B do not appear to like to lowball.

There is something very beautiful and tangible in tactile objects that are sold, whether it is things the designer makes for themselves and shares, or things that we buy to exhibit, not that there is an either/or a lot of the time. One could use Appendix B, for instance if one chose to – even though on a response scale, it imbues emotional rather than functional design

2. Customer Segment

The typical customer segments keyword that each offer is attempting to target.

The Product services suggests: Technical, emotions, agile, purity, considered, presence, proactive, mobile, eclectic. The Services suggests: Glamorous, seductive, everyday couture, symbol of wealth and artistic, early adopter, self-made, knowledge intensive.

The typical customer segment of Product services includes someone who likes to be seen as part of a group or follow the herd, much like how people follow the service, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram etcetera. With the archetype being urban pragmatist, budget hunter and free spirit, the lifestyle aspiration is likely to be someone who a man is or woman aged between 18 (and possibly younger).

If a woman - is aged 26, works in Publishing earning the average wage and lives in a large modern apartment on her own or with a boyfriend. I would also imagine this person to go on different cheap holidays regularly.

Regarding Sociological Consultation, it is designed for a considered, facilitator and high- powered archetype with a fashion persona of classic, urban and sheik and reserved. As well as ordinary folk. I would expect the person who wants to purchase my services to be university educated. Although this is not completely necessary. It is just that they need to be goal orientated or self-starters. The reason is because of the desire for novelty as sometimes, innovation for its own sake is important for a teacher or Lecturer – an occupation which could be a lifestyle aspiration. The Poetry sessions has an element of the fighting spirit of a teacher who will experience Student failure at least once in their lives. To elaborate, Teaching mentoring since the mid 1800’s’s has become an affordable cult item – many predicting its root or New Design’s movement failing as a career has become more important than learning as in the Renaissance period which protest gestures was absorbed by consumer goods industry into fashion as children became consumers as well as adults beginning in the 1960’s.

The definition of a Thought Leader (pron. thawt lee-der) is an organization or individual that changes attitudes or behaviour. Our Company wants to achieve both in a short space of time. ‘Effective Thought leadership can be the difference between a thriving business and failure’. (PR Week, 20/01/2012) Therefore, we propose to invest with time, in people in the guise of developing Thought leaders. This is to secure a good business idea that Angels will yield to by taking a 3% cut from the succeeding collaboration between them and the start-up’s earning power. And from the collaboration between Business postgraduates who have 1 years work experience and the start-up, which collaboration we will also take a 10 % cut from.

Apparently, ‘Only 20% of entrepreneurs are innovators. 80% are commercialisers. A vast majority of entrepreneurs did not think up an innovation. And an innovation is a product or process. So if you are a commercialiser, you may need to connect with someone who may be has the idea but not the ability to make things happen.’ Steven Koltai at TEDxDirigo, 2012. We need to get this mindset into that of start-up companies. Our business idea will help start- up companies think more about a by-product of leadership – innovation, at the beginning, helping them win funding.

the world which is eventually who we want to reach. A Research report has shown that there is a huge market out there for small businesses which want funding. To put this in context, as of 2012 - about 25 per cent of the World's population used the internet of which 1.7 billion were in North America alone. Think of the amount of business are starting up every day, in the USA or in the UK who desiring funding, will browse the internet. Over 20% of the working population of the UK (2008 figures: 7.6 million) were attempting to start a business in the next 3 years from 2011 or were running one.

Now I will discuss my USPs. The first one is my website targets at ordinary people primarily. It is also open to the public with Individuals who want to ‘break out’ as Swing Out Sister once sung. My link between Individuals and coaching in the guise of myself means that as a start- up, I will have access to hundreds and thousands of CV’s categorised by what Artistes and Individuals are interested in to promote themselves.

The second one is to prevent coaching patent risk, Individuals/customers will have to sign a contract which stipulates that they will not steal any ideas they become aware of in their dealings with my start-up. Sociological Consult will have to sign a similar contract to maintain confidentiality. In this way, the Platform is much more professional.

Thirdly, my website is mainly based in UK. But in future, I intend to go global. Fourthly was already previously covered regarding Thought leadership.

3. Channels

To evaluate and discuss the typical channels that all my services would use and their differences.

Using the value creation tool (Osterwalder and Pigner, 2010) I will endeavour to evaluate some of the key resources which all are as follows: customer segment, value proposition, channel, customer relationship and revenue stream.

My website would consider all mainstream customer segments, from single Mother to OAP in the female category and men who like to pray. This is channelled primarily through cost of service. Innovation of coaching and videos for individuals and businesses consists of the variety of techniques it is made in, providing choice to the consumer.

Counselling would consider a particular niche customer segment who although believe they want a professional service, prefers a status symbol. A definition of innovation adapted from the OECD recalls ‘The process of bringing to market goods or services that are new or significantly improved’. By focussing on the (touch point of) ‘real demand’, and not the transaction, (Shaw, et al 2010) a more appealing product has been designed, delivering its goals and quality when the consumer transacts.

4. Differentiators

As mentioned, when discussing Channels, ‘the old four Ps of marketing (price, product, promotion, and place)’ (Shaw, C, et al, 2010) is not the only differentiator from competition. Understanding what motivates customers on a subconscious level is equally important. ‘Differentiating through product alone is almost impossible as every competitor has access to the same materials, software, production methods and facilities, meaning whatever you make someone else can make too’. (Cris Beswick, 12/2012) but many companies still do not think about this, hence for example, Woolworths and Debenhams declining market and the birth of careers as innovation leaders.

To add value to something usually means it adds value to the customer more than it cost, which makes the item affordable to someone, my freelance business is applying a solution for.

In the case of big companies for instance, Georg Simmel has described fashion e.g., mobile

apps, as ‘a product of class distinction’. This prescription although possibly accurate in the

opening years of the twentieth century, appears dated now but is still useful if we consider

subcultures for instance, as consumption can reflect cultural values. Using semiotics, we can

evaluate signs (from the things we buy) how and where we fit into the fabric of society. Regarding adults for instance, they may work, and a distinction between work and labour can be made. Labour is more physical and may use brute force. Work may also be physical but tends to make use of one’s analytical abilities more. Likewise, labour may require some analytical abilities.

The long supporting stance of freelancing is far removed from brute force activity, suggesting the ostentatious elegant long legs of a tall fashion model of an upmarket chain, where ostentatiousness can mean you do not do any kind of ‘real’ work at all. You enjoy your work. And the fact that there is only one person in the Limited company is obviously functional but with the imagined model fixation, also quirky. Perhaps an apparent fearlessness too – sensing a presence, like that induced by a charismatic person.

The context is not charisma, however. What I mean is, Sociologicla Consult makes a stronger statement of wealth and a particular smartness, an impact – attacking the senses compared with other competitors which is ordinary and mainstream. If something works well as in what is offered by me, however it often has its own beautiful essence – the aesthetic not being superficial, but intrinsic.

The French philosopher and post-modernist theorist Jean Baudrillard has found that finding a sense of meaning and of ‘place’ is one of the prime motivating factors in life. And we can find this in services like life-coaching. If we study the table below, we can see that Baudrillard’s idea helps explain that we use what my company offers in many ways and the usefulness of my freelancing is not only in its ability to create wellbeing but in its value as a symbol of status, and its value as commodities or their value as a gift.

Areas of logic Object status

Utility Service

Market Commodity

Gift charisma

Status Greater confidence

To follow, if my freelance services has been given as a gift to someone as compared to other online working in a team retailer, it would be different. For the person receiving one of my coaching sessions for example, meaning is invested in the status of the unique coaching as a gift, but also as a symbol of his or her or its relative importance - it is displayed for others to see. However, for the online retailer/services or Mental Health services competitor selling coaching and corporate video services it has merely commodity value. And they have no cultural value beyond those imposed upon it. That is, big company or Authority.

This report has looked at ways in which the multiple propositions of Services I offer ‘use’ value possesses properties that make them more valuable in other ways other than functional.

Bibliography:

Baldwin, Jonathon and Roberts, lucienne 2006, ‘Visual Communication: From Theory to Practice’, AVA Publishing

Cris Beswick, http://www.crisbeswick.com/21st-century-innovation-its-emotional-not- physical, 12/2012

Hauffe, Thomas, 1996, ‘Design: a concise history’, Laurence King Publishing: Great Britain

Shaw, Colin, Dibeehi, Qaalfa, Walden, Steven , 2010, ‘Customer experience’: Future trends and insights’, Palgrave macmillan: UK

A sampler from many authors, 2005, ‘Business Miscellany’. Published by the Economist

Appendix A

Their work originally focused upon using methods of communication (in their case telephones and radio waves) most effectively. So that the growing demand for telecommunications could be satisfied using the existing network resources.

Appendix B

Technical – is the special knowledge required, universally compatible?

Semantic – Regarding language, what system should we use? And how much of the message can be lost without the meaning being lost as well?

Effectiveness – Does the message influence behaviour the way we want it to? What can we do if what we want fails to happen?