Scholarship Winner – Valeria Perez

Valeria Perez

We are so excited to announce Valeria Perez as our 2020-2021 $1,000 scholarship winner! Valeria is attending Valencia College & Osceola County School for the Arts, located in Kissimmee, Florida. We invite others to apply for our next scholarship award.   Here’s a copy of her entry.

Price It Here, Inc. Scholarship

In our new day and age, technology has become the center of progressive achievements with its interconnectivity and easy accessibility. Our world has been able to access information, mobilize together, and educate one another in a whole new way. Its effects have been most prevalent during the Covid-19 pandemic as we’ve been able to adapt to a different kind of lifestyle to keep each other safe, where technology has been the biggest resourcing in helping make the transition easier. Since we’ve witnessed how technology can expand platforms and new ways of thinking, the business world has changed in tangent with technology’s development. With the influence of technology, we’ve seen and will continue to witness new markets open and an increase in customer revenue since a majority of the world’s population prefer to stay at home and buy their products instead of having to leave their house. This allows for companies to target specific customers depending on their product through sponsorships from influencers, previous cookie-information as to what kind of items a customer most frequently purchases, and an increase in demand for newer items as customers can easily see how certain products work or are reviewed through social media platforms, thus making the marketing for a business model more efficient. For customers, there is a decrease in expenses they have to pay when they want to buy a product due to technology access at home. To get groceries, people can fill their carts at home and have them shipped to them instead of making the trip to the grocery stores. And with how dependent technology is, customers begin to develop

certain buying patterns that positively affect their satisfaction with a company as well as the company’s business revenue. Technology will continue to influence the growth in customer satisfaction and business revenue in these ways with its easy accessibility and guarantee to create a worthwhile and trustworthy customer experience.

When it comes to ensuring customer service and trust, two core values I believe a business should maintain is consistency in quality and respect for customer privacy and safety. Of course, privacy is a critical component to a good relationship between a business and its customers as it builds credibility and will ensure that customers that buy from them know they are professional and won’t be scammed of their money or information. Now, developing quality customer service has been a competing factor that many businesses deal with when ensuring that they have more customers over other services. When I look at the companies that I have noticed sky-rocket over this last year in the pandemic were the ones that were quick to adapt and make the customer-shopping experience more attainable and satisfactory. Since the internet and technology have become so ingrained in our society, it’s important for businesses to recognize the value in creating an additional platform online with something like apps or websites (apps are the most efficient and successful). For example, when you take a company like Chik-Fil-A it’s very recognizable how they’ve developed their business model into one where anyone can access their products. If people want to stay home, they have the option to Uber Eats their food from Chik-Fil-A now. If you would like to order before you get to Chik-Fil-A, you have the option to order easily through their app or website so that there is no wait once you get there. They accept multiple forms of payments from their customers, which improves range in customers as well as customer experience since some people prefer to pay through different services or cards- and on top of all of this, they’ve drastically increased their service into one that is speedy and always

ensures good-quality food. Chik-Fil-A goes to every length to ensure their customer has a good experience when purchasing from them, helping make their money worth the spend, making the customer want to return or buy their product again. Another business model I’ve seen grown and one that I find myself spending a lot of time on is Depop: an app where sellers can create mini businesses to sell items or other products and where buyers can negotiate prices through messages. It’s a very simple app to use which creates a more effective business model, and with its flexibility in payment and diverse items/shops, it has changed the thrifting community for the better. There’s been a change in service quality by personalizing the shopping experience so customers can build a trusting relationship with certain businesses.

As a customer and someone who has worked in a business, the best innovative approach in increasing customer service and expanding business marketing is for companies to have multiple options for customers to access and buy their products on, as well as multiple options within the products service. Consumers prefer the choice to restriction when it comes to their purchases. The average consumer would be less likely to purchase from a pizza company that only allows a certain combination of toppings when there are plenty of competitors who allow for customization. Further, today’s consumer tends to shop online due to the convenience of being in their own home while still having access to a variety of products. Finally, consumers seek adaptability from businesses in terms of method of payment due to the emergence of electronic payment services such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and more. Having all businesses adapt to multiple ways customers can pay, shop, or order their products will help create a more expansive business model. Ultimately, when businesses learn to become this adaptable to how people like to have many options available to them combined with good service and quality, that will enhance their business revenue and customer satisfaction.