RE: Making a Dropshipping site I have web development experience. If you have clear goals/a ‘why’ behind making the site, I can get it done for you for free. Feel free to message when you get to that stage :-)
RE: Inelastic Products + general customer exposure Good point, I hadn’t thought of this :-)
RE: “One of the functions of the Consumer Power Initiative is to create a mass social movement questioning why...” I’d be eager to hear your marketing plans when you have more specific information.
RE: “Guided Consumption seems to be unique in that popular shareholder identity does not have an attendant cost (vis a vis other investors).” Lots of social justice charities have tried to market black owned businesses / businesses started by former felons. Ex: Inmates to Entrepreneurs.
Have you looked into how scalable / effective their ‘P-value’ is? Do you think it’d help to talk to them to learn what has/hasn’t worked well for them?
RE: “The value proposition that CPI and Guiding Producers offer consumers and other economic participants is pretty singular and clear: significantly further worthy causes by going through me. “ This may be true when customers choose you from a directory with exactly the right information. It’s less true on a Google Search page. Less true still on an industrial product datasheet. Less true still on a supermarket aisle.
What I’m saying is that the context (channel) by which consumers buy the products of guiding companies will influence the value proposition(s) they see for those products vs. competitors’ products. And given how much information is sometimes thrown at consumers, the decisions they make on average might be surpising to you or me.
That’s awesome! I will get back to you shortly, probably in a week or so, with a more fully-fledged value proposal and details regarding The Giving Store. But The Giving Store will serve many purposes:
(1) it will be a concrete example of Guided Consumption in the United States, with a wider variety of products that will enable a broad range of people to be able to do good by buying cool and helpful items, this I think will help market the idea of Guided Consumption to the general public more accessibly than an essay for many.
(2) It will provide data regarding Guided Consumption for the Consumer Power Initiative- and potentially a proof-of-concept for others
(3) It will generate funds for an effective charity- I have one in mind now, but I am still thinking it over.
Marketing Plans:
I am still developing marketing plans, and the resources that you mentioned of Development Media International and Inmates to Entrepreneurs are definitely two groups that may have some very valuable input. Some ideas that I have had on marketing:
(1) Developing the Consumer Power Initiative website as a hub where people can be directed to a variety of affiliated Guiding Producers and learn more about Guided Consumption.
(2) Coming up with a simple, fun video for YouTube that goes into the microeconomics of consumer/producer surplus and presents the possibility of using consumer power through Guided Consumption to benefit charities instead of rich people. I had thought of a video similar in style and humor to this .
(3) Trying to engage influencers/streamers to potentially become ambassadors for Guided Consumption and let their audiences know about it, as well as some cool Guiding Producers that they can buy from.
(4) Potentially engaging a variety of musician Guiding Producers who can release musical albums online where 100% of the money generated will go to an effective charity.
(5) Vin and EA Forum user Tomer_Goloboy, who founded Misercordia had thought of a kind of publicity stunt like a million-dollar t-shirt where all the profits would go to a charity.
Clear Value Proposition/ Channels and Contexts of Buying through Guiding Producers
In Section III(B)(ii) of my longer paper discusses the need to eliminate the frictions in transactions and make the path of least resistance for the consumer lead to a Guiding Producer.
The Consumer Power Initiative, by having a marketing GC function and a function of supporting Guiding Producers will solve some key problems that individual Guiding Producers would have by themselves. An individual GC may have difficulty justifying a degree of marketing sufficient to broadly inform consumers of charitable profit destination. However, CPI, advancing many GCs, is cost-justified in broadly marketing Guided Consumption and allowing Guiding Producers to easily signal that they are a part of the project. The Consumer Power Initiative can also assist Guiding Producers in functions such as search-engine optimization, providing transparency mechanisms, and otherwise endeavoring to make Guiding Producers the most easy and attractive choice if a consumer is looking to buy in a sector where a Guiding Producer is available.
Please note that there are many steps to take before such a robust role could be played by the CPI and I am merely noting the possibilities opened up by economies of scale and a robust organization with the mission of promoting Guided Consumption.
RE: Making a Dropshipping site
I have web development experience. If you have clear goals/a ‘why’ behind making the site, I can get it done for you for free. Feel free to message when you get to that stage :-)
RE: Inelastic Products + general customer exposure
Good point, I hadn’t thought of this :-)
RE: “One of the functions of the Consumer Power Initiative is to create a mass social movement questioning why...”
I’d be eager to hear your marketing plans when you have more specific information.
Maybe Development Media International would know EA-aligned marketers who’d be willing to help out?
RE: “Guided Consumption seems to be unique in that popular shareholder identity does not have an attendant cost (vis a vis other investors).”
Lots of social justice charities have tried to market black owned businesses / businesses started by former felons. Ex: Inmates to Entrepreneurs.
Have you looked into how scalable / effective their ‘P-value’ is? Do you think it’d help to talk to them to learn what has/hasn’t worked well for them?
RE: “The value proposition that CPI and Guiding Producers offer consumers and other economic participants is pretty singular and clear: significantly further worthy causes by going through me. “
This may be true when customers choose you from a directory with exactly the right information. It’s less true on a Google Search page. Less true still on an industrial product datasheet. Less true still on a supermarket aisle.
What I’m saying is that the context (channel) by which consumers buy the products of guiding companies will influence the value proposition(s) they see for those products vs. competitors’ products. And given how much information is sometimes thrown at consumers, the decisions they make on average might be surpising to you or me.
Dropshipping Site:
That’s awesome! I will get back to you shortly, probably in a week or so, with a more fully-fledged value proposal and details regarding The Giving Store. But The Giving Store will serve many purposes:
(1) it will be a concrete example of Guided Consumption in the United States, with a wider variety of products that will enable a broad range of people to be able to do good by buying cool and helpful items, this I think will help market the idea of Guided Consumption to the general public more accessibly than an essay for many.
(2) It will provide data regarding Guided Consumption for the Consumer Power Initiative- and potentially a proof-of-concept for others
(3) It will generate funds for an effective charity- I have one in mind now, but I am still thinking it over.
Marketing Plans:
I am still developing marketing plans, and the resources that you mentioned of Development Media International and Inmates to Entrepreneurs are definitely two groups that may have some very valuable input. Some ideas that I have had on marketing:
(1) Developing the Consumer Power Initiative website as a hub where people can be directed to a variety of affiliated Guiding Producers and learn more about Guided Consumption.
(2) Coming up with a simple, fun video for YouTube that goes into the microeconomics of consumer/producer surplus and presents the possibility of using consumer power through Guided Consumption to benefit charities instead of rich people. I had thought of a video similar in style and humor to this .
(3) Trying to engage influencers/streamers to potentially become ambassadors for Guided Consumption and let their audiences know about it, as well as some cool Guiding Producers that they can buy from.
(4) Potentially engaging a variety of musician Guiding Producers who can release musical albums online where 100% of the money generated will go to an effective charity.
(5) Vin and EA Forum user Tomer_Goloboy, who founded Misercordia had thought of a kind of publicity stunt like a million-dollar t-shirt where all the profits would go to a charity.
Clear Value Proposition/ Channels and Contexts of Buying through Guiding Producers
In Section III(B)(ii) of my longer paper discusses the need to eliminate the frictions in transactions and make the path of least resistance for the consumer lead to a Guiding Producer.
The Consumer Power Initiative, by having a marketing GC function and a function of supporting Guiding Producers will solve some key problems that individual Guiding Producers would have by themselves. An individual GC may have difficulty justifying a degree of marketing sufficient to broadly inform consumers of charitable profit destination. However, CPI, advancing many GCs, is cost-justified in broadly marketing Guided Consumption and allowing Guiding Producers to easily signal that they are a part of the project. The Consumer Power Initiative can also assist Guiding Producers in functions such as search-engine optimization, providing transparency mechanisms, and otherwise endeavoring to make Guiding Producers the most easy and attractive choice if a consumer is looking to buy in a sector where a Guiding Producer is available.
Please note that there are many steps to take before such a robust role could be played by the CPI and I am merely noting the possibilities opened up by economies of scale and a robust organization with the mission of promoting Guided Consumption.