Reflection – Launching Tool 

 Challenge 

 I work in a four - employee family - run store , selling plastic bags of various types and sizes . We need to   make more profit . 

 That profit can not come from cost reductions . We are confident that our operations are the most   cost - effective in the market . Also , having maintained good long - term relationship with our suppliers ,   we have access to quality products at fair prices . Cost can not go down any lower . 

 Nor that profit , or I shall say revenue , can come from increasing profit margin . Being a commodity , in   Indonesia at least , the plastic industry is a competitive market . Increasing prices carelessly is a sure- fire way to lose customers . 

 While we are currently reluctant to make the investment of opening another store , we are not   technically ready to sell on e - commerce platforms , at least not in the near future . So we need to   increase transaction volume without yet opening a new distribution channel . 

 This could mean two things : getting more people to buy our products or getting people to buy more   of our products . The question is : how to do them both simultaneously and cost - effectively ? 

 Selection 

 The answer would not be direct and has to be peeled like an onion ; Learning Launch Tool is selected . 

 As explained by Heinrich Sturm , it is a tool that starts with pain points – specific needs - then   hypotheses followed by experiments to test those hypotheses in ones ’ effort to figure which   customers ’ needs have been met & which ones that are not yet met , and how to best deliver these   unmet needs . 

 The higher the number of customers facing an issue the more likely the pain points worth   investigating . The first step is hence : determining what the potential pain points are , usually by asking   customers . At this stage , one would arrive at a broad number of issues which then have to be sorted   & filtered & confirmed with data , i.e. facts , on which pain points to be prioritized . 

 “ The purpose of a learning launch is to get the truth that confirms or disconfirms the assumptions ” ,   Heinrich Sturm said . To get rich perspectives and to mitigate confirmation bias , as cognitive processes   will tend to prevent anyone on seeing things other than what he / she believes or knows , the process   of vetting the data is best conducted as a group consisting of diverse people from various functions   within the company . 

 Once a pain point is determined , along with earlier discussions with customers , one would usually   have a set of presumably great solutions . The next step would be to test them . 

 Application 

 To understand our customers ’ needs , met or unmet , we talked with both our loyal customers &   dormant customers – not all of them , but just a few that we feel representative to their group - to   obtain a list of our possible strength and weaknesses . At this first step , we think , talking is the better   approach than conducting an online survey ; talking allows us to get an exhaustive list . Yes , this list of   needs would be broad , not specific or urgent , and most definitely questionably valid . 

 Then , we gathered data – i.e. facts - by conducting a survey . We know we can only be confident of the   survey ’s results when we have a big sample of data ; we are sending this survey to everyone in our   phone book ; considering our size , it is hard not to get comfortable with 750 target participants , even   after taking low participation rate into account . As we split our phone book into two groups – loyal   customers & dormant customers – , we gave each group a different set of multiple - choice questions .   Loyal customers was asked :   “ why do you buy from our store ? ” , and dormant customers was asked :   “ why do you no longer buy from our store ? ” . Choices to these questions were the ones we obtained   from the earlier talks to the group representatives , and presented in random order . 

 When survey results were out and the data had been cleaned and processed , we would have specific   & valid pain points . With survey results , assumptions would almost be automatically confirmed or   disconfirmed : the more participants an answer received , the more valid the need is . But we also had   a group discussion – group think – just to eliminate possible blind spots , to interpret results , and to   translate these results into the next peel of the onion : what kind of tests we should do that are fast   and cheap . 

 Insights 

 The reasons people buy from our store are : competitive prices , abundant parking spaces , availability   of the products they need , store accessibility , product quality , pre - sales services such as the option to   reserve products , WhatsApp Business customer service , the ability to pick up items through ride- hailing services , delivery service , the ability to custom make items , etc .    The reasons people do not buy from our store are : uncompetitive prices , poor customer service , not   carrying the items they need , no longer need the items they once bought at our store , having only   limited quantity of the items they need , etc . 

 Our survey tells the greatest reason people buy from our store is carrying the products they need . And   the opposite is true : the greatest reason people do not buy from our store is not having the products   they need . 

 We then compared these findings with our transactions data . It turned out : out of 640 Stok Keeping   Units SKUs we are carrying , most customers would only repetitively buy an average of five SKUs over   their business lifespan . And there are almost no SKUs that are so popular that they stand out . Different   customers are heavy - users of different SKUs . An SKU is only popular among an average of 10   customers . 

 We then hypothesized . Does the number of SKUs correlate with the number of customers we have ? 

 To test the hypothesis safely , we ask ourselves : “ Is there any SKUs that are needed by our loyal   customers that we have not yet carried and would also attract new customers ? ” 

 Approach 

 Given the Covid-19 pandemic , facemask is the SKU that are needed by our loyal customers that we   have not yet carried and would also attract new customers . It just so happens we have a facemask   distributor in our customers list : obtaining quality facemask would be fast & cheap , besides , if they   do n’t sell well , we could always use them ourselves . We knew selling facemasks would be a walk away   out of our brand identity , but that is a question for another day . Then , we just needed to test the   hypothesis whether a new SKU could increase our number of customers while increasing basket size   of our loyal customers .    The result confirmed our hypothesis : facemask increased our basket size by an average of ten percent   in revenue , and we had obtained approximately great number of new customers due to face masks   alone and these facemask - induced customers usually also buy other items from our store .    It was time to go to next steps : “ What other SKUs that are needed by our loyal customers that we   have not yet carried and would also attract new customers ? ”     Just as Geoff who was not easily content with data , we too made observations about customers ’ wants   & needs and looked for emergent patterns : what we could be doing for customers that would truly   make their lives better . As Francoise Gohar suggested , we tried to be more empathetic to our   customers : focusing on their problems instead of our solutions . We tried to make educated guesses   about what they want , even before they can articulate these wants .      We talked again with our customers . This time to understand their businesses : the kind of businesses   they are in , the products they are selling , how they are selling them , and the items they use regularly   that we have not yet carried , etc . The answer was so fundamental we felt silly for not having figured   it out : adhesive tapes . Be it the laundry , bakery , or home - appliances business , customers are using   our plastic bags to package their goods ; they would need adhesive tapes to package them . Today ,   adhesive tape is the single most popular SKU we carry . And by displaying these tapes near the door   where they would be visible from the street , adhesive tapes bring a significant amount of new   customers 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection – Launching Tool 

 Challenge 

 I work in a four - employee family - run store , selling plastic bags of various types and sizes . We need to   make more profit . 

 That profit can not come from cost reductions . We are confident that our operations are the most   cost - effective in the market . Also , having maintained good long - term relationship with our suppliers ,   we have access to quality products at fair prices . Cost can not go down any lower . 

 Nor that profit , or I shall say revenue , can come from increasing profit margin . Being a commodity , in   Indonesia at least , the plastic industry is a competitive market . Increasing prices carelessly is a sure- fire way to lose customers . 

 While we are currently reluctant to make the investment of opening another store , we are not   technically ready to sell on e - commerce platforms , at least not in the near future . So we need to   increase transaction volume without yet opening a new distribution channel . 

 This could mean two things : getting more people to buy our products or getting people to buy more   of our products . The question is : how to do them both simultaneously and cost - effectively ? 

 Selection 

 The answer would not be direct and has to be peeled like an onion ; Learning Launch Tool is selected . 

 As explained by Heinrich Sturm , it is a tool that starts with pain points – specific needs - then   hypotheses followed by experiments to test those hypotheses in ones ’ effort to figure which   customers ’ needs have been met & which ones that are not yet met , and how to best deliver these   unmet needs . 

 The higher the number of customers facing an issue the more likely the pain points worth   investigating . The first step is hence : determining what the potential pain points are , usually by asking   customers . At this stage , one would arrive at a broad number of issues which then have to be sorted   & filtered & confirmed with data , i.e. facts , on which pain points to be prioritized . 

 “ The purpose of a learning launch is to get the truth that confirms or disconfirms the assumptions ” ,   Heinrich Sturm said . To get rich perspectives and to mitigate confirmation bias , as cognitive processes   will tend to prevent anyone on seeing things other than what he / she believes or knows , the process   of vetting the data is best conducted as a group consisting of diverse people from various functions   within the company . 

 Once a pain point is determined , along with earlier discussions with customers , one would usually   have a set of presumably great solutions . The next step would be to test them . 

 Application 

 To understand our customers ’ needs , met or unmet , we talked with both our loyal customers &   dormant customers – not all of them , but just a few that we feel representative to their group - to   obtain a list of our possible strength and weaknesses . At this first step , we think , talking is the better   approach than conducting an online survey ; talking allows us to get an exhaustive list . Yes , this list of   needs would be broad , not specific or urgent , and most definitely questionably valid . 

 Then , we gathered data – i.e. facts - by conducting a survey . We know we can only be confident of the   survey ’s results when we have a big sample of data ; we are sending this survey to everyone in our   phone book ; considering our size , it is hard not to get comfortable with 750 target participants , even   after taking low participation rate into account . As we split our phone book into two groups – loyal   customers & dormant customers – , we gave each group a different set of multiple - choice questions .   Loyal customers was asked :   “ why do you buy from our store ? ” , and dormant customers was asked :   “ why do you no longer buy from our store ? ” . Choices to these questions were the ones we obtained   from the earlier talks to the group representatives , and presented in random order . 

 When survey results were out and the data had been cleaned and processed , we would have specific   & valid pain points . With survey results , assumptions would almost be automatically confirmed or   disconfirmed : the more participants an answer received , the more valid the need is . But we also had   a group discussion – group think – just to eliminate possible blind spots , to interpret results , and to   translate these results into the next peel of the onion : what kind of tests we should do that are fast   and cheap . 

 Insights 

 The reasons people buy from our store are : competitive prices , abundant parking spaces , availability   of the products they need , store accessibility , product quality , pre - sales services such as the option to   reserve products , WhatsApp Business customer service , the ability to pick up items through ride- hailing services , delivery service , the ability to custom make items , etc .    The reasons people do not buy from our store are : uncompetitive prices , poor customer service , not   carrying the items they need , no longer need the items they once bought at our store , having only   limited quantity of the items they need , etc . 

 Our survey tells the greatest reason people buy from our store is carrying the products they need . And   the opposite is true : the greatest reason people do not buy from our store is not having the products   they need . 

 We then compared these findings with our transactions data . It turned out : out of 640 Stok Keeping   Units SKUs we are carrying , most customers would only repetitively buy an average of five SKUs over   their business lifespan . And there are almost no SKUs that are so popular that they stand out . Different   customers are heavy - users of different SKUs . An SKU is only popular among an average of 10   customers . 

 We then hypothesized . Does the number of SKUs correlate with the number of customers we have ? 

 To test the hypothesis safely , we ask ourselves : “ Is there any SKUs that are needed by our loyal   customers that we have not yet carried and would also attract new customers ? ” 

 Approach 

 Given the Covid-19 pandemic , facemask is the SKU that are needed by our loyal customers that we   have not yet carried and would also attract new customers . It just so happens we have a facemask   distributor in our customers list : obtaining quality facemask would be fast & cheap , besides , if they   do n’t sell well , we could always use them ourselves . We knew selling facemasks would be a walk away   out of our brand identity , but that is a question for another day . Then , we just needed to test the   hypothesis whether a new SKU could increase our number of customers while increasing basket size   of our loyal customers .    The result confirmed our hypothesis : facemask increased our basket size by an average of ten percent   in revenue , and we had obtained approximately great number of new customers due to face masks   alone and these facemask - induced customers usually also buy other items from our store .    It was time to go to next steps : “ What other SKUs that are needed by our loyal customers that we   have not yet carried and would also attract new customers ? ”     Just as Geoff who was not easily content with data , we too made observations about customers ’ wants   & needs and looked for emergent patterns : what we could be doing for customers that would truly   make their lives better . As Francoise Gohar suggested , we tried to be more empathetic to our   customers : focusing on their problems instead of our solutions . We tried to make educated guesses   about what they want , even before they can articulate these wants .      We talked again with our customers . This time to understand their businesses : the kind of businesses   they are in , the products they are selling , how they are selling them , and the items they use regularly   that we have not yet carried , etc . The answer was so fundamental we felt silly for not having figured   it out : adhesive tapes . Be it the laundry , bakery , or home - appliances business , customers are using   our plastic bags to package their goods ; they would need adhesive tapes to package them . Today ,   adhesive tape is the single most popular SKU we carry . And by displaying these tapes near the door   where they would be visible from the street , adhesive tapes bring a significant amount of new   customers
### Output: 