In Depth Blog Post #3

The context of my mentoring relationship with Mr. Bingley is more of a formal teacher-student relationship, as we meet together in his classroom at Gleneagle during CL time amongst other business students. So far, we have met on a semi regular basis, meeting face to face approximately every two weeks for the entire CL block. I would describe our relationship as a more formal and collaborative interaction because I haven’t been his student yet and we’re still getting to know each other. As other business students may be present in the classroom during our meetings, I expect the context of the mentoring relationship to vary each time. Another possible complication is that sometimes both of us may have other commitments during CL time, so I have been emailing Mr. Bingley at the start of the week to try and coordinate when a good time would be. However, meeting with Mr. Bingley at Gleneagle during CL is very convenient and so far hasn’t been an issue. Often, I prefer communicating face to face rather than with a video call or email, especially for this In-Depth project where we have many subjects to discuss. 

One aspect of our last mentorship meeting that went particularly well was that all my questions were fully addressed. I provided Mr. Bingley the majority of my questions in advance via email so he could prepare and anticipate what my issues could be. Mr. Bingley’s mentoring style is straightforward and patient. I could tell that since he coaches basketball, he’s comfortable in a coaching role. I don’t feel pressured around him and I’m able to ask questions that I’m curious about freely. One learning challenge that emerged was that I forgot to address Ms. Mulder’s posted questions in Blog Post #2. Mr. Bingley and I had a lot to discuss in the prior week’s meeting and I didn’t prioritize getting the specific questions answered. I ensured that I asked these questions in our next session and he was kind enough to answer them. 

Three strategies that could improve the quality of our mentoring interactions are: 

1) Continue to email in advance with an agenda and possible dates, 

2) Read ahead on Ms. Mulder’s Mentorship Posts, 

3) Take good notes in order to remember and record my learning. 

The focus of my In-Depth project this week has been on conducting market research. At first, I saw my market as being high school students, but after discussions with my mentor, we found that my market may be more successful if we expand it to include middle and elementary students. Mr. Bingley had some concerns that in his experience, Gleneagle students preferred digital presentations as opposed to physical learning centres. After meeting with Mr. Bingley, I prepared a short survey on Google Forms in order to gather information about what my peers’ opinions might be. I chose Student Council as my first target group for market research. I identified members of Student council as potential customers because they are very involved at school and might be more likely to purchase a tri-fold. Also, students from all four grades are members so I get a variety of experiences and insight. I got 20 responses so far, including many of the higher grades. I have designed a separate survey for my fellow TALONS classmates and will be polling them soon. I also tried asking Me to We if I could poll them but it just wasn’t just a good time, so the obstacle is to plan ahead and ask the leaders so they can find time in the club’s agenda. In addition, I will need to consider how to conduct market research at other schools such as Kway and Walton. 

In addition to discussing market research, I asked Mr. Bingley questions about his experience and expertise. He gained his business experience by working in several different departments within the hotel industry, including Front Office Management, Sales and Accounting. We spoke about what it was like to work at a hotel and how different market segments have differing expectations. For example, travellers staying at a budget hotel may be more accepting with a standard room and simple amenities, whereas travellers at a luxury hotel demand higher standards. Luxury hotel travellers will be more likely to want higher class amenities such as fancy shampoo and decorative tissue holders. From the very start of meeting with Mr. Bingley, he introduced the “four P’s” to me. The “four P’s” stand for; Product, Promotion, Price, Place. He described these steps as a model for starting a business. Finally, he introduced me to the AIDA model (The AIDA Model) and how to turn your customer’s want into a need. From our meetings to date, I’ve learned that clear communication is key. Communication is the first step to reach your audience and engage them in an insightful manner. Overall, I am really enjoying my time with Mr. Bingley and I appreciate everything that he’s done for me.