Get your credit cards ready because the ‘Best Buy’ online has just exploded on the scene. Sometime early this morning, consumers were shocked to see a Samsung 52″ LCD TV LN52A650 on sale for a ridiculous $9.99. While it is obvious that this is a pricing error on the part of Best Buy, one can only hope and dream that Best Buy lets Christmas come early.
For anyone wondering about Best Buy’s Pricing Error policy it is here as follows: Continue Reading…
In the game of chess, each player gets 16 chess pieces. With those chess pieces, it is the players goal to take the other players king. Most chess players will tell you that chess is made up of calculative moves with each player thinking of all possible situations and scenarios that might happen two to three plays later. In comparison to the game of chess, companies function in a similar way.
Similar to the game of chess, a company has rankings withing itself that signifies power and influence. Just like the king is the most important piece in chess, the CEO or the corporation itself can be considered in the same way. Likewise, a company also has those that would be considered pawns. In today’s economy we have a very unique but also scary reality. On one side we have a corporation and on the other we have our opponent, the economy.
If we were to look at the situation as a chess game, the economy is pressing us hard and threatening each and every company. Whether its the small mom and pops stores or the large corporations, everyone feels the pressure of the economy bearing down on them. Like pawns getting picked off a chessboard, corporations are forced to layoff workers in order to stay alive and ‘protect the king.’
Their is no easy way to ‘defeat’ our opponent, but like in chess we must evaluate our the options and make the best choice we can. I believe that Grand Master Chess Player, Emaunel Lasker said it best when he said:
“When you see a good move, look for a better one” – Emanuel Lasker
While the situation is dire and we must make swift decisions, it is not without saying that we must think not only about the instant ramifications of our decisions but also the long term results as well. When certain moves seem like the right one, we must scrutinize it till exhaustion and make sure that we can’t make a better one. Learning from mistakes only makes us smarter and capitalizing on great ideas makes us stronger.
While I have compared corporations and its employees to a chess game, the same can be applied to anyone. Whether it be an individual, a family, or business, everyone in their own certain way is playing against an invisible opponent. Understanding your opponent and the situation is key to success. Without understanding what is going on is like trying to play a sport without knowing the rules.
While some may say that the saying “if at first you don’t succeed try try again” is the best way to approach things, I would disagree and say that it is not always the best approach. What I feel is wrong about that quote is that it says nothing about doing your best or giving it your all. What it should say is:
“Try your best, and if you don’t succeed, try again.”
For some chess players, they can win without even trying. Still, we must not take the ‘game’ we play lightly and must realize that the biggest difference between losing in chess and in real life is that we don’t get a rematch with it.
As a child, reading the LA Times was a big part of my morning routine. As I grew older, the sections I read also grew with age. From only reading the comic section, to reading the Lifestyle and Sports sections, the newspaper had always been a way for me to get my news for the day or week. Newspapers played such an important role in society that it is sort of odd to think that now their are talks that the days of waking up and reading the Sunday sports section or even the latest movie review maybe over.
With the Tribune filing for bankruptcy, the fall of the newspaper industry has commenced. Just the other day on my way home I was listening on the radio how one newspaper was forcing its writers to take non-paid days off just to stay in business. While it is easy to blame the economy for companies going out of business, their are many reasons why the newspaper industry is where it’s at right now.
The Speed of Information
For every newspaper, their is a website for it. With that said, who would pay for something they can get free. This is an obvious reason to why the newspaper industry is struggling to survive. With individuals being able to read articles that are in the newspapers for free online, people see no reason to pay for a newspaper subscription. Not only does it save money, but in most cases you can find out about a story even before it reaches newspaper stands. The speed of the information travels faster than the newspaper companies can put them on stands. As a result of this, fewer and fewer people subscribe to them.
While newspapers have made the transition to news online, they have entered a market where they cannot win. The reason for this is simple. The market they are trying to dominate is already dominated by other websites. For example, newspapers used to make a decent revenue from the classified section. Today, when people need to post something to the classified section, they go straight to Craigslist.org and list it their. Why? Because it’s free. The age of information has two basic elements. The first is speed. People want information as fast as possible. Even waiting 5 minutes for information is considered too long of a wait in some instances. The second element is cost. People now consider their options and weigh the cost against benefits. With information being so readily accessible and free, newspapers that charge people to post ads automatically become unreasonable.
No Real Content
Of the newspapers I still read, my local newspaper is one of them. The reason I read it, is because I want to learn what is happening in my city and because I feel like what they write about has value and the writers opinions. When you look at the LA Times or even the NY Times, you will most often find the same articles. What most newspapers do now is take articles from the Associated Press or even Reuters and just insert it into their newspaper. For them, it saves time and money. Still, for the reader it brings no real value if you can find it any newspaper or even just hop online and read it from the AP or Reuters directly. If the newspapers wanted to keep readers, they would have written ‘real content’ that would have been engaging to their respective cities.
With companies going out of business, many will now wonder if it is the newspaper industries turn. Since it is now feasible that such a collapse is near, the newspaper industry may follow the steps of automakers and large financial corporations and ask for the same kind of help that the government gave them: a bailout.
If it comes to that, it is my opinion that the government will not help the newspaper industry. The reason is this: one of the key determinants to who has been getting bailouts are those that are deemed crucial to our economy as well as to society. Carmaker’s were able to make the argument that millions of jobs and hundreds of smaller industries would fall as a result of their collapse. The financial corporations made the argument that the economy would never recover if they collapsed. So what about the newspaper industry? If they collapse, the result would obviously be layoffs, but other than that, people would turn toward the internet for their information or to watching the news on TV.
If it does come down to the newspaper industry collapsing I will miss picking up the newspaper early in the morning and reading the sports section as I get ready for my day. In the end it is not that we don’t like reading the newspaper, but that all in all, newspapers have become obsolete.
In the realm of services marketing, their are companies that don’t have any idea what they are doing, and then their are those that just get it and do a great job. Among those that got it right is Disney and the experience of guests at their parks. For the past 50 or so years, Disney has established itself as one of the leaders of the entertainment world. From their iconic “mouse ears” to their ability to crank out musical child stars such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, Disney has always been associated with providing the best in entertainment.
But how does Disney do it?
Their are many reasons as to why Disney has become so successful, but among the major reasons for their success is their attention to services marketing. Disney believes in providing the customer or guest the best experience they can possibly have. For example, when entering a Disney theme park, guests are not just entering an amusement park, they are entering a ‘magical place’ as is the motto in the photo above. Disney believes in making every effort to make the guest feel like they are part of something special. Disney even addresses there workers as ‘cast members’ not employees.
Not only does Disney pay close attention to its customers, but Disney also does a great job with there servicescape.This is an important detail that all businesses should think of. When a customer is going to your store, the customers first interaction with your business does not start when they enter the store, but when they first see it. Having the appropriate setting and physical environment has a direct correlation to the experience the customer has. Looking at Disney, not only do they ‘say’ that you will have a magical day, but the setting and decor make you feel like you are.
Going back to the role of the Disney cast members, they play one of the most vital roles in their parks. Not only are they necessary in the day to day operations of their parks, but cast members are important in the personal interactions with guests. Most guests would agree that they have had positive experiences with Disney cast members. One of the ways to assure that the quality of the service being provided by employees is at its best is to implement a good training program that will allow employees to not only learn basic operations but also to learn the company culture. Employees that understand the company culture will be able to better serve the customer.
While Disney is a great example of a company that understand the importance of services marketing, some companies still don’t. Many will tell you that it just costs too much to train and put in the time to make sure they are doing a good job. In all honesty, this is true. It is also true that it costs more money to acquire a new customer than to retain one. Also, that an angry or unsatisfied customer will tell on average 12 people negative things about your business and happy customers will tell 5 people positive things. In the end it may come down to a numbers game and what is most cost efficient, but companies should remember that while the motto “customers are always right” may not always be true, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and provide the best service possible.