| Is it Time to Kill the Cat or Embrace Him? |
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Isn't it time to recognize that the technology "cat" has built a home and is not going away? How you plan to deal with it will directly impact whether it will become a minor inconvenience or a constant threat. And whether your business will gain or lose market share. Half the challenge of getting a bell on a cat is accepting that it has to be done. Once upon a time there was a group of mice. They were constantly terrorized by an aggressive house cat. They decided to call a meeting and brainstorm ideas of how to fix the situation. The first mouse called out, "I know, let's just ignore it!". After a few minutes discussion, they realized that particular path had not proven to be successful thus far, so it was thrown out. A second mouse called out, "Let's make the cat play by our rules!" After a few minutes this idea was also tossed out as an unrealistic option. Not to be discouraged, a third mouse called out, "Let's just kill him." This was by far the best option offered. However, after additional discussion they realized that they did not have the tools or resources to kill something so much larger than themselves. Finally, from one of the smaller and less experienced members of the mouse group, a suggestion was made to put a bell on the cat. The bell would ring and notify all the mice when the cat was coming. It was simple and brilliant. There was much rejoicing. All agreed it was the perfect answer. Until, the same small mouse asked, "But which one of us is going to put the bell on him?" The mouse parable highlights a clear solution to an obvious situation that no one would want to implement. This story should hit home for anyone in the business world wrestling with many of the exciting new technology options available to us today. The technology "cat" is an unsettling presence that every organization that wants to stay alive, must deal with. For years organizations have tried to "ignore the cat" by dismissing new technology as a fad. A perfect example is the cell phone. The nay-sayers at the beginning said cell phones were a gimmick and would never catch on. They believed that only the very wealthy would ever use or want one. Looks like that "cat" made mince-meat of those businesses that did not change and adapt. In 1981, before a Congressional Meeting the entertainment industry tried another tactic. They wanted to "kill" the VCR "cat". They said that the VCR would destroy the movie industry outright. Did it happen? No. Instead, the VCR increased people's hunger for quality entertainment and brand new businesses like Blockbuster were born. Change does not have to be a zero-sum game if you rethink not only the delivery models of what your business does but also your business models. New technology does bring risk for business. Many times it is easy to describe the "cat", but much harder to "bell" when you have so much existing infrastructure and business at stake. Problem is, customers don't care. They want the quality experience, interaction, and communication that only technology allows. If you are not going to fill their needs, they will find a competitor who will. People said that nothing would replace radio. I bet those same people are eating those same words with the boom of Apple's iPod. Why listen to commercials and songs you don't want to hear, when you can download thousands of commercial-free songs onto something that fit's in a pocket and goes anywhere you do? Apple took the chance that they could fill an unmet need, then did it. I guess you could say that the iPod is the cat to the radio industry's mouse. Too bad the radio industry decided not to "bell" that particular cat. I hear radio listnership is at an all time low. Isn't it time to recognize that the technology "cat" has built a home and is not going away? How you plan to deal with it will directly impact whether it will become a minor inconvenience or a constant threat. And whether your business will gain or loose market share. Half the challenge of getting a bell on a cat is accepting that it has to be done. Just think. If you embrace your cat now, you can pat yourself all the way to the bank for the foresight to get that bell on him. By Samantha Rufo, nxtConcepts Need help implementing a new sales or marketing program? We've got two suggestions: a) Check out our free marketing templates and tools on this site. There's ton's of them. You might want to bookmark the site now, you could be here awhile. Just become a registered member (it's free) of the myMarketingGuide.com website and you can download hundreds of other articles, templates and more. Don't worry, we respect your privacy. |
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