The Power of "The Tube"
I’ve been following with great interest the various videos on YouTube about Apple launching a new iPad Mini (the “7”).
It all started some months back when I watched a video about why people should buy the iPad Mini 6. There are plenty of good reasons (which I shan’t go into here). However, I then saw more and more of these videos appearing, partly I suppose because YouTube’s algorithms had seen that I had watched one, but was there also an ulterior motive?
By this, I mean, was Apple deliberately promoting purchase of the iPad Mini 6 to reduce stocks as it is, according to the “experts” time for an update of this iPad model? if this is so, getting rid of as much unsold stock as possible, makes a lot of sense (and profit!).
Rumours now abound as to when (and even if) Apple will indeed update and upgrade its iPad Mini as it is in theory about time - the current model is over 2 years old, after all. The next question becomes then if they do, when will they announce it and when will it start shipping?
The rumours have now shifted gear and seem to be more along the lines of “What changes can we expect?” or “What changes we’d like to see”. In other words, people seem to take it as a given that Apple will update the iPad Mini series.
Whatever happens the hype and the interest seem to be increasing. No doubt Apple will be making an announcement in good time, but meantime they’re cleverly building the suspense and interest to their advantage.
What this shows for me is the power of social media at its best. By planting a few stories here and there, or “leaking” the odd photo or rumour, one can shape opinion, arouse interest and shape attitudes although a short video. TikTok offers the same but in a 30-second clip.
Just as one can use this to one’s advantage to promote products or services, we need to remember that others can exploit it for the opposite effect: to air a grievance or complain.
For us as business leaders, an awareness of how social media can be used (or, dare I say, abused?) is becoming ever more important in promoting what we do or minimising damage where required. It’s a “double-edged sword” and we need to bear this in mind even more than ever.
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Selling, Strategy
H-Appy Customers?
Has anyone noticed how more and more organisations have their own “app”?
A majority of the businesses with whom I now deal have their own app to assist their clients in carrying out various activities. For regular users of that business, this is great). In my case, there are plenty of businesses with which I don’t regularly interact. I don’t need or want their app for a single transaction.
And yet they insist on customers downloading their app. Part of this may be so that, in future, if the customer does decide to deal with them again, they already have the ability to do so. Not a bad idea. However, many of us will have encountered problems with his approach.
The first is that when, downloading the app, one is usually asked to “open an account” or “register”. To do this, customers usually need to supply an email address. Once the business has this, they can put that customer on their email marketing list and send marketing literature. Of course, I may be ascribing unduly sinister motives to many businesses. I do, however, wonder whether there is a grain of truth in this. Usually one has the option (when registering) to state that one doesn’t want to receive marketing emails. If not, the only solution is to “unsubscribe” on receipt of the first marketing email (if we have this option) or to divert it to our “Junk” folder for the future.
The second problem with using an app (particularly if the business insists on it) is that the app needs to be upgraded as and when smartphone operating systems are upgraded. How many complaints have I seen that state that “the latest upgrade is no good”? Some businesses do a great job with upgrades; some don’t.
The third problem is that, if one has to download the app before one can continue the transaction, this extends the process and may put customers off. It gets worse when either the app doesn’t respond, internet access is limited or the app “can’t accept the new registration”.
The final issue in my experience is that certain apps will only accept registration and/or interaction if the customer is in the same country as the business. This may be due to legal or safety reasons, but again, it makes it more difficult to deal with that supplier. The answer here is to use a VPN.
Mobile apps have a useful and growing place in our modern world. This is only likely to continue. We as businesses need to ensure that we define the standards and services provided by our apps and that they work as intended. Failure to do so is more likely to result in unhappy customers and negative publicity.
Does your business or organisation have its own app and, if so, what standards are in place to make sure it does, what it says it will do? Have you checked whether it enhances or kills the customer experience?
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Customer Care, Productivity, Selling, Strategy
Smart Watch?
From almost nothing at the start of the second decade of the 21st century, the Smart Watch is becoming the must-have accessory.
Smart watches range from low priced models to high end offerings by Europe’s premiere watch houses. Everybody has realised they need to jump on the proverbial bandwagon.
I first became aware of the smart watch round about 2010-2011. Functionality then was basic. As time went on, technology, processes and functionality improved in power and deliverables. Smart watches can now check our health, time exercise and its intensity and alert someone if we take a nasty fall. We can listen to music, we can find our mislaid smart phone, we can see weather forecasts - all on our wrists.
I went down the smart watch “rabbit hole” some years ago when I was given an Apple Watch as a Christmas gift. I loved it! As usual, Apple had entered the smart watch market late, but when they did, they produced the smart watch to define all smart watches in terms of aesthetic, functionality and accessories.
After three years of continuous wear, I discovered the inherent flaw in the smart watch. Apart from a battery that needs charging every 24-36 hours, it needs two essential ingredients to operate: processor and operating system. After about three years, when I wanted to update my watch’s operating system, I had to reset the watch as the processor and memory were no longer able to handle the new upgrades. By the fourth year my watch had become an expensive bracelet.
I have watches that are 25 to 30 years old. They aren’t smart watches but they still fulfil their primary function of telling the time. This is why one buys a watch in the first place. Everything else is a “nice to have”.
Just like computers, laptops and smart phones, the smart watch is designed with “built-in obsolescence”. Unless operating systems and the processors that run them evolve to the degree that they no longer need to be changed every few years, we will have to buy a new smart watch.
Compare this with one of my favourite automatic watches: a Rolex GMT Master 2. I purchased it just over 30 years ago. Apart from the odd service, it continues to perform admirably. It has also increased in value. One can’t say the same for a smart watch.
The smart watch is here to stay. There’s no denying that it has a place in the fitness and health monitoring industries. However, there will probably come a point for most smart watches where the incremental gains of replacing it every 3 to 4 years are outweighed by the costs of doing so. Contrast my Rolex which, if amortised over the 30+ years I have owned it, has turned out to be a better investment. I know I can sell it for far more than I could sell an out of date, smart watch!
Where does this leave us? Those who value the benefits that the various models and types of smart watch can provide will provide a market for it. Doubtless, technology will continue to improve and smart watches may last longer, not require charging every 24 to 36 hours, and be recyclable into the bargain.
Until then, I will continue to rely on my old-fashioned automatic and quartz analogue and digital watch collection for the function I need: to tell me what time it is.
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Leisure, Productivity
No Power
Towards the end of 2023, we experienced an almost nationwide power cut. Our offices had to close, many residential areas were without power until 1:30 am the next mornin, and at the time, nobody seem to know what had caused the cut.
The power cut came at midday, when the country was at its hottest and temperatures exceeded 30°C. We closed our business and went home. Luckily, our business is the sort that lends itself to remote working, so that wasn’t a problem. For some (lucky) reason, we had power in our residential area so could work in air-conditioned comfort. This wasn’t the case with all our team and some of them must have spent a very unpleasant afternoon (albeit at home) until power was restored.
Imagine the effects:
- Businesses forced to close because they had no power and couldn’t ring up sales on cash tills.
- At home, suffering from 30°C heat whilst waiting for power to come back online.
- Traffic lights inoperative due to lack of power (one of our team saw two traffic light related accidents on their way home).
- Schools forced to close.
- Port and airport services again, reduced to the bare minimum (hopefully they had emergency power supplies).
- Police stations perhaps also forced to close, the same with fire stations.
- School exams, interrupted and schools, having to let pupils and staff return home.
- Other necessary businesses and services closed.
- Potential security problems arising from systems, electrically, operated doors, et cetera not working due to lack of power.
This was an eye-opener. We’ve experienced short (power cuts lasting around one or two hours) power cuts before and luckily, they’ve been at night. This was more serious: it happened during a working day. What would the impact on the economy have been?
Workers would have had to go back home (especially if their children had been sent back from school) and wait until they could get air-conditioning, or at the very least a fan going when power whilst restored. Refrigerators and freezers in supermarkets would have stopped working and food may have spoiled.
The elderly and ill would have suffered.
That there was economic damage, there is no doubt. The question I asked myself after this, though, was what would be our plan if this happened again? As I mentioned before, for our business, it was easy to send our team home, but for others, this may not have been such an easy option.
Equally, when we got home, we might have found that we had no power. What would we have done then? Basic precautions like keeping fridges and freezers closed were one thing but we would have had no air-conditioning and no fans operable. This would be a situation where any solar powered fans or large capacity, portable power stations would have come into play.
The problem is these things cost money and would have to be bought over a period of time. I’ve seen plenty of large capacity power banks that can be charged from the mains or a solar panel, and that can supply a low domestic current for a short period of time. However, they are expensive and I don’t know what their “useful life” is. There seems little point in investing hundreds of dollars in a high-capacity power station that might only be needed once or twice a year and will lose its capacity after four or five years. We would then have the additional problem of disposing of it in an environmentally friendly manner.
The other option would, of course, be a generator powered by petrol, diesel or other fuel. These again need maintenance, and unless one lives in an area that is prone to regular power cuts (at least once a week or more) they are probably a luxury rather than necessity. In the gales of October 1987, after my parents’ house was cut off from electrical power for 10 days, my father invested in a generator which was never needed for emergency power from that moment on.
What are our contingency plans as leaders in the event that our offices, and or Holmes are deprived of power for more than, say, two hours? What are the security and welfare aspects for our staff that we need to consider? Which of our staff could get home easily?
Our job as leaders is to have plans for these, and discuss them with our people, so, if something happens, people have direction.
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Crisis Management, Leadership, Strategy, Teamwork
