We also need to figure out how to better leverage social media to not only create a deeper level of engagement with our consumers, but to be able to understand how our brand is perceived in the virtual world, and use this feedback to shape perception and deal with real issues in real time.
All the marketing and advertising campaigns in the world won’t help you is the “buzz” on the street is that your company doesn’t “get it” or that your products and services don’t hit the mark or deliver the kind of value your consumers are demanding.
Bid data isn’t about technology. It’s about creating that one to one personal experience that each of us craves as consumers. Just remember how frustrated you get when you deal with a company that you’ve done business with for years and they have no idea of who you are and what you care about.
In this day and age when every capital expenditure is put under a microscope, it’s becoming harder than ever to continue to make the necessary investments in refreshing the technology our companies need to compete in the marketplace.
Many technologies, especially back end devices such as storage, servers, routers, switches (and bears …oh my!) are viewed as a black hole of spending on commodity products and utility services. Besides can’t we just put everything in “the cloud” (that’s what the airline magazine your CEO just read on his trip to Los Angeles suggested).
We have established a three year technology refresh cycle for both back end infrastructure capabilities as well as front end client devices such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones. This was a hard fought battle that was won over time and required much in the way of education and explanation of RIO.
Here are a few ways to think about this that may help support your case.
When I worked at Pfizer I had many a late night when the only person left in the building who I saw while leaving was a maintenance worker who was changing light bulbs. Me being the kind of person who can’t help himself, couldn’t resist asking this gentleman why while making his rounds he was replacing not only the burnt out bulbs but also replacing light bulbs that seemed to be working perfectly fine. His response to me was that the cost of the bulbs themselves was insignificant compared to the cost of the time required to service the fixtures to replace the bulbs. This was (no pun intended!) a light bulb moment for me.
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Technology Refresh
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