Tag Archives: Strategic management

August 4, 2015 · 11:53 am

39 Percent

There are days when I’m really glad that I no longer work in the traditional TV business. I mean, what business (perhaps other than music) has been so thoroughly disrupted? A statistic I came across reinforced that notion:

photo by autowitch on Flickr

photo by autowitch

“Watch a show live when it is first broadcast” placed at #1 among favorite ways to watch TV; and viewing “live when broadcast” accounts for 39% of all time spent using TV content.

That is from a study from GfK MRI called TV Share Of Clock. You can get more information about it here. I came away with one thought: I sure as heck would not want to be a programming chief these days. After all, their mission is to generate large numbers of viewers to their programming. That programming used to have a few major competitors and now there are many more. Even when we exclude niche websites that deliver video, Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu, and others comprise stiff competition.  The study reveals that 41% of TV viewers are “Digital Enthusiasts,” who subscribe to at least three digital TV services online, as well as maintain a traditional pay TV subscription.

Think about that 39%.  I wonder what the number would be if you excluded live sports and local news?  Probably quite a bit lower.  When a quarter (28%) of all TV viewing is now done via digital streaming, it’s impossible to think of the TV business in traditional terms.  This quote from a GfK MRI executive sums it up:

We live in a new type of video ecosystem, where online video and live TV co-exist amongst traditional cable offerings, apps, and digital streaming of live TV. These platforms are creating added demand for one another; viewers are checking out more – and different — content, and ultimately watching more. Even digitally savvy viewers still value time-honored TV experiences, like social viewing and second-screen experiences, thus keeping linear viewing strong in today’s digital world.

Read between the lines.  A business model built on selling advertising and charging distributors for the privilege of carrying widely viewed programming is in serious trouble.  Even ESPN is losing subscribers – almost unheard of until you begin allowing people who don’t care about sports the freedom of choice.  If you’re reading this and smirking, don’t.  This will happen to your business as well.  The world’s largest hospitality company doesn’t own a single room; the world’s biggest taxi service doesn’t own a vehicle; and the world’s largest retailer has no stores.

How are you making plans for when 39% of your users are what’s left?

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Filed under Reality checks, Thinking Aloud, What's Going On

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July 31, 2015 · 9:01 am

Scrambled Eggs

For our Foodie Friday Fun this week, let us consider scrambled eggs. They can tell us a few interesting things about business, as it turns out, and I’d like to spend a moment reviewing those things today. As an aside, you might not know that the original title of the classic song “Yesterday” was “Scrambled Eggs” and the verse began “Scrambled Eggs/Oh, my baby how I love your legs” (sing it; it will make more sense).

Scrambled eggs in the microwave

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In any event, back to our topic. You might think of scrambled eggs as one of those incredibly simple dishes that’s not worthy of investigation. I mean, has anyone ever asked you for a recipe or instructions on how to make them? Probably not. But everything is not as simple as it seems.

Some choices: do we season the eggs with salt before they go in the pan, immediately thereafter, or once they’ve firmed up? Do we add liquid? Is that liquid water, milk, cream, or something else? Is our intended texture runny, soft, fluffy or firm? Those decisions influence the heat we use for cooking, the adding of butter, and starting with a hot or cold pan. Finally, are we adding things to our eggs because some things (mushrooms, for example) need to be cooked first so the liquid they release doesn’t affect the intended egg result.

In case someone asks you for advice on how to cook scrambled eggs, those are but a few things you need to consider. It’s much the same when discussing business. There are layers of questions and no one right answer. It all depends on the results you’re after.  That’s why I don’t often tell clients what to do.  I ask them about their intended results and lay out the options.  Part of my job is to help them see what the recipe they’re using will produce, hopefully before they have wasted a lot of resources making something that they will find unsatisfying.  Even if you’re not a consultant, that’s sort of your job too as part of your team, isn’t it?

There are not a lot of times in business that there is only one way to reach your goals, just as there are many different ways to cook a delicious dish of scrambled eggs.  It’s important to take the time before you crack open the first egg or spend the first dollar to think about the end result.  That’s what drives the recipe!

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Filed under Consulting, food, Thinking Aloud

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July 23, 2015 · 10:22 am

Stirring With A Fork

One of the things I work on with clients is using the appropriate tools to solve their needs.  We also focus on using those tools in the right way, which means using the right tool in the right manner to solve the issue.  Failing to do so is the equivalent of stirring a big pot of soup with a fork.  Sure, you can sort of get things mixed up that way but there are more appropriate tools (a spoon) that are better suited for the task and which will result in a better, more efficient result.

I thought of that as I read the report on a study by Regalix.  They surveyed senior B2B marketers to understand current trends in social media marketing and the challenges faced by them in implementing a social media strategy.  While much of the data showed progress, certain results made me raise an eyebrow.  Let’s see what you think.

According to the study, 94% respondents choose increasing brand awareness as the key objective of their social media marketing efforts.  I find that interesting since many of these same marketing types denigrate the use of banners as being only suited to raising awareness and their focus is more on generating click-throughs and other direct actions.  Frankly, there are other tools more suited to the awareness task as well.  I wholeheartedly agree with this point, made in the Research Brief report on the study:

Given the power of social media to engage with customers, it is surprising to find brand awareness overwhelmingly top the list of key objectives, says the report. Perhaps, opines the report, a reflection of the fact that most organizations still largely use social media as a broadcast or advertising medium, and not as much for meaningfully engaging with customers.

Exactly, and there is our fork stirring the pot.  If all you’re doing is switching the megaphone from broadcast media to social, it’s unlikely that you’re going to have much, if any, success. How do you think you’re going to generate actionable insights from social data when you’re doing very little to engage your audience? 71% of organizations said they were either not able to measure the ROI of their social media campaigns or were not sure how to. Only 29% said they were able to measure it.  That’s not surprising since there probably hasn’t been much to measure given the inappropriate manner in which they’re using the social channels.

I have nothing against forks, but I never use them to stir the pot.  You?

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Filed under Consulting, digital media, Helpful Hints

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