Accommodating Change & Fighting Pirates . . . By Director Wayne Hall

April 30, 2008

photo


Accommodating Change

It’s amazing how incremental change creeps up on you. Twenty years ago it seemed that if you changed jobs less then every three years you were considered an unstable employee (trust me, I was there!). These days it is pretty well the opposite – you’re almost considered strange if you stay in the one position for three years. The world has become so much more transient in so many ways, and no doubt the desire for immediate gratification (txt messages, auto-tellers, internet downloads, automated phone attendants) is a function of this condition.

This situation poses an interesting dilemma for business who operate physical environments (retailers, fast food, hospitality, institutions and the like) because on the one hand people like familiarity . . . to feel comfortable . . . however, on the other they want to deal increasingly with businesses who are 'with it' and can attend to their needs efficiently. Or at least are perceived to do so.

So, back to my opening point . . .

The café, pub or retailer you engage with these days is far less likely to have in place the key 'comfort' component we took for granted years ago - the person who worked there for an extended period . . . the person who smiled, said hi and enquired about your dog. (Having said this I suspect that many switched on café operators have been able to fast track their customer relationships to a point of familiarity because of the frequency with which many of us purchase a cup of coffee). As much as possible, these establishments look to make up for this loss of familiarity through, for example, consistent design and décor - while at the same time chase a 'with-it' feel through technology that entertains and/or (hopefully) informs. When in doubt, add a plasma screen . . .

Music, of course, can play a critical role here, because done properly and in concert with other factors (fragrance, lighting, colour, design) it has the capacity to act as a comfortable constant in any environment, while at the same time give a contemporary, 'switched on' feel.

On the face of it, getting a music strategy to achieve this can seem a daunting task. In fact, it’s quite a straight forward exercise, so long as it is approached in a logical, informed fashion. Most importantly, it can add a lot of value by extending customer time in an environment, resulting in increased purchases (greater yield) per customer. Staff productivity and morale are also improved, and research continues to support this experience.

If you would like to review and refine your music strategy, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at wayneh@sbamusic.com.au or go to our website for an overview of our methodology.

Fighting Pirates

It has been great to see the energy with which the Music Piracy body - MIPI - has gone about it’s mission of attacking piracy issues during recent times. If you are on their email list, as I am, you can’t help but be impressed by the number of successful raids that are being conducted by MIPI on what feels like a weekly basis.

Sabiene Heindl, General Manager of MIPI, has introduced to that organisation a tenacity that is getting results in all areas of the business & consumer music markets. In addition to proactively seeking out pirated product, MIPI also encourages the reporting of alleged piracy by calling 1800 06 16 16, or via their website at www.mipi.com.au. 


Wayne Hall
Director

Back to Top

For more SBA Business News Articles, click here.