The Oscars and Customer Service
Even though I'm currently attending an amazing seminar on corporate sponsorship in San Francisco, I still managed to catch bits and pieces of Sunday night's 80th Annual Academy Awards (the Oscars).
After the red carpet, I basically lost interest and didn't spend much time watching the rest of the show...and apparently, neither did anyone else. According to the ever-popular Nielsen Media Research group, the "preliminary ratings" for last night's 80th Annual Academy Awards are "14 percent lower than the least-watched ceremony ever." (Yahoo! News)
Why?
My theory is that The Oscar's lack of success in the ratings all boils down to one thing: poor customer service.
Think about it. If the show (the product) was what people across the country (the customers) wanted to watch, the ratings would be through the roof. Maybe it's time for the creators and producers of the show to do a little market research. Find out what the customers want to see. Mix it up a little bit! While there's something to be said for sticking with a tried-and-true formula in any business, when that formula fails to produce stellar results, it's time to tweak it.
If The Oscars - or any business for that matter - wants to survive, paying attention to the customer and their needs is the key. If people want more jokes and skits, give them to 'em. If they want less long-winded speeches and canned presentations, take them out. If they want the show to be under the three hour mark, re-think the format.
Know your customer. Know their needs. Know what you need to do to create the product/service that fulfills them. In reality, because The Oscars are such an institution, they will probably continue on for years to come - poor ratings or not.
But can the same be said for YOUR business?
After the red carpet, I basically lost interest and didn't spend much time watching the rest of the show...and apparently, neither did anyone else. According to the ever-popular Nielsen Media Research group, the "preliminary ratings" for last night's 80th Annual Academy Awards are "14 percent lower than the least-watched ceremony ever." (Yahoo! News)
Why?
My theory is that The Oscar's lack of success in the ratings all boils down to one thing: poor customer service.
Think about it. If the show (the product) was what people across the country (the customers) wanted to watch, the ratings would be through the roof. Maybe it's time for the creators and producers of the show to do a little market research. Find out what the customers want to see. Mix it up a little bit! While there's something to be said for sticking with a tried-and-true formula in any business, when that formula fails to produce stellar results, it's time to tweak it.
If The Oscars - or any business for that matter - wants to survive, paying attention to the customer and their needs is the key. If people want more jokes and skits, give them to 'em. If they want less long-winded speeches and canned presentations, take them out. If they want the show to be under the three hour mark, re-think the format.
Know your customer. Know their needs. Know what you need to do to create the product/service that fulfills them. In reality, because The Oscars are such an institution, they will probably continue on for years to come - poor ratings or not.
But can the same be said for YOUR business?
Labels: customer service, news, small business
posted by Michelle Yozzo Drake at 3:43 PM
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