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TV Kills the Radio Star - Again
I never thought I would be impressed by the savvy of network TV executives - but I am.
The video Ipod launched recently and while they are focused on music videos, they have a deal with ABC to sell episodes of their hits (including "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost"), commercial free. Disney is in on it, as is Pixar – and content is being added quite rapidly. |
Not to be outdone, NBC and CBS just announced a joint deal for their content with Comcast. They'll be selling “Law and Order”, and “Battlestar Gallactica” (from the Sci-Fi Channel, which they own) for 99 cents an episode. The delivery will be via Comcast video-on-demand service – which is basically pay per view that starts whenever you want.
Brilliant – and courageous. These folks have killed the radio star once again.
You see, they have totally changed the revenue model they are comfortable with and are embracing this “disruptive technology” that we know as the Internet. They aren’t in the business of selling TV shows directly to consumers; they make their money from commercials. However, they have found that people will pay for commercial-free content.
This is the exact opposite of what music executives have done and continue to do. The reason for this is simple: you can't get the pee out of the pool.
Once people started swapping TV episodes online, TV execs were left with two choices – fight it, lose and alienate the customer base; or, embrace it and make money on the change in delivery methods. Perhaps they had been prepared by the long history of technology switches in their business (color, high definition, etc). Regardless, they have made the right move.
SO, by now you might be wondering what this has to do with your web site – quite a bit, indeed.
In order to sell things successfully on the web you'll be forced to leave your comfort zone and do things that “can't” be done.
To give you an example of the kind of practical impact all of this can have, consider the experience of one of our clients, Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch. (shameless plug - this Webby Award winning site was designed by KISS Computing).
This family run business has been taking people out on whale watching trips since 1975 – they are amazing. As the Cetacean Society International says:
"The Dolphin Fleet was the originator of east coast whale watching and, to many people, their operation is the standard by which all others should be judged."
When they came to see us at KISS, these whale lovers had a problem – the way they sold tickets just didn't seem to “work” with online sales. There were a different number of trips each day, and only so many people could fit on each boat - tickets are sold from several sources. In the unlikely event whales aren't seen, the passengers get a free trip in the future, and if the weather is lousy they don't go out.
These factors, as well as the realities of their back office operation, prevented them from engaging in online ticket sales, despite knowing that people wanted to buy tickets this way.
It was difficult, it was complicated, but KISS made them a custom piece of functionality that solved all these problems. Inventory by trip dates, proper discounts, and a backend system that would even fax them sales as they came in to make sure inventory was kept current. Simple, seamless, and easy to use.
They’ve had their “shakedown” season in 2005, the system is working well, and people are buying tickets online in great numbers.
When it comes to your site, it is likely there are things that just “can't” or “won't” work online – to succeed, you need to think differently and give your customers what they want.
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KISS News |
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KISS is pleased to announce the launch
of a new web site for Candleberry
Inn,
a lovely Bed and Breakfast spot on Route 6A, The Old King's
Highway, in
Brewster, Cape Cod. Concurrent
with the launch
of the web site was the launch of the Candleberry Inn's Innkeeper's
Journal, where Charlotte and Stuart
Fyfe, the
Innkeepers, will publish their musings on life running a Bed
and Breakfast spot.
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