Business Model Evaluation – VenueSeen
(Without revealing too much about these new companies’ go-to-market strategies or business models, I’d like to present a new series about Business Model Evaluation. What do you think about these companies’ strategies? Are they profitable? Do they give the firm a sustainable competitive advantage?)
Today, retailers are very aware that the “buzz” going on with customers on social media platforms can contribute, or detract from, the company’s brand image. While companies try to reign in or even participate directly in this conversation happening online across various platforms, there does not exist one platform to truly engage and aggregate the data going on around one’s brand. VenueSeen hopes to provide companies with this type of granularity and data platform. By aggregating what customers share about the brand (using geo-social media – items that are tagged within a business venue), VenueSeen gives power to companies to collect data for retailers to assess and interact with their customers directly.
VenueSeen currently offers a 30-day free trial period, with plans starting at $20/month for single locations, and $40/month for up to 5 venues. Larger chains require consultation.
Until now, companies have been unable to monitor/manage real-time social media, with the added benefit of re-sharing photos through the company’s own social properties. I can only imagine that companies are very interested in engaging with their customers, and VenueSeen offers an easy-to-use, out-of-the-box solution that doesn’t require extensive knowledge of social media to start. Because the conversations occurring via social media are limitless, VenueSeen fulfills a strong business need for their clients (how to use social data). I think VenueSeen has a strong value proposition, and since the subscription price is so low (compared to company’s status quo – most likely an intern doing this “data aggregation”), I think that this is a feasible business model.
In terms of competition, this subscription service poses an interesting answer to Facebook’s (and other platform’s) monetization dilemma: could this data aggregation and reporting service become more valuable as a partial revenue model for Instagram?
What do you think? Do you like VenueSeen’s business model?
IT is Creative!
Just a quick thought as I move from office to office:
I wrote last week about an idea for companies to remain competitive, they need to adopt new technologies to automate best practices in the work space (see “Automate or Perish”). However, I didn’t think about the first requirement before companies can even reach the process of automation: Innovation. Companies must invest in and foster innovation, and build a culture of creativity before they can begin to think about automation.
IT has a bad reputation for being blandly analytical, focused on the hard data, down in the trenches. But even though IT departments build systems and automate processes, does this not require a certain level of creativity and innovation? How do organizations, especially those with legacy systems and inherited (read: grossly outdated) processes, encourage and develop employees to be creative and innovative?
Sometimes the answer is simply to employ a program whereby employees submit projects, ideas, or full proposals to try something new. An open forum works well too. A dedicated innovation budget – no matter how small – is a necessary inclusion.
If you are in a leadership role within a technology company, make sure that you encourage your team to bring new ideas and projects to the table. Remember that, as Thomas Edison found, there will be many ways not to create the next best thing, but it takes those attempts to rule out failing options. There must be investment – even in the small research projects – into innovation and creativity in IT.
Shift in Corporate IT Roles
What is your job title going to look like 3 years from now?
A recent CIO Executive Board report named five radical shifts in the organization and management of corporate IT’s traditional function. Not surprisingly (as many large organizations deal with some sort of talent management issues), the majority of IT organizations are ill-equipped to handle the resulting changes in their talent needs. Three of the five shifts driving radical change in IT talent needs exhibit opportunities for current job seekers, or soon-to-be job seekers (I’m talking to you, 2nd year MIS and MBAs!):
1. Business Process First –> Information Over Process
Where business process design now drives competitive advantage but also absorbs the lion’s share of IT investment, the future of corporate IT will shift competitive advantage toward customer experience, data analytics, and knowledge worker enablement. As a result, IT management skills will rise in importance relative to business process design.
2. Pressure for Central –> Greater Business Partner Responsibility
Governance currently guides business units and end users away from forming their own IT capabilities, but be on the lookout for business unit leaders and end users playing a greater role in obtaining and managing technology for themselves. Differentiation will have more value than standardization.
3. Fully Functional IT –> Diminished Standalone IT Role
Today the scope of central corporate IT encompasses strategy, governance, and delivery with direct control of almost all IT-related resources and activities. However, IT roles will shift to be embedded in business services, evolve into business roles, or completely be externalized. Current IT roles will be housed in a business shared services group, whereas the CIO position will expand to lead this group or shrink to manage IT procurement and integration.
These shifts will have significant changes in the way traditional corporate IT centers are run and staffed. (And a heads-up to current DBAs, SysAdmins, and Service Desk reps…Look where your jobs are going…)
So, if you’re still in school or looking for a job, consider the shifts happening in corporate IT. Process and business skills sets are becoming more critical in global companies, and communication and financial skills may be currently underemphasized (and thus a key opportunity area). Be prepared to hear more about growing buzzwords like security, process, cloud, social, and sharing in the work place.
Want to be more competitive in the marketplace? Be aware of the trends and shifts occurring in the industry, and equip yourself with the tools, knowledge, and experience critical to evolve along with the trends.
Jessica Samph
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