It worked for Disneyland in their haunted mansion, but will it work for you?
Living in Southern California had one big perk for a young lad, Disneyland. Growing up, I would go one or two times a year, and would ride the attractions over and over. One of my favorites was the Haunted Mansion. My cousin Bill and I watched it being built for years tying to imagine how the Disney Imagineering could conduct a ride in a fancy mansion. We weren’t disappointed once it opened. What I recall was at the end of the ride was a miniature female “ghost” hologram. After exiting the pod you were riding in, you would get one last thrill riding up the escalator by this woman who would say, “Come back! Come back!” It was just too cool, especially to two 12 year old boys.
Now, this holographic technology has made it to the mainstream as a hologram, virtual assistant that offers customers information in place of a real person. (Hologram Employees: Can Virtual Workers Replace Real Ones? by Anthonia Akitunde.)
These holograms come with a basic touch screen to help visitors ask questions. The article claims they will be everywhere in five years. (You have already seen them on live concert stages like Tupac (pardon the language).
If you are an industry leader with a heavy cost in sales personnel, you may be asking if this is right for you? The answer is that you are answering the wrong question.
It is very tempting to follow the herd without thinking. But you must remember the first step in business development: Develop and implement a strategy. Jumping into the latest and greatest is not a strategy, it is an orphaned tactic. It would be like setting sail on a brand new boat with no map or compass.
Strategic planning is a “must” for any business. To ignore this step increases your risk of failure, or at least solidifies years of frustration. You must stop, step back, and lay out your 10-20 year plan with strategic planning aspects. A great combination is to lay out the strategy in light of your current accounting situation, and then monitor it by combining your strategy with your accounting tactics. These will be the milestones that will monitor your progress.
Good business practices dictates planning. And planning is not a ghost that hovers in the back of you mind. It is a real, deliberate direction that may prevent failure.
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