change and games

Had a great conversation with a manufacturer yesterday about online sales and the amusement industry.

but first…

I began in ecommerce when cost-per-mil impressions on a banner ad was the standard payment structure, educating myself online all day in the office of our web design company in 2004. That entrepreneurial effort was doomed to fail from the outset, since the market was redefining itself weekly and we had no idea what we were doing. I graduated from the school of hard knocks while touching the pulse of an industry in creation, holding a knowledge of online traffic flow. Compared to the developers creating amazing new programs, I’m a computer-neophyte with a kindergartener’s vocabulary. Compared to most people, I’m an internet genius. Now I have found an industry that is a blast to work in and is ripe for new internet efficiencies. Keep it simple - Give the customer what they want.

So….
a 100+ year old game maker had to decide what to do as the industry was changing. Web stores would deliver the product to the customer’s door anywhere in the U.S., and slowly more consumers purchased all kinds of products online. The traditional stores, who still make up the lion’s share of the manufacturer’s profit, saw a decline in sales. These brick-and-mortar resellers, formerly necessary to get the product to the people en masse, suddenly feeling abandoned for startup virtual stores, banded together. “We will stop buying your product if you sell to the online retailers,” these resellers said. The game maker had to make a choice about company direction - and they did. A corporate decision was made to continue selling to the online stores. Not only did the sales of the web stores continue to grow, but the brick-and-mortar resellers did not stop buying. Their bluff had been called. The internet in its adolescent years has delivered more than one change to the way we shop and think. Distinguish your store with something better for the customer, or prepare to fail getting continued business.

I don’t know why the amusement machine industry is so resistant to change that happened in other industries ten years ago. The ground level of selling product throughout the nation has been necessary and making a strong profit for years. Now service is critical at the ground level, but the delivery of the product from source can be done with e-commerce ease and efficiency. Capitalism makes lower costs lead to a lower price for consumers. Fresh life is needed in the amusement game service, and the operators who are committed to improving their knowledge and customer service are the ones who will survive.