1 / 12

W(h)ither Crystal?

W(h)ither Crystal?. Dr. Holly Crawford School of Engineering Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. A Decade of Changes Regulatory requirements California Consumer purchasing trends. whither (adverb) Where to? What direction?. whither (verb) To lose vitality or freshness.

sboggs
Download Presentation

W(h)ither Crystal?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. W(h)ither Crystal? Dr. Holly Crawford School of Engineering Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

  2. A Decade of Changes • Regulatory requirements • California • Consumer purchasing trends whither (adverb) Where to? What direction? whither (verb) To lose vitality or freshness

  3. Strategic Intelligence: intelligence that is required for forming policy and military plans at national and international levels Competitive Intelligence: information gathered and used by a company for the purpose of learning about itself and its competition in a given market S C Today’s businesses must use both

  4. Thinking Strategically, Acting Proactively • Forming the ICF • Anticipating California legal issues • What about consumer trends? Crystal: elegant, classy, elusive, fragile, pricey…but part of the standard household vocabulary years ago

  5. Simple Survey • Rutgers University School of Engineering undergraduate and graduate students (704) • What is crystal tableware? 4% stated glass with lead; 82% stated glassware; 14% stated “I don’t know” • Provide 2 adjectives to describe crystal tableware: glassy/glass-like and “breaks easily” • Name 1 crystal manufacturer: Only 3% of respondents could provide 1 correct name • BUT, this crowd loves to cook!

  6. How Do You Obtain Knowledge? Large corporations often have Competitive Intelligence Departments—however, small companies don’t need such Departments.

  7. But, Most Information Can Be Gotten for Free! • Trade/scholarly journals, newspapers, TV/Radio/Internet, patent disclosures, vendors, middlemen, conferences, technical reports • Gossip should not be dismissed immediately • Observe! • Look at what your competitors are doing—look at their physical plant! • Employees: Be good listeners! • Don’t be afraid to use the simple survey—utilize the web and email. Use “giveaways” as incentives to get good response rate (>20%)

  8. Analyze Your Information • Keep a record of everything you obtain—especially good for building dossiers on your competitors • Information and data, especially in larger volumes, yields patterns • Don’t gloss over information. Sometimes patterns emerge over time—other times they emerge quickly. Be patient! • Have other people analyze the information • Triangulate your information before acting on it

  9. A New Audience to Think About • “20-something generation” • They like food and beverages. They like to cook. They like wine. Cooking shows and cook books are targeting them and their likes. • This generation will become more affluent in time AND, many members will have children (another generation of crystal buyers!) • Today, crystal can resonate with both theTiffany’s™ and the Target Club Wedd™ crowds

  10. WHY? Because crystal is an obtainable artform, is affordable, sturdy, and steeped in the Guild tradition. Plus, it is handcrafted and/or manufactured by skilled artisans.

  11. Use Strategic and Competitive Intelligence • Yes, the tasks take time and information gathering can be a rather plodding exercise—one that might take months or years before you see a payoff. • But, the payoff for the ICF members is a big one: a more solid, vital, and profitable future. • WITHER CRYSTAL? NOT A CHANCE!

More Related