Research: What Do You Know?
In Las Vegas, after some years of tepid growth for many years, everything finally seemed to be turning around in 2004, plus also with new resorts also opening in Macau, SAR, China. Room occupancy averaged over 90% at many resorts, and casinos could not keep up with the demand for tables and slots.
In our report, we tried to find new growth (already happening in Europe, Russia, Asia and North America), but also wondered if things might change. Our own analysis of property valuations in Europe and the United States implied an unsustainable trend, particularly for the then-impending sub-prime crisis and the inevitable shock to the financial system that would likely have to occur. AGAAS was well out ahead of these developments, and even before their impact became known, we were offering alternate strategies and preparation strategies two years early in 2006.
Similarly, we were also predicting the turn-around for Las Vegas as early as 2009, and were pleased to see the tourism and conventions pick up steadily the next few years, reaching record revenues by 2015.
The problem with this precept is that:
1. Some customers do want a local product.
2. Some do not want a given product at a given time.
One solution is to promote a product in one region at one time, and then in a different region at a different time, when it was more appropriate. Obvious? Perhaps, but few food and beverage providers actually did this regularly, choosing instead to offer a standardized experience no matter where they were located.
We looked for ways to further differentiate product offerings as well. For example, a coffee beverage could be defined in various categories such as price, flavor, options, store amenities, complementary (as in matching) menu choices, complimentary (as is gratis) samples, etc.
Many of these ideas were implemented prior to "big data", using research and trials to test ideas. Different offerings for different customers is now the norm, and is something we helped create.
Anybody can create good recommendations if they try, and everybody should try, employees and customers alike. But frustrations, daily routines, apathy, stigma and other issues ofter prevent people from doing just that. We also make recommendations based upon the ideas or observations of your employees and customers. In our coffee report, we came up with 10 detailed pages of nothing but recommendations.
If you'd rather come up with research-based ideas and recommendations on your own...great! We congratulate you, as most organizations do not undertake this process regularly enough. If you're having trouble getting started, perhaps start with our Logic Primer™. It doesn't create ideas directly, although it does create the thought processes that you need to create them.
Many of these ideas were implemented prior to "big data", using research and trials to test ideas. Different offerings for different customers is now the norm, and is something we helped create.
Anybody can create good recommendations if they try, and everybody should try, employees and customers alike. But frustrations, daily routines, apathy, stigma and other issues ofter prevent people from doing just that. We also make recommendations based upon the ideas or observations of your employees and customers. In our coffee report, we came up with 10 detailed pages of nothing but recommendations.
If you'd rather come up with research-based ideas and recommendations on your own...great! We congratulate you, as most organizations do not undertake this process regularly enough. If you're having trouble getting started, perhaps start with our Logic Primer™. It doesn't create ideas directly, although it does create the thought processes that you need to create them.