Follow up on zOMG from the admins

[Nanodeath]

i am in shock at the number of </3s... burning_eyes

[Brinstar Angelus]

Hashtable

i am in shock at the number of </3s... burning_eyes

Seems like people aren't too pleased with the response lol XD

[Nanodeath]

Brinstar Angelus

Hashtable

i am in shock at the number of </3s... burning_eyes

Seems like people aren't too pleased with the response lol XD

Lol yeah.. I'll admit the response wasn't very complete. xd
Though most of our (well mine anyways) questions have been answered now at some point or another. >w<

Lol soo tired from reading. *dies*

[Brinstar Angelus]

5:08 in the morning here, I'm still keeping tabs on this topic though, at least until I see a update on the main page telling all the new gaians that spending money on stuff for zOMG is apparently a pointless purchase.

[Starshine]

Hashtable

i am in shock at the number of </3s... burning_eyes

Pfft, DARKNRGY has nothing on one of Lux or Liz's threads rofl

I didn't even bother to vote, not worth the energy.

[Brinstar Angelus]

xd

Starshine

Hashtable

i am in shock at the number of </3s... burning_eyes

Pfft, DARKNRGY has nothing on one of Lux or Liz's threads rofl

I didn't even bother to vote, not worth the energy.

xd

[Nanodeath]

Starshine

Hashtable

i am in shock at the number of </3s... burning_eyes

Pfft, DARKNRGY has nothing on one of Lux or Liz's threads rofl

I didn't even bother to vote, not worth the energy.

True enough. I </3 all Lux's threads.. Idk who Liz is though. O.o

<3ed this one though. xd

[Tza Cow]

So much smoke in this post, I almost forgot to check the mirrors....

Blah blah this. Blah blah that.

At it's core this whole situation is nothing but LIES to your clients.

But by all means, please continue to meet and decide what excuse you are posting next....

[Leasfy]

I am so fed up with this! Lemme voice my opinion while giving you guys (admins) some advice.

in reality, Gaia is challenged to manage three paradoxes of management in all organizational context :

(1) continuous improvement
(2) step change, and
(3)punctuated equilibrium.

And because of the inevitable existence of complex adaptive systems – because of the occurrence of non – linear influences – in the businesses, unforeseeable and unpredictable outcomes that are produced can work or against the intended change making it too unpredictable to plan the future.

Traditional well-structured planned marketing planning will not be effective in dynamic market situations today. Planned approach asks marketers(which in this matter is obviously Gaia and other similar online websites) to simply follow the pre-planned approaches during the process. However, in dynamic market situations today, there are many unexpected surprises happening around the markets. Most of things are not working as planned. In this situation, marketers would not be able to well cope with the sudden unexpected surprises if they are just asked to follow preplanned instructions. Therefore, improvisation will be necessary in dynamic market situations as it is an ability to respond to something in a short time (or almost instantly). The qualities of jazz relating to marketing process are as followings :

1.Flexibility
2.Innovation
3.Self-direction
4.Structured creativity
5.Improvisation

Gaia online needs to have its own competitive advantage. Competitive advantages mean developing a position that will enable you to achieve above average profits in the long term.

1. Core competence

- Companies compete on the basis of distinctive skill – Honda’s knowledge of engines, 3M’s competence in adhesives. Successful companies remain focused on their core strengths, invest in building a critical mass in them, and de-emphasize activities that do not add value.
- Defining core competencies and organizing to support and augment them ensure continuing success under changing conditions.

2. Time compression

- From first-mover advantages via innovation to faster cycle times for product development to just-in-time deliveries and rapid response to market trends, companies are increasingly competing on time. Honda gains competitive advantage from its speedy product innovation from its ability to keep its stores stocked with hot items by manufacturing goods based on sales data and shipping them within a few days.

3. Continuous improvement

- Quality has come to mean much more than zero defects. The total quality movement now embraces continual upgrading. Companies that such step-by-step product and process improvements based on measures, feedback, and learning are imperative to their ability to compete.

4. Relationship

- Collaboration between value chain members. Collaboration and networking within organizations. Collaboration across companies, especially supplier-customer partnership, provides a fourth source of advantage. Companies stretch their own capacity through relationships, adding a partner’s competence to their own.

Social barriers to competitive advantage

- Managers are often reluctant to spread and share knowledge across and down the organization
- Groups and individuals are not encouraged to learn from each other
- Strategy is not communicated down to the shop floor
- Skunk works have produced disappointing results
- Categories of people are ignored as sources of ideas, which stifles innovation
- Organizational silos cause mistrust and rivalry, wasting resources and increasing cycle time.

Sometimes I do wonder whether Gaia's marketing team ever fully understood the 5P's of strategy.

1. Strategy is a perspective

- As perspective, strategy looks in – inside the organization, indeed, inside the heads of the strategists, but it also looks up – to the grand vision of the enterprise.

2. Strategy is a position

- Namely the locating of particular products in particular markets – Egg McMuffin for the breakfast market. “Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities”.

- Mcdonald’s introduced Egg Mcmuffin successfully because the new positon was consistent with the existing perspective. The executives of Mc’s seemed to understand well that one does not casually ignore perspective. Changing position within perspective may be easy; changing perspective, even while trying to maintain position, is not.

3. Strategy is a plan

- A direction, a guide or course of action into the future, a path to get from here to there. Then ask that person to describe the strategy that his or her own organization or that of a competitor actually pursued over the past five years – not what they intended to do buy what they really did.

4. Strategy is a ploy

- A specific maneuver intended to outwit an opponent or competitor. A corporation may buy land to give the impression it plans to expand its capacity, in order to discourage a competitor from building a new plant. Here the real strategy is the threat, not the expansion itself, and as such as a ploy.

5. Strategy is a pattern

- Consistency in behavior over time. A company that perpetually markets the most expensive products in its industry pursues what is commonly called a high-end strategy, just as a person who always accepts the most challenging of jobs may be described as pursuing a high risk strategy.

Start with a perspective, conclude that it calls for a certain position, which needs to be achieved by a carefully crafted plan. That might include a ploy. The eventual outcomes and strategy are reflected in a pattern that becomes evident in decisions and actions over time.

Have Gaia admins and its marketers ever consider BCG Matrix to see where Gaia sits at?

The BCG Matrix bases its theory on Product Life Cycle. PLC explains that a product progresses through a sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline. This sequence is associated with changes in the marketing situation, thus impacting the marketing strategy and the marketing mix.

BCG matrix is divided into four types of scenarios, the Stars, Cash Cows, Dogs and Question Marks.

This matrix provides a picture of market attractiveness and competitive position. This can be useful for planning and strategy involving companies with a portfolio of different products, business units.

• The Stars : high growth & high share, this method requires an increased investment due to the continuous growth. This generally belongs to growth period of PLC.
• The Cash Cow cycle : low growth & high share. This scenario requires a low investment, but the growth is very slow. This falls under the maturity or early decline of PLC.
• The Dogs : growth is low and the market share is low, this is one of the worst situations. In this situation if the products are not delivering the cash then it is best to liquidate.
• The last part of the cycle is the Question mark which is high market growth but low shares. In this situation there is a high demand but low returns. It is best to try and increase market share or get it to deliver cash.

Where do you guys (admins) think Gaia is positioned at? As a user, I see Gaia at the Cash Cow Cycle. If you guys are hating this model to measure Gaia successfulness, then try use ansoff or GE Grix.

It seems that Gaia is employing the End game strategy for ZOMG. Based from what I have learnt, there are four approaches in End game strategy.

1. Divest

 Once it is clear that the market is declining, potential buyers of the assets will be in a strong bargaining position. Therefore, divest early, before the decline become obvious. Ideally, another player will want to buy you out to achieve a better economy of scale and lower their cost of operation.

2. Harvest

 No new investment
 Cut maintenance
 Reduce advertising
 Stop R&D
 Reduce the number of distribution channels
 Eliminate small customers
 Reduce sales assistance
 Problems : customer & supplier confidence fades and staff morale falls. Good staff leave early.

3. Niche

 Identify a segment of the declining industry where demand is stable or declines slowly and you have the capability to make a profit
 Disinvest from other segments and establish your presence quickly

4. Leadership

 Be one of the last to leave
 Control the process of decline and avoid price competition
 Move to a controlled harvest strategy eventually
 Some useful tactics -> reduce competitor exit barriers / publicise the inevitability of the decline
 Make it more costly for competitors to stay

From my point of view as a user, Gaia is utilising a combination of niche and harvest.

Business is a game. Gaia needs to fully understand what is a game theory. A game theory is a theory that attempts to explain the interactions that occur between competitors. It is effective when it is applied to an oligopolistic situation, where the actions of each competitor can have a significant influence on how the game develops. It offers a philosophy and perspective of the dynamics of business competition that differ from those implicit in Porter’s 5 forces model.

The essence of business success – playing the right game

 Successful strategy relies on viewing the game from other people’s positions
 Actively shaping the game you play – not just playing the game you find
 Rule based game – there is a reaction to every action
 Freewheeling game, each layer contributes to the way it is played, and when they leave the game changes.
 The primary insight of game theory is to focus on others, not yourself. This is called being allocentric, the opposite of egocentric.
 The concept of coopetiton encourages thinking about both competitive and cooperative ways to change the game.

am not sure whether I have explained it in easiest way or make it more confusing @_@

[Leasfy]

I am saying that from marketing management student's point of view btw ><

[Starshine]

leasfy

I am saying that from marketing management student's point of view btw ><

I have the feeling you are wasting your time trying to explain dynamic marketing strategies to them.

Maybe Gaia should go into day time soap shows and make Days of our lives ver 2, it's obviously where their talent lies :3

[gataka]

Brinstar Angelus

5:08 in the morning here, I'm still keeping tabs on this topic though, at least until I see a update on the main page telling all the new gaians that spending money on stuff for zOMG is apparently a pointless purchase.

...you don't get what you pay for? O.o

[Leasfy]

Starshine

leasfy

I am saying that from marketing management student's point of view btw ><

I have the feeling you are wasting your time trying to explain dynamic marketing strategies to them.

Maybe Gaia should go into day time soap shows and make Days of our lives ver 2, it's obviously where their talent lies :3

gonk
seriously instead of hiring an intern they should ask help from university
I am pretty sure university would be more than happy to help. I know that marketing and management highly would help as gaia relates to internet

[Starshine]

leasfy

Asking for help is difficult for them to do unless it's you emptying money into their pockets, aka support zomg.

[Petit Marionette]

So, as Gaia staff seems to have decided against a site-wide announcement about putting the game into maintenance mode (as has been requested dozens of times by users on the z!F), I have a question: Why did you decide not to make said announcement?