by Jimmy Harris
Well, here we are well in to a brand new year! And since you're about to start a new fiscal year as well, I thought it would be a good time to consider new technology. Specifically, when is the best time to adopt new technology from a profitability standpoint? But before I delve in to the topic, I'd like to take a quick look back at 2007.
Thanks to so many of you, 2007 was another solid year of growth for Harris Communications, Inc, and winonhold.com. After 12 years of service, we were named WinWholesale's Preferred Vendor for on-hold marketing. (Many thanks to Joe Verow and JW Day!). All told, more than 80 Winwholesale stores came to us to help them grow in 2007, bringing our total number of Winwholesale customers to just a few more than 265 - and 6 new stores have already signed up since New Year's Day!
So, whether you've been our customer for 10 years or 10 days - or you're a future customer (we hope)- please know that I speak for the entire staff when I say that I sincerely appreciate your business! Please feel free to call me personally any time.
OK, on to technology...
Best I can tell, people generally fall into one of two types.
First, there's Gadget Gary. Mr. Gary had a cell phone in 1984. Of course it cost him $2,300, it worked intermittently, it came in a bag, weighed 19 lbs, had to be installed professionally, and only worked IN the car... but he had one! Today, Gadget uses his 4 ounce phone to send and receive e-mails, capture and display photos, keep up with his appointments, listen to his expansive music library, manage his stock portfolio, wake him up in the morning and keep up with his fantasy football league! Gadget, who doesn't mind a little risk, adopts new technologies early - as soon as they're available on the market. He figures he'd better invest in the new technology, or his competitors will - and he'll get left behind! Are you a Gadget Gary?
Now, let's consider Mr. "Slowpoke" Sam. Sam didn't buy a cell phone in 1984, and only uses one today because his wife makes him. He knows how to make a call, and how to answer a call (when he remembers to keep it with him) and that's about it. Slowpoke Sam is risk-averse, and doesn't believe he should invest in new technology until he absolutely must. Why not? Well, first of all, he has seen technologies come and go, without really ever developing. (Remember Video Discs?). Secondly, he figures the ones that last will be a lot cheaper in a few years. If you're over 40, you might remember when digital watches were $250, and had less features than the $4 digital calculator watches you can buy at any discount store. Mr. Sam doesn't want to spend money on something that isn't going to show a profit right away. Are you a Slowpoke Sam?
Next month I'll give you some guidelines on how to decide if a technology is right for you. In the mean time, I'd love to hear your take on it. Do you believe in a pro-active, forward-thinking attitude when adopting technology? Or are you part of the "wait and see" camp? If you do have some thoughts on this, please send them to me, and I'll include in in the second half of this article! Who knows, you may just save someone a lot of money . . . or help them make more!
You can email your feedback to this article, or for any other reason at jimmy@winonhold.com
Happy Inventory, and till next month . . . Stay Sharp!
Time for Something New... Or Is It?
