Monthly Archives: May 2022

by | Monday, May 30, 2022 · 7:35 am

Car Washes That do More than just Wash and a Buff

I don’t know about you, but I love a good car wash. Nothing beats taking a dusty, dirty car and turning it into a clean and shiny car.

But, car washes are pretty boring fare. Just basic. Wash and dry. Maybe a little wax. And we can do this ourselves (if lucky enough to have a house and yard), or we can go to a car wash for different levels of service from self-serve to full-detailing.

One of the problems with car washes is their total lack of appeal for customers while waiting for the car to be cleaned. Bored patrons. Utilitarian building. No appeal. No community. Wouldn’t it be nice if car washes were, well, attractive and welcoming?

Some car washes have seriously upped their game, adding coffee shops, bars, food, hookah bars, and more. The result is to make it more like a club – and keep customers there to spend more money and time.

One car wash in Sioux Falls, S. D., offers locally roasted coffee along with sandwiches and pastries. Another business offers pet-washing stations plus doggy snacks. A car wash in Zurich, Switzerland, has a dance club on the second floor so that customers can dance while they wait. And, a car wash in Plano, Texas, uses advanced technology in its $5 million facility with a luxury lobby complete with televisions and café

Lest you think car washes are small potatoes, a research report shows it growing to a $38 billion market by 2030. However, start-up costs for an express exterior car wash can be several million dollars. Businesses need a little competitive edge and better services could help differentiate car washes.

Care for a latte while you wait?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Start with a poll. What do students dislike about car washes? What amenities would they like to see in an upscale car wash?
  2. Discuss competition: Who are the direct competitors for this service? What are the points of difference?
  3. Discuss the four I’s of services: Intangibility, inconsistency, inseparability, inventory.
  4. Where on the service continuum is a car wash?
  5. Service encounters: Develop a customer contact audit for a luxury car wash.
  6. Divide students into teams and have each team develop their own car wash service.
  7. Who is the target market? How will they promote it?

Sources:  Jordan, M. (26 April 2022). The luxury car wash: Dog spa, hookah and even lamb chops while you wait. Wall Street Journal.

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by | Friday, May 27, 2022 · 7:27 am

Meet Pixy – Snap’s Flying Camera

It’s spring! Birds are flying! So are drones! What?!

Well, if you look up and see a flying yellow saucer-type of thing hovering nearby, don’t worry. It’s not an invasion by aliens. It’s only a friendly flying camera-drone from camera company Snap named “Pixy.” No more of that “who has the longest arms?” awkward stretching to get everyone in the frame. Now, just launch the bright yellow flying puck from your hand to take lots of photos and videos.

Pixy is now available for purchase online from Snap for $230. Unlike the larger drones, Pixy is small and light, and works without a controller. Take it on a picnic and carry it in your pocket. Immortalize the day by selecting one of its four pre-programmed flight modes and launch away.

Pixy even sounds friendly with its quiet propellers. A full battery charge should give five to eight short flights (10-20 seconds). Extra batteries are $20 and a portable dual-battery-charger sells for $50.

And if you like to take a LOT of photos, Pixy shoots up to 100 videos or 1,000 photos stored on a 16GB drive. The photos may not be high quality, but it is a fun way to capture moments. Images are synced to Memories in Snapchat.

(It may be small, but it is still classified as a drone under FAA regulations and operators are required to obtain a Remote Pilot Certificate (.)

One caution ~ be careful in the wind! (And by trees, too.)

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Show Pixy website: https://pixy.com/
  2. Also show a WSJ video on how it works: https://on.wsj.com/3LvdIGS
  3. Poll students: Who would be interested in buying a Pixy? How much would they spend?
  4. Competitor Air Neo: https://airselfiecamera.com/
  5. Discuss the various pricing models in class: demand-oriented, cost-oriented, profit-oriented, and competition-oriented.
  6. For Pixy, divide students into groups and have each group work on any/all of the six steps.
  7. When setting the price level, assign each team a different model to use (demand-oriented, cost- oriented, etc.).
  8. Debrief the exercise. Compare the various pricing models and discuss advantages/disadvantages of each.
  9. Optional: FAA Drone Pilot Certificate site: https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_pilot/

Sources:  Heath, A. (28 April 2022). Snapchat’s flying camera. The Verge.; Stern, J. (28 April 2022). Snap Pixy review: A mini-drone to take selfies for you. Wall Street Journal.; other news sources.

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by | Wednesday, May 25, 2022 · 7:19 am

Finally March Madness Applies to Women’s Basketball, Too!

By chance did you watch the NCAA Final Four Basketball? It was an incredible final match-up with Univ. of Connecticut and South Carolina, with So. Carolina the final champion. What a game!

Oh wait. Sorry. Did you think I meant the men’s final? Not this year – it was the women getting some equity and coverage. Finally.

Remember last year’s disparity in how the men’s and women’s teams were treated? The issue caught fire online and the outrage caused an outside review of the NCAA’s treatment of the tournaments. The 200-page report stated that the NCAA “prioritized men’s Division I basketball over everything else” – including broadcast agreements, sponsorships, distribution of revenue, and culture.

Not only were locker rooms and equipment clearly unequal (among many other issues!), but the women’s tournament wasn’t even allowed to call itself ‘March Madness’. Only the men’s tournament could use “March Madness” branding. And we all know how powerful branding is for business.

In response to the report’s findings, there were a lot of changes made this year and you may have noticed expanded media coverage as one of the changes. It seemed as if suddenly sports journalists discovered just how powerful women’s basketball was with audiences.

The final championship game was the most-watched women’s national championship since 2004. The 4.85 million viewers on ESPN was an increase of 30% from 2019. The full NCAA Division I women’s tournament averaged 634,000 viewers/game for an increase of 16% from last year. In terms of hours of TV viewing, it was roughly 4.1 million more hours of viewing this year versus 2021!

The research report also found that NCAA has left tens of millions of dollars on the table due to its NOT recognizing the earning potential of the women’s tournament. Estimates are that the women’s tournament could bring in as much as $100 million in broadcast payments. That’s revenue that NCAA can’t afford to miss!

Think about it for a minute. The math is simple.

More viewing hours means more opportunity for marketing and advertising.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who watched the women’s tournament? Who watched the men’s tournament? Why or why not?
  2. Show video of last year’s discrepancies: https://youtu.be/ozGknW86DWA
  3. (Optional) Video of the money behind March Madness: https://youtu.be/ubqGb4_iJMI
  4. Discuss how to build and use a SWOT analysis grid: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (internal and external factors).
  5. For NCAA, break students into teams and have each team build a SWOT analysis grid.
    1. Strengths: what is company good at?
    1. Weaknesses: what needs work?
    1. Opportunities: what is going on in marketplace?
    1. Threats: what should company be wary of?
  6. Based on the analysis, what are the issues and risks that might occur?
  7. Where would the women’s basketball tournaments fit into the grid?

Source:  Baccellieri, E. (18 March 2022). March madness faced a gender reckoning. Now everyone gets a pasta station – but what else? Sports Illustrated.; Bachman, R. (15 March 2022). A year later, women’s NCAA tournament has more teams, more sponsors and ‘March Madness’. Wall Street Journal.; other news sources.

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