Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

But wait there's more!

One of the things that I never fail to remember when asked about my childhood is TV shopping. You may think those infomercials sucked, but my brother and I had a GREAT time just watching those people promote the products that claim to solve all our household worries--from peeling potatoes to cleaning that stubborn mess from a sofa set. They seem to have a solution to everything and that really riveted us. [gallery link="file"] What would always make us sad at the end of any day is the fact that all these things are just too expensive, especially for us kids who are only used to getting coins from the elders to put in our coin banks. Even when they end with the line "if you call right now, you can get all these for an incredibly low, low price of only two-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-five-pesos", we know in our young hearts that we can't get hold of such wonderful treasures. Well, not just yet.

BRINGING IT DOWN TO A VERY LOW PRICE

Fast forward the scene 12 years and my childhood phase is over. I do not anymore watch those infomercials because 1) my issues are different now; 2) the things that can resolve my issues are also different now; and 3) the things that can resolve my issues found their abode at a new marketplace called the Internet.


More than that, the creators of these solutions that I need have made acquiring their products so easy that even grade school kiddos can do it on their own. In short, the changes in the needs or standards of the society have compelled, if not forced, me to open my doors in new ways of doing and resolving things. As for companies, what some of them do now is compromise. They make their products available on a demo mode (it is available for trial only for a limited time or there is a company watermark or logo on your final works, which is plain annoying) and rely on the event that the user will enjoy the product so he/she will purchase it no matter what the cost is. That seems to be a win-win situation for the company and the user. You test our product for a while and when it expires, you purchase the full version. Not quite.

ABSOLUTELY FREE

The problem with the previous scenario is that it is sometimes unlikely for a person to actually purchase the full version of a software when a similar software is also available online, which can do the same job absolutely free. And this really happens. The truth is when a company makes products that are way expensive for people to afford they will only jump to the next best option, whatever is free. And even when their second, third, fourth, or fifth options have some flaws, the fact that it is free sort of rationalizes why the rating is only 7 or 8 out of 10. This is not to say, though, that when things are free we should just take it as that, after all we didn’t pay for it. The action, which must actually come from organizations that create products or applications or those who render services, is to find acceptable areas for compromise. For one, they cannot anymore expect people to purchase their products by solely relying on such uncontrollable events. It follows, then, that there arises a need for them to find new ways of generating income.

Organizations have a responsibility to make peoples lives easier. So they must continue to provide the needs of the public without holding on to their creations too much to the point that no one outside the organization can utilize it anymore. Moreover, they should never give out half-baked benefits to people just because they are giving out their materials for free. Take note, people jump from one product to another like they would change channels when watching TV. Uninteresting show = limited products. This is when understanding the new business model becomes necessary.

IF YOU CALL RIGHT NOW

Some organizations outside the Philippines have already called in the idea of sharing, opening, peering, and acting globally. They are successful because they have capitalized on this new business model that requires more disclosure and less secrecy. Why do you think that even when there are groups who think that infomercials featured by TV shopping networks suck, it is still very much alive up to now? It’s because they tell you everything, even those half-truths or trivial stuff. And people like knowing what they are getting. They do not necessarily experience the products but as shown in TV the product actually works wonders. These companies who feature their products are not scared that their competitors might copy whatever they have and come up with something better because they know they have the advantage of offering it first and the power of being on air. Why do you think that the undying presence of infomercials does not necessarily translate to a skyrocketing audience response? It is because their tactics have not changed at all. They use rhetorics, though not so well, because what they only blab about are the supposed usefulness of stuff that they have invented, which people do not really find revolutionary because people already have some form of technology, though not as well-made as those endorsed products, but it works fine with them. And it is not even as expensive as what that pitchman is plugging.

THE MORE PART

These seemingly contradictory things have an implication to the practice of organizational communication in the Philippines. As OrCom practitioners, we do not want our organizations to call off any chance for success by creating an impenetrable wall around us. We also do not want our beloved organizations to be gathering dusts in the shelves.

This is why our responsibilities in the near future are greater than ever.

First, traditional organizations must be taught how to see the concept of disclosure at a different light. The changing business landscape may still be unknown to majority of Philippine organizations, save those who have counterparts in advanced countries. Hence, it is expected that OrCom practitioners lead the game by teaching them how the new business communication model is more beneficial than detrimental to them. All our publics—business partners, competitors, customers, and a lot of other institutions—influence the way we design and execute our final product. We cannot chose to just let one group in. Either we let all of them in or we block them all.

Secondly, practitioners must teach members of the organization how to make use of social media in ways that can benefit all parties. Conducting trainings, seminars, and workshops may help not only in establishing awareness of the dynamic rules of the game, but will also help them in leveraging whatever technology is available to them at present. In a country where the Internet is a tool that can help someone be productive in the same way that it can also be counterproductive, measures must be taken such that the Internet is used for maximum productivity, for the benefit of all.

So with all that's been said, I end with the magic phrase. Call right now!

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