Alfred P. Sloan, the father of planned obsolescence and strategic planning marketed it this way: “Make a car for every purse and purpose.” Using a marketing push: “A little newer, A little better, A little sooner,” Sloan turned GM into the largest corporation in the world, while creating the behemoth second hand (used) car industry.
Last month we read that the $85 billion GM bailout may STILL not save the day. From the very top to the near bottom in 60 years. Wake us all up here!
GOOD: This won’t happen to us or our companies. We know our history and we should know our industry by now! Our smartest device, the one between our ears, refuses to accept that every useful contrivance that makes our world modern has been designed to fail us after a predetermined period of time. We won’t get fooled again. Right?
BAD: Wrong! The next lesson we learned was from Value Engineering, through which we endured an engineered process that found the minimum performance bone, wrapped it up with one, maybe two years of performance, sold it, and then waited for Cinderella’s pumpkin to break down, which it did, again and again.
Consequently, from stage right and left — global competition arrives and delivers two, three, and five year warranties (for cars, 10 years or 100,000 miles) — fair enough propositions that allowed us all to readjust our business philosophies, preferences, and budgets.
UGLY: How does obsolescence still haunt us? Ironically, now that a plethora of products and solutions are available to us, from home and abroad, the MARKETING is out of synch! All spin-spam and no content makes Jack a dull boy! Great products and solutions are out there dying on the channel vines — because these products and solutions can’t find their way to the right HVAC markets and people.
The Control Trends is the social conduit committed to work with manufacturers and vendors to get their products and solution messages out from beneath the blankets of obsolete marketing! Control Trends has its eyes and ears trained to the needs and concerns of its community, and it’s arms outstretched to its HVAC, building automation, and control channel partners.
As the CTA Awards nomination period approaches, Quality and Durability, alongside with Innovation and Technology will return to CENTER STAGE — and your involvement assures YOUR message will be delivered!
Obsolescence and Value Engineering are no longer imposed. They are choices — REGISTER FOR THE CTA AWARDS TODAY!
One Response
Nice write up. I enjoy reading The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Not many will buy new cars with the current economy. But when the HVAC system shuts down then the phone rings off the hook.