Be Prepared

Last week OWN, Oprah’s network, announced cutbacks of 30% and dropped the Rosie show. The new network is struggling. On January 1, 2011, OWN timed its launch and communicated well to its target market. That New Year’s Day over 85 million homes checked out OWN. With that astounding number of viewers at its beginning, the sky appeared to be the limit for the fledgling network.

In addition, this is Oprah’s network, and everything that Oprah touches is successful, isn’t it?

Evidently that’s not the case. Initiating and running a network is a different and much larger challenge than producing a one-hour program five times a week. Using Oprah’s name to get viewers interested, hyping the network’s launch, and timing the opening perfectly are not enough. The proof is in the delivery. No amount of good timing, beautiful ads, and saturated publicity matters if you are not ready to serve your customer.

OWN wasn’t ready to give customers what they wanted.

Yes, the network had a good Sunday evening show last spring which focused first on the Judds, then Shania Twain, and finally Fergie, the Duchess of York. Occasionally in the last year OWN has had a special which caught attention. However, the network did not assemble a line-up of shows which kept viewers watching for more than an hour here and there. With the small amount of talk that I have heard about OWN, I assume that it has few viewers, especially on a consistent basis.

This is happening because OWN was not prepared. Oprah launched the network while she was finishing her twenty-five year run of the Oprah Show. Doing that required most of her attention and was an emotional drain. She did not have time to focus on OWN. Therefore, OWN did not get Oprah’s touch nor her presence. Many viewers expected to see Oprah on OWN. Until recently when she started Next Chapter, her new OWN show, Oprah had been absent from the network. That was a big mistake. Viewers wanted Oprah.

Not being prepared to give customers what they want happens a great deal in business. Too frequently, businesses think that good marketing which brings customers in the door will solve their revenue problems. Some business people think that their business will “make it” if they get on the Today Show, GMA, Ellen, or another popular show watched by their target market.

In reality, this could have the opposite effect. Appearances on these shows produces an instantaneous demand. Often, this is more demand than the business can handle. Attempting to meet all that instant demand may send the business into a downward spiral. The business may overextend its resources, forcing it to take out loans and hire new people. The business’s inability to fulfill orders discourages new customers and turns away current ones. This additional pressure stresses management. The multitude of problems created by instantaneous demand compound and are a challenge to handle, particularly on short notice.

Our businesses are not tackling the launch of a network, but on a smaller scale everyday we place our marketing efforts on running a campaign, offering a discount, or somehow getting an irresistible offer to get customers to do more transactions with our businesses. We can all learn a lesson from OWN and be prepared to handle the customers who respond to our marketing efforts.

Are we ready to give them what they want?