Jul 1, 2013
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Buyer’s remorse.
It’s something we’ve all experienced and are eager to not experience again. So much so, in fact, that we as a society will spend hours, days, and weeks on end researching different product specs and deals just so we can feel justified in buying that 60” LCD screen. In lieu of this there is a phenomenon that has cropped up and is of interest to the business population at large. It is called media convergence.
Media convergence.
This is something we’ve all experienced, but what we don’t realize is this can affect our business purchases as well as personal toys. Simply stated, media convergence is the technological phenomenon that we are currently living in, i.e., internet on cell phones, social media sites on big-screen tvs, and books on tablets.
This is a relatively new thing that is happening to technology, though something savvy buyers have already realized. The real question is how you are supposed to make the best buy for your business, when everything does everything? While there is no magic procedure, knowing a couple basic tips can help you.
There is no right answer.
Despite what every advertisement will tell you, there is no right answer for everyone. Different products have so many features and specs that you could spend weeks researching them. Keep your business in mind. For example, a modern day T.V. can basically do many of the same things that a computer does, but if a laptop gets the job done then buy your employees a laptop. However, if they only perform a couple of tasks and a tablet would help them, then buy the tablet. There is no right answer for everyone.
Research.
This cannot be stressed enough. If you are looking at getting a T.V. for your waiting room then don’t buy the top of the line T.V. for it just because it is the “best in the market”. Some T.V.’s are meant to be put in a dark basement and function best with little to no light. If your waiting room has a lot of windows you just blew thousands on a T.V. that only gets half the quality. Likewise with other products, if it is top of the line then it might be too much for what you need.
Is it practical?
That’s the only question that you have to ask. Ask it in your head a hundred times while you are looking at purchasing technology. Do the employees need tablets, or do their computers do the job sufficiently? Do you need office phones when their own smartphones greatly outrank anything you could purchase for them? Keep those questions running through your mind and you will find yourself passing on technologies that would have been useless to your business.