Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

Tennis for two, the first electronic sports game, created over 50 years ago, was the very beginning, the birth of the video game. “Two people played the electronic tennis game with separate controllers that connected to an analog computer and used an oscilloscope for a screen.” (http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/higinbotham.asp) Today, there are numerous types of digital games and gaming consoles that would have been incomprehensible and virtual worlds that were unimaginable to that day in age. Since the first creation of the video game, games and consoles have been in a constant growing competition with each other. The top consoles that come to my mind are Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo, and PC. Some of these brands have been established for decades and have been paving the way for consumer entertainment.

The success of video games and consoles can go drastically in a positive or negative direction or at times just hang in there. There are some consumers who stay loyal to one system while others are searching the video game market for the next best thing. By using the BCG analysis technique, the video game market can be divided into four categories including cash cows, question marks, dogs, and stars. Conducting a BCG analysis can help consumers decide which video games are worth investing in and help the companies in the video game industry see their strong and weak points.

Star: iPhone games

Cash Cows: Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, Playstation, Xbox 360 With Kinect

?: Tablet Games

Dogs: PC Games, Xbox without Kinect, Facebook games

Gaming systems and outlets travel through the BCG growth share matrix for example Facebook games were once a cash cow, but they usually lose their popularity. Last weeks top selling video games by unit included four games for Nintendo, three games for Playstation, two games for Xbox 360, and only one game for PC (http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly/41112/Global/). While Nintendo took the lead in popular games for the week, according to Top Ten reviews, the Xbox 360 is rated the best game video game console stating “If you are interested in online gaming or simply want a gaming console that has a little of everything, the Xbox 360 is the system for you.” (http://video-game-consoles-review.toptenreviews.com/) I peosonally own a Nintendo DS and Wii, Playstation 2 and 3, and an Xbox 360 with Kinect and currently mostly use the Playstation 3. I use the different consoles for different reasons and games and it is too hard to choose just one.

Week 1 EOC: Great Customer Service

Customer service can make or break a business by gaining or losing customers. “Customer satisfaction depends on the product’s perceived performance relative to a buyer’s expectations. If the product’s performance falls short of expectations, the customer is dissatisfied. If performance matches expectations, the customer is satisfied. If performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly satisfied or delighted.” (Marketing an Introduction Page 20)

From my own experiences I know that what is in the quote above stands true for business and their customer service relationships. I once had one of the best customer service experiences at a Target shopping center at Boca Park in Summerlin, Las Vegas. It was a year or two ago and I had purchased a two plain t-shirts that I pain $18.50 plus tax for each. The shirts were exactly what I was looking for that day and the fact that I found them while doing some other general shopping made my day a little bit easier. When I got home I threw the shirts in the wash and followed the care instructions so I would not damage the garments. While the shirts were washing, I put the rest my purchased items away and threw the bags away, which contained my sales receipt. The next day I pulled my shirts out of the dryer and the shirts had warped and shrunk, shifted and twisted, and everything else you don’t want to happen to your new favorite clothes. On my way into town I stopped back at my local target and showed them what happened and they told me that there wouldn’t be any problems and very nicely refunded my money onto a target gift card. I did not want to get the same shirts so an exact exchange was out of the question. When I went to the women’s clothing section there was the department manager waiting for me to help me find something else to wear that I absolutely loved. I tried on a couple of things and needed a different size so she went out on the sales floor to get me the correct size. I found something I liked and was ready to go on my way. The rest of my visit was full of kind and happy employees.

This experience at target could have easily gone bad if they had rejected my return request because I had lost my receipt, but it didn’t. The guidance of the managers and other employees made my experience enjoyable, which made up for the defective shirts. All in the end will make me a Target customer for life.

About Me

Born Nicole Beverly Stephenson and raised in Traverse City Michigan I have always wanted something more exciting in my life, something more like fashion. I eventually moved to Las Vegas Nevada to pursue my dream and Graduated from the Art Institute with a Bachelors Degree in Fashion Retail and Management. Today I am a fashion illustrator and creative designer. Some of my specialties are retail store designing and merchandising, drawing fashion designs, creating graphic designs for advertisements and art, and anything else I put my mind to. My current projects are designing clothing for a large department store for their women’s wear department. I’m also working on designs for my own store I plan to open with in two years, if the financial support continues according to plan. My favorite things include uniqueness, loud colors, ambition, glitter, and when everything comes together as a whole. One of my favorite quotes is “Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess.” - By Edna Woolman Chase. I feel that this quote is true because one must have the personality to wear certain fashions and be able to pull it off, otherwise they are just clothes.