At 08:43 AM 2/8/2001 +0000, Thomas Clausen wrote:
>On Wed, 7 Feb 2001, John A. Lind wrote:
[snip]
>> Developing a product line
>> incompatible with prior generation accessories, which forces entire system
>> obsolesence, is basic MBA material.
>
>In that case, I don't give crap for MBA's. No offence, but teaching
>"Loosing customer loyality" doesn't seem to be that good of an idea. Let
>me explain below...
Well, as a guy with several degrees (one of which is an MBA), I just had to
respond.
"Planned obsolescence" (which I assume is what John Lind was referring to) was
a product development strategy used primarily by the automakers from the 1950s
through the 1970s (and emulated by lots of other companies, of course) to
support their massive capital spending. In every marketing course I ever took,
it was *not* held up as some "shining example" of good marketing strategy or
customer relations strategy, but was rather thoroughly lampooned as being
short-sighted, wasteful and alienating. It may have been thought a good idea
in the 60s, but hey! -- as one wag has so eloquently put it, "The 60s are
*over*."
As for the more benign form of new product development, it's *inevitable* that
eventually the technology alters to the point where incompatibilities arise
between new and old technology, regardless of how much we strive to maintain
compatibility. Oly isn't developing digital cameras because Oly's "evil";
they're developing digital cameras because customers are voting with their
wallets, and the "traditionalists" (i.e., those of us who wish the OM System
would continue on forever) keep buying used gear in the second-hand market,
even though the new stuff from Oly is no more expensive than many of the
"wunderbricks" from other manufacturers. Let's face it, photography as a hobby
is actually quite expensive.
And just for the record, the OM System is far less obsolete than those from
competing manufacturers -- if anything, Oly's done a remarkable job of keeping
the line going for over a quarter-century. But all things do have to
eventually end. As for Oly's commitment to new system cameras, the E-10 looks
like the initial volley in that new product war (but only time will tell).
Garth
"Never offend people with style when you can offend them with substance."
--Sam Brown
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