The Television Action Program And Provide Methods to Strategically Position - Essay Example

? Current of the program and number: submitted: Executive Summary Auctioning is a process of selling and buying services and goods through the process of offering bids, taking bids and then selling off the item to the individual with the highest bidding. It can also be referred as trading rules and mechanism for exchange. A host of items can be auctioned during this process ranging from antique business collectibles, real property, commodities, second hand goods, furniture and equipments. Auctioning process can take place in various spaces such as, halls, which can be categorized as live auctioning, television auctioning as well as live online auctioning. In the present report, the evaluation of the auctioning program of Rotary Club of Windsor-St. Clair has been done. Examining the various factors responsible for past success as well as present issues of the club will help in devising strategic solutions for the Club. This project will include primary as well as secondary analysis. Secondary analysis will focus on best practices and success factors in fundraising. Primary research will include interview with the club members. Recommendations will focus on the overall process improvement and alternative strategies. Purpose of the project The overall scope of the project is to analyze and evaluate the viability of auctioning program of Rotary Club of Windsor-St. Clair (hereinafter: RCWS) in the long run as well as recommend improvements in processes to the current program. The purpose of the project is to identify the key success factors which can improve the program. On broader perspectives, the project will conduct primary research in order to gain first hand information on the popularity of television auctioning, the issues and difficulties faced by the members as well as overall responsibility of the members in the program. Rotary Club of Windsor- St Clair and the TV Auction Rotary TV auction program has been the major fund raiser for the past 26 years in Windsor, Canada. Paul Harris was the founder of this rotary. The name rotary came from the early practice of the group which was rotation of meeting among different member offices. Over time, the program has been able to establish a good and long term relationship with successful bidders and loyal gift donors. The rotary is divided into three categories namely, Rotary Club, Rotary foundation and Rotary international (Rotary International, 2013a). The Rotary club is dedicated towards bringing together individuals from different facets to build relationships, exchange ideas and take necessary actions to improve the program. The international clubs work by providing support to other rotary clubs situated across the globe. This is done by coordinating the campaigns, initiatives and global programs. The rotary foundations use donations in order to fund various projects by community partners as well as rotary members across the globe. Generally, these findings are voluntarily contributed by members, friends as well as willing third parties. The club has also successfully made many partners over time. Some of them include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organizations, United Nations, Shelter Box and Mercychips (Rotary International, 2013c). History and success People started bidding and buying services and products from the Rotary Auctions and soon it had gained popularity. Since then, Rotary auction programs were even known as commercial enterprise, another store and such. Many broadcasters started identifying the Rotary club as a good investment as well as promotional strategy (Rotary International, 2013b). The auctions were a perfect fit for the people living in suburban areas. Household antics such as, old books, knickknacks, designer goods and conversation pieces, were the first to be disposed off (Smith, 2002). This was followed by old furniture, consumer durables and other household equipments, which were about to be replaced by new ones. Retailers also took this opportunity to unload old and unsold merchandises which could be sold at a deductible price. It was a win-win situation for both bidders as well as buyers. Television auctioning of second hand goods and old products at a much cheaper and affordable prices had offered new opportunities for individuals, who previously had found these products to be unaffordable. The auction also gave way to various new methods of advertisements such as, celebrity endorsements in these auctioning programs (Fiske and Fiske, 2005). Research and Methodology Best Practices The main logic or mechanism applied in the auctioning process is ascending the item prizes with auction. Every slot in the program is associated with a prize which keeps on increasing throughout the auction. From the auctioning programs, the process of selling through television came into process. In the auctioning process, the bidders can be of different types. An account represents a single company or a single adviser. A campaign is a bigger group with its own goals and budgets. Generally, the television presenters are provided with folders which consist of all information and planning beforehand to aid their preparation. Gifts are collected in a weekly manner till the target date. The representatives visit donors in order to find valuable items for bidding. The major advantage of the donors is that they get free publicity. Their advertisements are shown in newspapers and websites which help in branding them. The donors do not get any receipt for the amount donated. The process of auctioning takes place for two days where various teams on phone accept bids from buyers. Once a bid is sold, they call back the successful bidder and confirm the bid. Successful bidder can collect the items through cash or credit or through checks. The various teams at the auction station make sure that the bidding process runs smoothly. They are also responsible for calling back on outstanding items. Items which remain unclaimed are auctioned during club meetings. It has been seen that the overall percentage of gifts auctions has remained almost the same over the years. Generally, around 350-400 gifts are auctioned every year through these television programs as only around 15-25 of them are worth less than 100 dollars. Over the last few years, online as well as television biddings have occupied same positions in weekend bidding. The average retail value of total gifts auctions every year is around 92,000 dollars. The total gross amount which is raised through these auctioning program amounts to 60,000 dollars while the net amount rounds up to almost 50,000 dollars. The number of non-gift income reached its peak in 2010 when the amount earned was 18,000 dollars. However, the average income in this group has been around 3000 dollars for the last two years (Walczak, Gregg & Berrenberg, 2006). Key factors for fundraising The major types of donations received by RCWS include coupons, gift cards and any general consumer products. Majority of the donors include retailers and restaurants. There are various factors which can be influential for a successful fundraising process. Recruitment of effective and willing members for the procurement committee can be the first step. As the numbers of willing members are constantly decreasing, RCWS can include some incentives in order to motivate the procurement committee (Ba, Whinston & Zhang, 2003). The agenda as well as individual responsibilities should be made absolutely clear. There should be no confusion in matters such as, target areas, target amount to be collected and number of days. Providing correct information to the donors about the program is important. While the members are collecting donations, they can also gain information about other available as well as willing donors in the vicinity. Member behavior towards the donor is an important aspect. RCWS members should be polite and respectful towards the donors. Donor appreciation is a critical factor in fundraising which is constantly overlooked. Thanking donors for their charity work, providing them with a token of gift or inviting them to the auction process will not only give a pleasurable experience to the donor but will also instigate them for future donations. Primary Research Primary research was conducted taking members of RCWS as target sample. The research took place in the form of primary interviews where members were asked about their responsibilities, challenges and issues. The objective of the interview was to analyze the overall perception and problems faced by the members while conduction of the auction process as well as while going out for donations. The interview took place on 8th November during the television auctioning program of Rotary Club. Random respondents were chosen from among the members on the basis of their availability and willingness to participate in the process. Apart from the above, a survey was also conducted on a website named Surveymonkey. A total of 17 respondents participated in the survey. All of the respondents were members of the rotary club. The interview was informal and the respondents were asked a series six of closed ended and open ended questions. All of the respondents agreed that they volunteered their time in order to help out with the T.V. auction program. More than 50 percent of the respondents agreed that they invest more than 1o house while working for the auction. On asking about their role in the auction program, it was found out that around 70 percent of the members were involved in soliciting donations, 35 percent were involved in planning the auctions and 47 percent of the members looked after accepting of bids and calls while the rest were involved in miscellaneous activities such as photography, data entry, organizing auction photos and records as well as catalogue management. The most critical question asked was weather the television auctioning program should change or not. 52 percent respondents said that the program needs change while only 11 percent do think that the auction program is sufficient. Around 35 percent members said they were not sure. On asking about the changes needed, various changes were suggested. These included changing the process of soliciting donations as well as changing the whole process of planning. Rotary members were also dissatisfied with the channel or platform of the auction as well as well as the process and software used for accepting bids. Members also wanted to increase the quality of the programs during the auction programs. Also, members are comfortable with the idea of partnerships with other organizations of clubs in the area. Program Strengths The biggest strength of the Rotary auction program is its brand as well as legacy. The RCWS had begun 26 years back and since then, it has been backed by some very known and respected organizations such as, UNICEF, UNESCO, United Nations, Goodwill, Global Food Banking Network and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result of its long legacy, the Club has some well known experts as well as advisors who are always working for the betterment of the television auctioning process. Apart from that, Rotary club was one of the first organizations to introduce the concept of television auctioning. Even after the emergence of new mediums of auctioning such as, online bidding, many individuals still prefer bidding through telephone. Another advantage of television bidding is that there is no shipping cost. Biddings are made through telephone and once the bidding is finalized, the payment is made through credit cards or checks. The successful bidders come to the club, pay up and take away the product. Program Weaknesses From the literature review as well as the data, various points can be noted. It is very clear that television auctioning is losing its charm and popularity. The current issues identified with the auctioning program are as follows: Windsor economy The current business and economic scenario of Windsor can be described as volatile. Industry business has seen some level of growth. However, better regulations are needed in order to streamline the economic activities of the areas. Member attitude Over the years, various changes have been seen in the attitude of the rotary members. For the past 26 years, the rotary has been earning gross of 60 cents on every dollar bid. However, with the changing business and economic scenarios as well as the increasing cost of maintenances, the overall earning has been reduced considerably. Also, with the increasing popularity of online bidding, television auctions are facing a hard time drawing bidders. Another issue which the authorities are facing is that members are reluctant to go out and ask for donations. They are becoming less inclined towards the process of donations. Donation is the only way for the program to get its products for bidding and with this changing attitude of the members, the future of television auctioning is dubious. Change in commitment The RCWS had a strategic alliance with Heart & Stroke foundations and this has helped the members of the program to get donations and raise funds. However, last year the alliance was dissolved and as a result of this, members are neither being able to build new relationships nor acquire appropriate donations for the auctioning process. Also, with the online bidding process, some of the shares of donations are taken by them. Time consuming Over time, the process of television auctioning is seen to be time consuming and haphazard. Earlier, the bidding system was not very complicated as there were few bidders and few items to purchase. However, with the increase in number of bidders as well as extension of products which were auctioned, the process has become definitely time-consuming. Also, planning the details as well as searching for donations is a tedious work. Lack of understanding of market The club has very little information about the demographic market segment which makes the bids. Most of the time bids are taken over telephone. While in the process of bidding, the members try to get information about the bidders. However, mostly the bidders are focused only on making bids. There is very little interaction between the members and the customers. Also, there is no particular method to measure the success or the overall performance of the television auctioning program. Thus, the authorities are not able to decide whether the television auctioning has become better or worse when compared to the previous years (Chatman, Polzer, Barsade & Neale, 1998). Another major challenge which the television auctioning faces is the increasing popularity of online bidding services. As discussed before, online bidding is gaining fast acceptance because of its convenience and a greater target population. Online live auction is also faster compared to television auctioning. Another major advantage of online auctioning is that it can be done without much preparation. Options From the above evaluation, it is clear that television auctioning program has reached a mature age. Loyal television bidders are only few in numbers and online auctioning is gaining rapid popularity. It can be said that television auctioning alone cannot support the entire bidding process. Two major alternatives can be suggested; 1. Joint T.V. auction with other Rotary Clubs in Windsor or the district. 2. Online live auction 1. Joint Television Auction Members of the RCWS had suggested that the online bidding process of Rotary London have been successful so far. The Rotary Club of London provided a unique opportunity where other clubs in and around London can become members as well as opt for partnerships. By becoming partners, these members groups are responsible for overall responsibility as well as profit from the auctions. The same strategy can be applied for the RCWS at Windsor. At present, the rotary is self-sustaining and not in any kind of partnership with the other clubs in Windsor. Earlier, there were only a few television bidders and the average share of profit per club was higher. With the establishment of many smaller television bidders, the average profit has come down drastically. One of the useful strategies will be to establish partnerships with other smaller clubs. These partnerships will increase the overall share of the segment as well as profit for the rotary club. Another advantage is that most of these smaller clubs cater to those segments which are left out by the bigger clubs because of various reasons such as, proximity and mismatch in gifts or products. (Gupta, Su & Walter, 2004). This will not only help in understanding the market better, but will also help in extending its brand to smaller and previously impenetrable areas of the society. In other terms, the RCWS will be able to re-position itself as a more friendly television club catering to a much higher and broader segment of customers than before. 2. Online live auction Shifting towards online live auction is another viable alternative for the RCWS. As discussed above, online bidding is constantly becoming popular and more preferred over television auctioning. Unlike television air time, online process does not entail a fixed timing thereby saving a lot of time as well as money. Also, customers who purchase online can do so from various sources. It can be from a personal computer, mobile, laptop or a palmtop. In addition to that, it can be conducted from any geographical location. Even though online shipping involves certain extra costs, most of the buyers are happy to pay for it. This is because of the variety of products as well as the cheap costs. Another advantage of online bidding is that it will reduce the overall auction timing which in case of television auctioning had taken more than two days. Recommendation and Implementation Looking at the current marketing trend as well as the changing demographic profile, a mixed approach can be implemented. This means that RCWS can both include online bidding process as well as joint partnerships with other clubs. However, both these strategies should be implemented considering the target segment as well as time of the year. For example, online bidding is more common among younger population of the age group between 25-40, young professionals as well as college goers. Online bidding is also more frequent during festive seasons such as, Christmas and New Year. Thus, the organization can target for online bidding process during festive seasons. Through the strategic partnerships with other clubs, the Rotary will be able to spot the segments who only involve in television auctioning programs (Hitt & Frei, 2002). Thus, the club can also target these segments though various offers and diversity in products. Partnership will also help the Club to find new donors. Thus, it will be a win-win situation for both RCWS and its partners. Conclusion The primary goal of this project was to evaluate the current strengths and weaknesses of the online auctioning program of RCWS at Windsor. Through primary and secondary research, it was found that the television auction program has been popular and preferred due to lot of factors. It is one of the earliest methods of bidding process after the emergence of television. Before that, bidding process used to happen in one place and very few people were able to participate in the process. However, with the advent of online world, the popularity of auctioning programs has started to decrease. Now sellers as well as buyers are more interested in online or internet auctioning because of its efficiency as well as promptness. Television auctioning took place over the telephone which was the major channel. At present, majority of the population owns internet and prefer online bidding. Thus, it has become extremely important to evaluate strategies as well as alternatives in order to revive the television auctioning program. There are two alternatives that had been suggested for the rotary club. Firstly, fostering of partnerships with other local clubs and the secondly, introduction of online bidding process. The recommended approach suggested a mix of both the approaches, which requires strategically implementing each plan during specific part of the year and to specific target segments. References Ba, S., Whinston, A.B. & Zhang, H. (2003). Building Trust in Online Auction Markets through an Economic Incentive Mechanism. Decision Support Systems, 35(3), 273-286. Chatman, J.A., Polzer, J.T., Barsade, S.G. & Neale, M.A. (1998). Being different yet feeling similar: The influence of demographic composition and organizational culture on work processes and outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 43(4), 749-780. Fiske, J. & Fiske, A. (2005).The big book of auctioning references. New Jersey: John Willy & Sons. Gupta, A., Su, B. & Walter, Z. (2004). Risk profile and consumer shopping behavior in electronic and traditional channels. Decision Support Systems, 38(3), 347-367. Hitt, L.M. and Frei, F.X. (2002). Do Better Customers Utilize Electronic Distribution Channels? The Case of PC Banking. Management Science, 48(6), 732-748. Rotary International. (2013a). Our Structure. Retrieved from https://www.rotary.org/en/our-structure> Rotary International. (2013b). History. Retrieved from https://www.rotary.org/en/history Rotary International. (2013c). Financial. Retrieved from https://www.rotary.org/en/financials Smith, R. (2002). The Other Face of Public Television: Censoring the American Dream. New York: Algora Publishing. Walczak, S., Gregg, D.G. & Berrenberg, J. L. (2006). Market Decision Making for Online Auction Sellers: Profit Maximization or Socialization. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 7(4), 199-220. Read More