How Another Company Is Dealing With Constantly Slipping Target Dates

[Bilbo B]

Virgin Galactic has been taking reservations for over 12 years for a trip to 'space' and has experienced multiple delays/new target dates/more delays (sound familiar?). Granted, folks are in to them for a $100,000 product, not a $10,000 (or less) product, but the article discusses the efforts Virgin has gone to to keep those early reservationists engaged through the years. I realize we're talking an order of magnitude difference between a flight to 'space' and a new Elio, but Elio could have, and still could, do SOMETHING (more than rehashing old blog posts once a week) to help maintain interest, build the community.

Cufflinks and the Caribbean: How Virgin Galactic kept space tourists' interest and money

 

[Made in USA]

Elio seems to be nothing to encourage new reservations and is only hoping that they don't lose too many current reservationist due to time, death, age, lack of current information, etc. It wouldn't surprise me if they haven't already lost 20 to 50 percent. If they ever do make them, I will still be interested, but maybe not if another year or two go by.

 

[84mpg]

The good thing is - if they ever get the vehicle on the highways, people will be knocking the doors off the hinges trying to get one (if the specs stay the same.... or close to what they are). Any current reservationists that drops out will be quickly replaced. In a NY second.

84mpg at $7,500 and you don’t get soaked in a driving rain? You bet people will snap them up.

 

[RSchneider]

Over all of my years I have dealt with lots of marketing people. Being an engineer you typically butt heads. I have found it's been for different reasons.
The Virgin Galactic is a good example but I watched a documentary over the weekend that had to deal with the Fyre Festival. If you have Nexflix, you must watch it because it covers the first type. These are the ones that are offering the experience for people that are rich. They sell them on great videos and social media. In the end, they over promised on what they could do even though the price was really high. I've seen that situation repeated over and over again but typically with a tactile product. I've met at least 20 guys that were just like the one that ran Fyre. Plus, you got to watch it all the way to the end. It's funny.

Then you get the next group. They understand enough about the technology and think they can go far with it, thus over promise. Plus they think things like, "Just have the Chinese build it" and thus all problems are solved. Just Google: Kreyos Smartwatch. It's an example of over promising on the specs and not having the money to develop it, then the big boys came in and they were dead. I seen one of these when they first came out and it was a piece of junk and only do about half of what they said it would do. Too bad Garmin already had something out that could do almost everything the Kreyos claimed it could do then Samsung and Apple just fired away with great products that so 10X more. The company had great intentions but just got hammered.

The last group. They had a great idea but missed the market. about 20 years ago there was a company that was looking for a packaging solution. This was a new company that made this cool device that would hold all of your contacts information. Things like phone numbers, email and addresses. I showed them that my new Nokia phone did all of that too, so why would I want to carry around two items that did the same thing. The owner claimed that cell phones will not be the primary source of communication for people. They just ran out of money and went away. They needed this product 10 years previous.

 

[Maurtis]

The last group. They had a great idea but missed the market. about 20 years ago there was a company that was looking for a packaging solution. This was a new company that made this cool device that would hold all of your contacts information. Things like phone numbers, email and addresses. I showed them that my new Nokia phone did all of that too, so why would I want to carry around two items that did the same thing. The owner claimed that cell phones will not be the primary source of communication for people. They just ran out of money and went away. They needed this product 10 years previous.

Sounds a lot like the Palm devices of the late 90s and early 2000s. I loved my Palm V, but just like you said only a few years later and phones did the same thing and more, so no more carrying two devices. They made business travel a ton easier than using paper planners and even had apps to download maps to the device! Wow! RIP paper maps...

 

[RSchneider]

Sounds a lot like the Palm devices of the late 90s and early 2000s. I loved my Palm V, but just like you said only a few years later and phones did the same thing and more, so no more carrying two devices. They made business travel a ton easier than using paper planners and even had apps to download maps to the device! Wow! RIP paper maps...

I started with an electronic Rolodex back in the early 90's. Then a Palm, then a Dell something or other that ran Windows then some flip open item from some other company that was like a super mini laptop. it was a continual rotation of items for a while.

For the last 10 or so years, it's been an iPhone and my laptop. Only reason for the laptop is for CAD stuff, just doing basics in Openoffice or plugging into specific controllers and programming them. Other than that, it's my iPhone and my car came with NAV that I rarely use unless I'm out in the boondocks where there's no cell phone service. I also still have a road atlas (which are still available at many truckstops) buried in the back of my drivers seat seat pocket.

Times have changed and I move right along with it. I like my NAV and Apple Car Play. I honestly do not understand why cars just don't skip the radio and move onto just a cell phone connection. I only listen to the radio because I'm forced to because my wife listens to it. I probably need to make her change. As we all know, that will go over like a lead balloon.

 

[Ty]

I started with an electronic Rolodex back in the early 90's. Then a Palm, then a Dell something or other that ran Windows then some flip open item from some other company that was like a super mini laptop. it was a continual rotation of items for a while.

For the last 10 or so years, it's been an iPhone and my laptop. Only reason for the laptop is for CAD stuff, just doing basics in Openoffice or plugging into specific controllers and programming them. Other than that, it's my iPhone and my car came with NAV that I rarely use unless I'm out in the boondocks where there's no cell phone service. I also still have a road atlas (which are still available at many truckstops) buried in the back of my drivers seat seat pocket.

Times have changed and I move right along with it. I like my NAV and Apple Car Play. I honestly do not understand why cars just don't skip the radio and move onto just a cell phone connection. I only listen to the radio because I'm forced to because my wife listens to it. I probably need to make her change. As we all know, that will go over like a lead balloon.

Radio is great for introducing new singers and the best for local news. Cell phone is great but for my morning commute, nobody knows the traffic like the local guys!

 

[Maurtis]

Radio is great for introducing new singers and the best for local news. Cell phone is great but for my morning commute, nobody knows the traffic like the local guys!

I actually listen the to radio every morning (for the traffic and enjoy the morning show banter here), but do it using the iheartradio app streamed to my car stereo via bluetooth. Mainly because the audio quality is better and reception can get spotty when dropping my son off at school. Using the app, no worries about reception and improved quality

 

[Ty]

I actually listen the to radio every morning (for the traffic and enjoy the morning show banter here), but do it using the iheartradio app streamed to my car stereo via bluetooth. Mainly because the audio quality is better and reception can get spotty when dropping my son off at school. Using the app, no worries about reception and improved quality

I see. I'm close enough that the digital FM signal comes through to my truck. It's like watching TV live over the air and how the picture is better than you can get with cable or satellite (because both of those mediums have to compress the pictures and then decompress them at your TV or box)... Same goes with audio, actually. But, for audio, you'd never notice the difference in a vehicle as there is enough noise there to cover any compression errors. Still, listening to it live over the air is better because it doesn't use any cell phone bandwidth at all... no data, no signal, no Bluetooth being broadcast continually in our vehicles. Of course, Bluetooth isn't bad for us or at least hasn't been found to cause any issues yet. I, of course, like most people, also listen to music from my phone in my vehicle. I'm not a Neanderthal. But, I DO listen to the local station so I get all the local news and events and sales.

 

[RSchneider]

I see. I'm close enough that the digital FM signal comes through to my truck. It's like watching TV live over the air and how the picture is better than you can get with cable or satellite (because both of those mediums have to compress the pictures and then decompress them at your TV or box)... Same goes with audio, actually. But, for audio, you'd never notice the difference in a vehicle as there is enough noise there to cover any compression errors. Still, listening to it live over the air is better because it doesn't use any cell phone bandwidth at all... no data, no signal, no Bluetooth being broadcast continually in our vehicles. Of course, Bluetooth isn't bad for us or at least hasn't been found to cause any issues yet. I, of course, like most people, also listen to music from my phone in my vehicle. I'm not a Neanderthal. But, I DO listen to the local station so I get all the local news and events and sales.

I use WAYZE. Better than any radio station. Even tells me where the cops are.