Club IT, Part 1

Club IT is located in the center of downtown. It is owned and operated by Rueban Keys and Lisa Tejada. While going to college, Rueban and Lisa supported themselves by performing in local nightclubs. With both of them having a passion for music and degrees in Business Administration they had a dream to open up a nightclub.
I was very excited to be hired as an intern to analyze the Club IT informational needs. I had the opportunity to visit the club first hand one Friday night to check out the club scene. After having a wonderful time I began to come up questions about the club and the particular clientele they served. With the internal remodeling of the club that had been done it so happened it created a young, vibrant atmosphere that could be a “hit” for college students and offer a place for the older crowds to come, enjoy, relax, and have a good time. Having many ideas forming in mind during my observation, especially IT related, I went into their website to see what information was available to customers and how was it delivered to the clientele. After reviewing the club and the web site, I believe the best strategy for a competitive advantage for Club IT would to be to try Customer-Orientation Strategy. The club has spacious room and has a great potential for making it a “hit”. In addition, with the Club’s strong mission statement, addressing the information technology needs in retrospect to the Club’s needs, and performing the customer orientation strategy will truly enhance the Club’s IT ability and clientele.
During the review of the website, it was noticed that Rueban and Lisa have created a strong mission statement. Their mission state is “We, Rueban and Lisa, offer you live music, DJ’s, dance space, and refreshments to suit your lifestyle. You are our friends, and we seek to build a community that meets regularly at Club IT.” (Club IT). The mission statement is friendly as it shows the owner’s intention to provide a community with live music, DJs, along with a dance floor, and a variety of music and refreshments that will cater to the individuals wants. Rueban and Lisa want to build a community where people can meet regularly and have fun. Rueban and Lisa are unquestionably music lovers with high spirits. This has given me plenty of ideas to enhance the Club’s Exposure in regards to information technology.
The Club It is new and has not been largely advertised, so there is not a huge IT department nor was there a need for one prior to this. There is a need for the owners to be able to manage their information resources. The club is using an older intranet system, which is also accessed by the employees. The website consists of basic information for customers and employees. However, it was noted that if new information comes in then it would require that the managers would have to have the information entered into the computer. I would make a suggestion for the software to be upgraded so both the name and the driver’s licenses can be given to the host. This would allow repeated customers to come into the club more quickly by saying their names; in doing this the club could help get more clientele into the club with less waiting time. These computers could be located by the door and at the bar inside the nightclub. By having this system could also eliminate any underage drinkers as well. Since the nightclub is not very large, it would be sufficient to have 3 computers for this, one for the host, one for the office, and the last one at the bar. This will allow the owners to keep the files accurate and up to date, without much time spent on maintenance.
In conclusion, the Customer Orientation Strategy that was suggested to use would concentrate on customer satisfaction. This strategy would be highly effective with a web-based system to allow personalized relationship with their clients. With the information that is stored it would allow the club to send out E-invites, E-Flyers, E-announcements, and any other type of E-messages that could be included. This system could also make E-announcements on other social websites like MySpace and Facebook to get exposure out to the public. Every announcement that goes out electronically or on paper will also include the Club’s web address. I would also like to suggest that the club owners have an area on the website that allows clientele the opportunity to sign up for newsletter, flyers, or allow the clientele the ability to communicate with the owners. With everything in place, I would suggest that the owners have a one night that they can pass out flyers with all the new information on the club and the website information. This event should be something fun and out of the ordinary to get people interested in coming to the club. It could be one free drink, no admission cost, or things of that nature that could get ordinary people excited and publicity of the club out to everyone.
Overall, the club has the potential to develop resources they could use with their new IT systems. With all the updated technology and ideas, the club would be able to increase their clientele and keep track of their customer’s information, therefore creating a more personal feel with their clients. With Club It mission statement and the owners addressing the Club’s information technology problems and performing the customer orientation strategy will not only enhance but also improve the club’s potential to grow with their clientele.

Resources:
Club IT. (2000-2012). Retrieved from http://bcs.wiley.com/he- bcs/Books?action=resource&bcsId=4176&itemId=0470169001&resourceId=12379