Introduction to Competitive Advantage in Information Systems
As you read, think about how using, protecting, and managing information and data could support an organization's competitive advantage. Conversely, failure to protect data, particularly personal information, could reduce or destroy any competitive advantage within a business. How does understanding customer information and data support current operations? How might it impact future operations?
Data Asset in Action: Caesars' Solid Gold CRM for the Service Sector
Innovation
Caesars is constantly tinkering with new innovations that help it gather more data and help push service quality and marketing program success. When the introduction of gaming in Pennsylvania threatened to divert lucrative New York City gamblers from Caesars' Atlantic City properties, the firm launched an interactive billboard in New York's Times Square, allowing passersby to operate a virtual slot machine using text messages from their cell phones. Players dialing into the video billboard not only control the display, they receive text message offers promoting Caesars' sites in Atlantic City.
At Caesars, tech experiments abound. RFID-enabled poker chips and under-table RFID readers allow pit bosses to track and rate game play far better than they could before. The firm is experimenting with using RFID-embedded bracelets for poolside purchases and Total Rewards tracking for when customers aren't carrying their wallets. The firm has also incorporated drink ordering into gaming machines - why make customers get up to quench their thirst? A break in gambling is a halt in revenue.
The firm was also one of the first to sign on to use Microsoft's Surface technology - a sort of touch-screen and sensor-equipped tabletop. Customers at these tables can play bowling and group pinball games and even pay for drinks using cards that the tables will automatically identify. Tech even helps Caesars fight card counters and crooks, with facial recognition software scanning casino patrons to spot the bad guys.
And Total Rewards is going social, too. Caesars has partnered with Silicon Valley-based TopGuest to tie social media to its loyalty program. Caesars customers who register with TopGuest (which also works with clients Virgin America, Holiday Inn, and Avis, among others) can receive fifty Total Rewards bonus credits for each geolocation check-in, tweet, or Instagram photo taken at participating venues.