Club_It_Part_!

Lisa and Ruben made their dream come true of opening a nightclub. They have worked their way up by earning money as musicians to open Club IT. While working as musicians they learned about various aspects of the nightclub business. Lisa’s and Ruben’s mission for Club IT is to have live music with DJ’s, dance space, and refreshments, along with a community that meets regularly (About Club IT, 2009). The community being targeted is for people who enjoy the live music and DJ’s they have to offer. Lisa and Ruben are extremely pleased with their accomplishments of Club IT, however, they still want to find a way to make more profits. Club IT has gone through an extensive remodeling in order to gain more patrons, which has paid off quite well. Even though the remodeling brought in more customers, use of information technology resources can help all improve all aspects of the business. This data and information can then be used as knowledge to better serve the business, customers, and employees. The first step in accomplishing their mission is in finding a community that meets regularly at Club IT. In order to do this people need to find out what is going on at the club. There is a very basic website about Club IT that shows information about the club, the owners, music, food and beverages, merchandise, staff, and layout of the club. To find this community Lisa and Ruben can send information via internet to local colleges, music stores, and music groups to tell about Club IT. They can even have flyers printed on the computer to hang on windows of local businesses. Once this community is found, Lisa and Ruben should ask them which live bands and DJ’s they would like to see and what type of foods they would like to have. They can also find out which refreshments are the most preferred and new beverages customers would like to have. On the website there should also be directions on how to get to Club IT. The schedule should be more detailed by showing who is playing at the club and what night they are playing. Also, customers may want to see which DJ will be there on a specific night. If a band or DJ has a following this will bring in more customers to the club. As far as the dining menu, specials should be offered each night. For instance, a special such as Taco’s on Tuesday night, or having Wednesday as ladies night, this can attract more customers. The club should also be made available for parties such as bridal showers, birthday parties, and other types of parties, which can be advertised on the internet with special package deals. When Club IT merchandise is sold, a person can then be asked if they would like to become a member. If they would like to become a member they can sign up on the internet and receive special offers from Club IT along with being entered into a monthly prize drawing. Club IT would also take advice if members would like to see other types of merchandise with the Club IT logo. Club IT has a t-shirt and baseball cap, they should get together a baseball team of their own to compete against other clubs or organizations. Getting involved in community events will show the people of Club IT are friendly and fun, then more people will want to become members. The internet should have a place where customers can put in their reviews about Club IT, telling about their experiences and ideas for the club. Room for improvement s can also be listed on the internet. Customer relationship planning is the most important information for the owners because this will help keep the regular members plus get new customers. This will lend a hand n keeping profitable customers while maximizing the revenue for the business. Another area of the business that needs improvement is the maintaining of financial and business records by Ruben and Lisa. They need to hire trustworthy people to do the administrative work so they can concentrate on running the other daily needs of the business. All the financial and business records can be put on the computer so Lisa and Ruben can see everything concerning the business at a moment’s notice. Things such as inventory, payroll, expenses, accounts receivable, information about employees, and all sorts of reports and financial statements can be computerized. This will show were things may need improvement such as what to buy more or less of, or if more employees need to be hired. These reports will also show where things are going well and do not need any changes. The Club IT website also makes use of the intranet on the employee portal on the home page. This intranet site is secure as an employee may get into the employee portal with a password. On this site an employee can get anything relating to their personal information, manuals and handbooks. New employees are introduced, there is an employee of the month listed, and a listing of upcoming events is included. When employees are informed and happy, this will lead to happy customers as well. Ordering, sales and budgeting is another use of the intranet. This will help Lisa and Ruben make more informed decisions for Club IT. This will tell management what they have on hand, what is being sold, and how much money is being made. From viewing this information, management can decide what changes should be made for the business. Also, the layout of the club can be played with on the computer in case changes have to be made for different events. Club IT needs to check out the websites of their competitors and also physically see what their competition is doing. Lisa and Ruben need to see what is drawing people into these other nightclubs. After seeing what the competition offers, Lisa and Ruben need to offer something above and beyond their competition on the Club IT website. This will then bring in more customers and more profits. Club IT is off to a good start, but having changes made through the use of information technology will help maximize revenue for the business. Through the use of an enterprise resource planning system (ERP), all divisions of the business can be tied in together. Each area of the business will not have to be run separately. For example, the computer can tell when a beverage has to be ordered and then tell how much of the beverage is being sold. These numbers will then automatically be tied into the accounting department by showing how much the company paid for the beverage and how much the customer is paying to drink the beverage. By knowing how many drinks are sold can then be tied into Human Resources to show how many people are needed to work at the bar. Each department would not need to have their own computer system as they will be communicating with each other through a common database. Through the use of a customer relationship management (CRM) system, Lisa and Ruben would be able to interact with their customers via, phone, e-mail, customer service, or website. Bar sales through customer service complaints can be tracked. A customer may have a complaint about the attitude of a bartender or service of a waiter or waitress. "CRM recognizes that customers are the core of a business and that a company's success depends on effectively managing its relationship with them " (Rainer, R. K., Jr., & Turban, E., 2009, p.239). CRM systems cover sales, marketing, and customer service. Club IT must interact with customers individually to find out their wants and needs. Through the use of information technology on the customer website, changes can be made by using a customer relationship management system. Club IT wants their customers to have input in what products and types of services they would like the club to offer. They would also like to have their patrons get involved in problems that may occur and to help them arrive at solutions to better service customers. A CRM system is a central system that brings all this data together in order to get analyzed. Then results are then given to customers and/or employees. Club IT is off to a good start, however, some improvements need to be made. Once changes are made by the use of information technology through ERP and CRM systems, Club IT will be up with the times. The business will then be easier to run and Club IT will be a booming business.