KC Sports & Fitness By John Landsberg, Dec. 08 �Okay, students, please be seated and let�s begin our Marketing class�� �First, what do we mean when we refer to the term �value proposition� when we are referring to a business?� Awkward silence� �Professor, I believe a business�s value proposition is the unique value it offers to its customers. It's the main reason why your customers will want to do business with you,� says the only student who actually read the assigned chapters. �Very good! Have the Kansas City Chiefs delivered on the value proposition it has with its fans?� Stunned silence. The answer is �no!�That is what is so frustrating with the current edition of the Chiefs. Long ago the team made a �promise� to its customers (fans) that it would do everything in its power to deliver a quality product. It has failed miserably. The National Football League goes out of its way to help its teams deliver on their individual value propositions. If you lose lots of games they give you higher draft choices. Losers get easier schedules. It is probably just a matter of time before they start spotting bad teams points before games even start. Despite all that the Chiefs are losing at a near historical rate in recent seasons. At this point why would fans even want to do business with them? This isn�t the product we bought. It�s like buying a new car and finding out there is no engine. Or tires.Or doors. Part of it is the annual �Wait until next year� mantra.That�s worked out well for the team, hasn�t it?The other part is �Dang, I�m afraid that if I sell my season tickets the team will start winning� fear. The last Chiefs playoff victory goes back to 1994. As a business---and the Kansas City Chiefs are as much a business as Sprint or Hallmark�it has not delivered on its value proposition and does not deserve fan (customer) support. Only when fans revolt and refuse to subsidize the team will things change. It�s time for the buck to stop flowing to Arrowhead stadium until the team delivers some value� ====== �It�s a long drive. Is it fair? Is it foul? It is!� That is what folks lovingly referred to as a �Herbism.� It refers to a legendary call during a Cleveland Indians game by long-time radio announcer Herb Score, who recently died at the age of 75. Herb broadcast games for 30 years. If you grew up anyway near Ohio (actually his broadcasts reached two-thirds of the country) he was �our� Herb Score. Who cares if you could tune in and wait what seemed like hours to hear the score.Heck, he would open a broadcast and forget which city he was in. The Kansas City Star�s great columnist Joe Posnanski said growing up in Cleveland he was actually �raised� by Score. It was that personal of a feeling you had with him. He was the nice guy next door. *** Time to wrap up another great year with Kansas City Sports & Fitness.Pardon me while I blow some smoke, but this magazine has flourished since publisher Steve Fisch took over the reins. This is a tough business. My editor, Alan Eskew, is able to correct most of my stupid mistakes. I have taken to heart his direction not to say KC�s sports teams �suck� (although I personally thought it was the perfect word). I wish him numerous Baylor victories in the New Year. As 2008 comes to a close I would like to thank all (both?) my loyal readers.Who knows what 2009 will bring, but I can guarantee our teams will no longer suck�at least in my column. Happy Holidays!!!
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