Gemini Sound Products Corporation is a worldwide manufacturer of professional audio and mobile DJ equipment, including DJ CD players, DJ turntables, DJ mixers, professional amplifiers, loudspeakers, wireless microphones & DJ audio effects. Founded in 1974, it now has bases in the USA, Spain, UK, and Germany.
In June 2006, it announced the corporate name would change to GCI Technologies, an acronym meaning Gemini, Cortex, and iKey, its three divisions. Cortex, a maker of hard drive music systems, made its debut at the 2006 NAMM convention and was subsequently acquired by Gemini. The Gemini DJ brand name will still be used as it currently is.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a common belief that the microfinance market
was virtually infinite. Client retention was rarely discussed or measured; some institutions were
even willing to ban clients for the slightest infraction of rules. Managers of these MFIs believed
that there would always be a long line of new clients ready to step in and replace discarded
clients. Within the past 10 years, however, market saturation has become a reality recognized by
even the strongest skeptics. As a result, most MFIs now understand the importance of client
retention to the future viability of their institutions.
Client retention (and its complement, client desertion) have significant wide-ranging
implications for an institution. MFIs that improve client retention see the following positive
changes:
• institutional costs decrease as the institution needs to do less marketing, less new client
orientation, and fewer new client background checks
• staff productivity increases because loan officers work with established clients whom
they know well
• loan risk generally decreases, as clients with an established credit history normally have
good repayment records
• income increases as loan sizes generally increase with experienced clients
• market saturation decreases as there is less need to bring new clients into the institution
• public image improves with satisfied clients. If desertion is high, it is possible to have a
market filled with more ex-clients (many of whom are likely complaining about your
institution) than current clients!
• staff morale improves as staff members work with satisfied clients all day rather than
hearing criticism from dissatisfied clients
• financial sustainability increases as costs go down and income goes up!
In fact, most analyses show that an MFI loses money on the first three or four loans it makes to a
client. Without high client retention, an MFI will thus find it impossible to reach sustainability.
Before proceeding, it is important to acknowledge that client retention is not the same as client
satisfaction.5 Client satisfaction is a difficult concept to measure precisely. Ideally, an
institution would use a well-designed opinion survey to measure it, but such surveys can be both
difficult and costly to implement. Although far from an ideal measure of client satisfaction,
client retention is monitored by many MFIs partly because this indicator also provides
information critical to their long-term financial performance.
Once a loan is paid back, a client may choose to immediately renew their loan (a clear case of
client retention). Although a positive decision for the institution, management cannot
confidently conclude that the client is satisfied; it may be that the client needs the product and
has no alternative due to lack of competition.
Alternatively, a client may choose to postpone his or her decision for legitimate reasons, with the
intention of borrowing again soon (this postponement is commonly called “resting;” see
explanation in box 1 of this article). Or he or she may choose to remain a client for other
services offered by the institution, such as savings. Clearly we need to clarify how we define an
“active client.” Do we mean a client who has a loan? A client who uses other services, but does
not have a loan? A client who does not currently access any services, but indicates an intention
to return in the future (if so, within what timeframe)?
Another difficulty also exists. If our indicator is a measure of product retention, as distinct from
client retention, a client may choose to shift to a different product (commonly called
“graduation”). In this case, low product retention rates may not be an indicator of client
dissatisfaction. MFI managers may thus need client retention as well as product-specific
retention rates.
The “old” formula: This formula has become known in the literature as the “ACCION”
formula. Initial attempts measured the "desertion rate," or the percentage of clients who
did not continue to borrow for some reason. ACCION conducted the first widely
recognized effort to measure desertion, partly in reaction to one of their affiliates losing
50 percent of its clients per year in the mid-1990s as competition heated up in Latin
America. We will refer to this as the “old” formula because ACCION stopped using it in
1997 (though many other networks continue to use the formula).
2) The “new” formula: This formula is often referred to as the “Schreiner” formula. In
1997, Mark Schreiner, a research consultant in microfinance, proposed an alternative
measure in his Ph.D. dissertation. ACCION later converted to using this formula.
3) The “Microfin” formula: Sometimes referred to as the “Waterfield/CGAP” formula,
this alternative approach was developed in 1997 and incorporated into CGAP's
"Microfin" business planning tool. It used a substantially different approach to
measuring retention to overcome the limitations of the two other formulas, but in so
doing, introduced a new set of limitations.
Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program! That's less than 1 penny for every dollar spent. The average American spends more of their budget on their cable bill, eating out or entertainment than this yet the benefits of space flight are remarkable. It has been conservatively estimated by U.S. space experts that for every dollar the U.S. spends on R and D in the space program, it receives $7 back in the form of corporate and personal income taxes from increased jobs and economic growth. Besides the obvious jobs created in the aerospace industry, thousands more are created by many other companies applying NASA technology in nonspace related areas that affect us daily. One cannot even begin to place a dollar value on the lives saved and improved lifestyles of the less fortunate. Space technology benefits everyone and a rising technological tide does raise all boats.
One small example is the Hubble Space Telescope. Much maligned at first because of its flawed optics, it still produced better photographs than anything here on Earth. Once fixed, it has produced even more startling scientific data which we have only begun to understand and apply. One of the many spinoffs from the Hubble telescope is the use of its Charge Coupled Device (CCD) chips for digital imaging breast biopsies. The resulting device images breast tissue more clearly and efficiently than other existing technologies. The CCD chips are so advanced that they can detect the minute differences between a malignant or benign tumor without the need for a surgical biopsy. This saves the patient weeks of recovery time and the cost for this procedure is hundreds of dollars vs. thousands for a surgical biopsy. With over 500,000 women needing biopsies a year the economic benefit, per year, is tremendous and it greatly reduces the pain, scarring, radiation exposure, time, and money associated with surgical biopsies.
Below is a "small" sampling of the many other ways that space technology has improved our lives and benefited mankind. It is truly a remarkable list and not nearly complete but I believe you will begin to appreciate the answers to "Why do we go in space" and "What does the space program do for me?" So the next time you hear these questions being asked, you will be able to explain it.
In June 2006, it announced the corporate name would change to GCI Technologies, an acronym meaning Gemini, Cortex, and iKey, its three divisions. Cortex, a maker of hard drive music systems, made its debut at the 2006 NAMM convention and was subsequently acquired by Gemini. The Gemini DJ brand name will still be used as it currently is.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a common belief that the microfinance market
was virtually infinite. Client retention was rarely discussed or measured; some institutions were
even willing to ban clients for the slightest infraction of rules. Managers of these MFIs believed
that there would always be a long line of new clients ready to step in and replace discarded
clients. Within the past 10 years, however, market saturation has become a reality recognized by
even the strongest skeptics. As a result, most MFIs now understand the importance of client
retention to the future viability of their institutions.
Client retention (and its complement, client desertion) have significant wide-ranging
implications for an institution. MFIs that improve client retention see the following positive
changes:
• institutional costs decrease as the institution needs to do less marketing, less new client
orientation, and fewer new client background checks
• staff productivity increases because loan officers work with established clients whom
they know well
• loan risk generally decreases, as clients with an established credit history normally have
good repayment records
• income increases as loan sizes generally increase with experienced clients
• market saturation decreases as there is less need to bring new clients into the institution
• public image improves with satisfied clients. If desertion is high, it is possible to have a
market filled with more ex-clients (many of whom are likely complaining about your
institution) than current clients!
• staff morale improves as staff members work with satisfied clients all day rather than
hearing criticism from dissatisfied clients
• financial sustainability increases as costs go down and income goes up!
In fact, most analyses show that an MFI loses money on the first three or four loans it makes to a
client. Without high client retention, an MFI will thus find it impossible to reach sustainability.
Before proceeding, it is important to acknowledge that client retention is not the same as client
satisfaction.5 Client satisfaction is a difficult concept to measure precisely. Ideally, an
institution would use a well-designed opinion survey to measure it, but such surveys can be both
difficult and costly to implement. Although far from an ideal measure of client satisfaction,
client retention is monitored by many MFIs partly because this indicator also provides
information critical to their long-term financial performance.
Once a loan is paid back, a client may choose to immediately renew their loan (a clear case of
client retention). Although a positive decision for the institution, management cannot
confidently conclude that the client is satisfied; it may be that the client needs the product and
has no alternative due to lack of competition.
Alternatively, a client may choose to postpone his or her decision for legitimate reasons, with the
intention of borrowing again soon (this postponement is commonly called “resting;” see
explanation in box 1 of this article). Or he or she may choose to remain a client for other
services offered by the institution, such as savings. Clearly we need to clarify how we define an
“active client.” Do we mean a client who has a loan? A client who uses other services, but does
not have a loan? A client who does not currently access any services, but indicates an intention
to return in the future (if so, within what timeframe)?
Another difficulty also exists. If our indicator is a measure of product retention, as distinct from
client retention, a client may choose to shift to a different product (commonly called
“graduation”). In this case, low product retention rates may not be an indicator of client
dissatisfaction. MFI managers may thus need client retention as well as product-specific
retention rates.
The “old” formula: This formula has become known in the literature as the “ACCION”
formula. Initial attempts measured the "desertion rate," or the percentage of clients who
did not continue to borrow for some reason. ACCION conducted the first widely
recognized effort to measure desertion, partly in reaction to one of their affiliates losing
50 percent of its clients per year in the mid-1990s as competition heated up in Latin
America. We will refer to this as the “old” formula because ACCION stopped using it in
1997 (though many other networks continue to use the formula).
2) The “new” formula: This formula is often referred to as the “Schreiner” formula. In
1997, Mark Schreiner, a research consultant in microfinance, proposed an alternative
measure in his Ph.D. dissertation. ACCION later converted to using this formula.
3) The “Microfin” formula: Sometimes referred to as the “Waterfield/CGAP” formula,
this alternative approach was developed in 1997 and incorporated into CGAP's
"Microfin" business planning tool. It used a substantially different approach to
measuring retention to overcome the limitations of the two other formulas, but in so
doing, introduced a new set of limitations.
Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program! That's less than 1 penny for every dollar spent. The average American spends more of their budget on their cable bill, eating out or entertainment than this yet the benefits of space flight are remarkable. It has been conservatively estimated by U.S. space experts that for every dollar the U.S. spends on R and D in the space program, it receives $7 back in the form of corporate and personal income taxes from increased jobs and economic growth. Besides the obvious jobs created in the aerospace industry, thousands more are created by many other companies applying NASA technology in nonspace related areas that affect us daily. One cannot even begin to place a dollar value on the lives saved and improved lifestyles of the less fortunate. Space technology benefits everyone and a rising technological tide does raise all boats.
One small example is the Hubble Space Telescope. Much maligned at first because of its flawed optics, it still produced better photographs than anything here on Earth. Once fixed, it has produced even more startling scientific data which we have only begun to understand and apply. One of the many spinoffs from the Hubble telescope is the use of its Charge Coupled Device (CCD) chips for digital imaging breast biopsies. The resulting device images breast tissue more clearly and efficiently than other existing technologies. The CCD chips are so advanced that they can detect the minute differences between a malignant or benign tumor without the need for a surgical biopsy. This saves the patient weeks of recovery time and the cost for this procedure is hundreds of dollars vs. thousands for a surgical biopsy. With over 500,000 women needing biopsies a year the economic benefit, per year, is tremendous and it greatly reduces the pain, scarring, radiation exposure, time, and money associated with surgical biopsies.
Below is a "small" sampling of the many other ways that space technology has improved our lives and benefited mankind. It is truly a remarkable list and not nearly complete but I believe you will begin to appreciate the answers to "Why do we go in space" and "What does the space program do for me?" So the next time you hear these questions being asked, you will be able to explain it.