Archive for the 'Advertising' Category
Posted by: arlene on Wednesday, 4th Nov, 2009
Jack Welch argues, ‘When the rate of change inside the business is exceeded by the rate of change outside the company, the end is near:
Today’s markets can evolve incredibly quickly. New ideas and structures, standards and expectations can spread in a way that was previously reserved for fads and fashions. Speed is driven by the connectivity of people through technology, the rise of non-locational communities and the constant desire of consumers to have the latest, best, coolest, smallest, fastest devices. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Wednesday, 7th Oct, 2009
Complex markets, intense competition, expectant customers and demanding shareholders require more intelligent marketing. To see the emerging form of markets and how they can be shaped, to target the best opportunities before others, to beat competitors in smarter ways than price discounting, to innovate more radically in new directions, to build brands like nobody else, to engage with customers in ways they have never thought possible, and to deliver returns to shareholders that would make analysts jump requires a new and different approach. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Sunday, 7th Jun, 2009
Working creatively with wrought iron could be a means to starting a lucrative home-based business in your area. Projects could include: table and chairs; fire screens; wall-mounted pot-plant holders; brackets; candlesticks; name- signs for business premises and private homes; lanterns; door knockers; gates and gardenware; wind vanes; boot scrapers; toasting forks; magazine racks, and lamps. You could also accept commissions for larger items. Designs may be simple or you could specialize in fancy scroll work. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Saturday, 11th Apr, 2009
Focus on trivial issues
Sometimes the owner becomes so engrossed in tiny details or an irrelevant issue, that important issues are ignored or glossed-over. For example, the owner may spend days reading through computer magazines simply to choose a personal computer. The problem often occurs when the business is experiencing some kind of difficulty and the owner finds it uncomfortable to think about the difficult problems and resorts to solving a few easy ones. It is a way of escaping from troubling concerns while at the same time feeling that useful work is being done. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Wednesday, 18th Mar, 2009
One way to keep focused on finding things that really sell stuff is to make conversion rates one of the key measurements that you track. Retailers do this by counting how many of the people who come into the store actually buy something. The fast-food business measures incidence, or the number of high-profit side items such as fries and drinks, that it sells along with the low- profit burgers and chicken. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Wednesday, 18th Mar, 2009
One big lesson that everybody should learn from Starbucks is that, even though consumers have to understand your product if you want them to buy it, sometimes consumers can understand a product too well. By that I mean, sometimes people will fix a product in their minds as being for Purpose A, and then you have to work real hard to get them to see that it can also serve Purpose B and C. But the rewards can be enormous. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Thursday, 5th Mar, 2009
Sure, you have to have manufacturing, distribution, and a sales force. But in the end, it really doesn’t matter how well you distribute your product, how efficiently you manufacture it, or
“You can have the most modern fleet of airplanes properly outfitted with the latest seats, but you only make money if you put butts in those seats.”
Even how good your salespeople are at cutting deals if nobody wants to buy your product. A car company can be the most efficient manufacturer of automobiles, but it will only make money when the automobiles are sold. Think about it: where are the DeLorean cars these days? ..more
Posted by: arlene on Thursday, 23rd Oct, 2008
WRITTEN
Normally, agreements are more complicated than simple yes-or-no decisions or other easy-to-remember solutions. Recording Deals in mutually acceptable terms will help protect against selective memory loss in the future. Each person should keep copies of the written document. Sometimes questions arise in the future about what was in fact agreed to. The written document is objective evidence that can help answer such questions. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Tuesday, 23rd Sep, 2008
In a process-orientated company, many of these new performance indicators used in benchmarking and elsewhere are non-financial. That is, they will focus management’s attention upon the truly critical areas of performance — i.e. those that drive profitability and align the business unit with its strategic goals. In the case of marketing logistics, we might expect to see metrics that capture such things as customer satisfaction, flexibility and employee commitment. Management meetings should therefore begin their agenda not with the financial review — that will come later — but with a review of non-financial performance indicators. These will necessarily differ between organisations, but may include: ..more
Posted by: arlene on Tuesday, 16th Sep, 2008
Even when they have selected for talent, some managers are hamstrung by their fundamental mistrust of people. This mistrust might be a product of some deep-seated insecurity, or it might be couched as a rational conclusion—”I think the human race is basically driven by selfishness, and therefore most people will cut corners if they think they can get away with it.” But whatever its source, their mistrust means that these managers are extremely reluctant to let each employee find his or her own route to performance. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Saturday, 13th Sep, 2008
The purchase incidence of toys, games, and dolls has been up and down since 2000, ranging from 45 percent in 2000 to 54 percent in 2001 and 50 percent in 2003. While children represent the core user market for toys, more adults are buying toys, not just for kids, but for their own playtime. Toys are popular adult collectibles, and more toy companies are recognizing that adults, just like their kids, want to play with toys. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Tuesday, 9th Sep, 2008
Level 3: At this level customers expect partnership. They want you to listen to them, to be responsive to them, to make them feel they are on the same side of the fence as you.
Service businesses have long realized the importance of this partnership expectation. That’s why Wal-Mart positions hearty senior citizens at their front door to smile a welcome and remember names. That’s why all airlines create loyalty clubs offering special treatment to frequent fliers. And that’s presumably why video stores offer a “staff picks” section: “We’re like you. We watch videos, too.” ..more
Posted by: arlene on Tuesday, 9th Sep, 2008
Required steps only prevent dissatisfaction. They cannot drive customer satisfaction.
You, and every other employee worth his salt, want to do everything in your power to build a growing number of loyal customers. You want to take prospects, who have never tried your product or service before, and turn them into advocates. Advocates are customers who are aggressively loyal. They will not only withstand temptations to defect, they will actively sing your praises. These advocates are your largest unpaid sales force. These advocates, more than marketing, more than promotions, even more than price, are your fuel for sustained growth. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Friday, 5th Sep, 2008
But home furnishings alone are not going to be any marketer’s or retailer’s “salvation” anymore. It is going to be harder and harder for home furnishings retailers and marketers to get consumers to invite new furniture pieces or purely decorative home furnishings objects into their homes. Today’s consumers are looking for ways to scale down, throw out, and otherwise eliminate clutter from their homes.
While consumers are spending less money on major furniture pieces and decorative accessories, they are “hungry” for more and better tools, equipment, and accessories to enhance their living experiences in the home. For example, gourmet cooking and dining is an experience that more and more Americans desire to pursue in their home kitchens. As a result, they are willing to buy all kinds of things they don’t need but will enhance the cooking and dining experience. This characterizes consumer psychology for so many discretionary and luxury products. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Sunday, 24th Aug, 2008
Purchase incidence of aromatherapy and scented household products rose sharply in 2005 to reach 49 percent, up from 42 percent of U.S. households in 2003. Consumers are turning away from candles as the primary delivery option for household scent toward other alternatives, such as potpourri, steamers, and sprays. By lighting fewer candles, they are expressing a desire for safer, more healthful alternatives for home fragrance. Concerns about indoor air pollution, open flames, burning petroleum-based waxes, and possible leaded wicks are becoming an important issue for consumers. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Friday, 22nd Aug, 2008
Sixty-two percent of U.S. households purchased candles in 2003, down slightly from the 65 percent who purchased in 2001. That makes candles the second most widely purchased home product category, after stationery and greeting cards. With nearly two-thirds of American households buying candles in 2003, there is little new growth available in the marketplace. The simple fact is the candle market has reached a plateau and further growth will be hard for marketers and retailers to come by easily.
Since 2000, retail sales of candles have dropped 12.2 percent, while sales of candle accessory items, such as displays, candlesticks, decorative jar lids, and lighting and extinguishing accessories, have grown 44 percent. Overall the sales of candles and candle accessories were about even in 2002 with sales in 2000. ..more
Posted by: arlene on Thursday, 21st Aug, 2008
Everyone talks about convergence, while just the opposite is happening.
Whenever a new medium hits town, the cry goes up, “Convergence, convergence. What is this new medium going to converge with?”
When television hit town, there were stories everywhere about the convergence of TV with magazines and newspapers. You weren’t going to get your magazines in the mail anymore. When you wanted an issue, you would hit the button on your TV set and the issue would be printed out in your living room. (We don’t make these things up. We just report the facts.) ..more
Posted by: arlene on Thursday, 14th Aug, 2008
About one-fifth of households reported buying a figurine or sculpture in 2007, about the same as in 2003. A popular gift item for collectors, figurines often carry a greeting or social expression that makes them perfectly suited to gifting or as a remembrance. Figurines have been popular collectibles in the past, with lines such as Precious Moments and Hummel passed from generation to generation. But today, figurine collectibles are looked upon with disdain by many as something that one’s grandmother liked, but not something for me. ..more
