Dodo Loves Marketing

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

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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

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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

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The language of “average” is pervasive. Reservation centers calculate the “average” number of calls a customer service representative can handle in an hour. Restaurant chains project staffing needs by estimating how many servers are needed to staff the “average” restaurant. In sales organizations, territories are divided up based on how many prospects the “average” salesperson can handle. “Average” is everywhere. ..more

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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

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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.

Candles and Candle Accessories Snapshot

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

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These levels of achievement will certainly help redirect an employee’s focus toward becoming world class. However, the manager’s efforts at career redirection will be forever hindered if all of the pay signals are telling the employee to look upward.

Although each of us is motivated by money in different ways, the fact of the matter is that few of us are repelled by money. All of us may not hunger for it, but only a tiny minority of us find money positively distasteful. Therefore the simple truth is that it will be much easier for managers to redirect employees toward alternative career paths if some of those paths involve a raise in pay. ..more

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Just under one-third of households (30 percent) bought lamps and lighting accessories in 2003, about equal to the purchase incidence in 2001. While lighting is an essential component of everyday life, it also serves a decorative function, with lamps being a key decorative accessory. The effects of lighting are a key element for creating a mood of peacefulness and harmony in the home. People buy lamps and lighting as much for need as desire, making them essential yet discretionary. ..more

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In 2003, just under half of U.S. households (48 percent) bought picture frames, a slight decline from the 52 percent. With more people buying digital cameras and thus having new pictures to display in their homes and offices, the picture frame industry has responded by offering new designs in frames that add visual interest and contribute to the overall presentation. Appreciative consumers are spending more on picture frames as a result. ..more

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Now that we have examined some of the negatives of expansion from a very small business to a medium-sized small business, let’s give equal time to the potential benefits.

One of the most important components of gross profit is the degree to which you’re able to set your selling price. Your ability to set that price is largely a function of your control of the marketplace. At one extreme, you may have a patented product for which there is no substitute, and for which there is totally elastic demand (people will buy it at any cost). If that item costs you a dollar, you may be able to sell it for ten dollars, one hundred dollars, even one thousand dollars. At the other end of the spectrum, you may be selling wheat in Nebraska. In that case, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to command one-tenth of one cent over the market price on the day you sell. ..more

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Current works in progress include Nokia “hot spots,” which are set up in hotels and airports to allow travelers to make wireless connections to the Internet and video telephones. The company emphasizes the product’s color and design and plans to introduce new models every year, employing the same strategy car manufacturers do with new styles each year. All of these approaches target searchers.

Looking forward, Nokia is betting that their search customers (or trendsetters, as this company calls them) will focus on the handset’s visuals as they tap into the device’s data capabilities that will link them to the Internet, word processing programs, a network diary, information services, e-commerce activities, and even allow them to view moving images. In the not too distant future, the handsets will enable traveling Nokia users to get news and information from home by downloading; say, a local newscast to the nearest television set. ..more

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