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| Subject: They Can't Really Mean That, Can They? | |
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Author: Dennis S. Vogel |
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Date Posted: 22:46:23 01/30/13 Wed Note 1: I don't mean any disrespect to the businesses I wrote about below. Note 2: Some people may be (mildly) offended by the last part of this post. Note 3: Though some people object to a method of Internet advertising I've described, I classify it as a way to present relevant offers to people. Advertisers pay to offer us products & services; that makes it feasible for content providers (information & entertainment sources) to provide us with what we want/need. How many people can afford to subscribe (pay for content) to more 20 web sites? Without advertising revenue, content providers either close their businesses or charge money for access to their content. So what's the problem? I see the same or similar ads in multiple web sites, big deal. So far, I'm surviving. Can businesses or people track what an individual does on the Internet? Yes, in many cases, it can be done. Think about it realistically though. An aggregate of millions of people use an aggregate of millions of computers & mobile devices. How likely is the web based behavior of an individual (ordinary law abiding citizen) to be monitored? Let's not be paranoid, OK? I used the issue to teach about marketing & for some humor. What's In A (Brand) Name? How much equity is in a brand name? To some extent, I can understand business owners & executives wanting to save money & build awareness of brands. Yet, how far will some business people go to save money & wring every bit of value they can from a brand? A successful brand name should convey a promise of a benefit at a quality level consumers expect. Example - Frigidaire Gallery 30" Freestanding Gas Double Oven Range Frigidaire is pronounced like frigid air. When I use an oven, I don't want cold air. I use ovens to heat food. Cold air doesn't heat food to safe temperatures (example: an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit). As the situation is now, too many "food" products are impossible to eat. The instructions are "Keep Frozen. Cook thoroughly before eating." (Has anybody figured out how to comply with this?) Cold/frigid air can help us with the 1st part - keep frozen. But cold is the opposite of what we need for the 2nd part. According to the Frigidaire web site - "Frigidaire heating and air systems are built to comfort your home with the quality, performance and dependability you expect from Frigidaire. Our air conditioners, heat pumps and furnaces are manufactured in the central States according to strict Demand Flow Technology standards. With a Frigidaire system, you'll experience innovative features and smart design for an ideal indoor air environment." Huh!? What I expect from Frigidaire is frigid air. Good Questions & Good Customer Service Despite the brand name issue, I found something on the Frigidaire web site you can emulate on your site &/or in your store. "Answer up to 6 simple questions to help us find the right dishwasher for you." ~~ It's good way to start customer service. The selection starts with 58 models. By using the answers, the system focuses down to 1 model. The number of relevant questions depends on the answers & the number of models that fit a person's criteria. "How wide do you want your dishwasher to be?" "Are you looking for a built-in or portable dishwasher?" "What type of control panel do you prefer?" "What color do you want your dishwasher to be?" "What is your price range?" The questions are simple & easy to answer, though my responses only elicited 5 questions (out of a possible "up to 6"). Based on that, the system can help people find what they want - possibly at nearby store. Shopping for anything is stressful for somebody who has a short time to make decisions, then find & install a product. Choosing a replacement refrigerator or freezer during hot weather can be more stressful. You can reduce confusion & stress by helping customers determine their needs & they're apt to feel more comfortable when they're sure they'll be guided to the best decisions for their situations. Store Locators "Retailer Closest to You" If a supplier will refer customers to your store, I advise you to submit current contact & location information. After that, you should check occasionally that the supplier has posted your current location/contact information. You may be disappointed if you take it for granted that a supplier's sales rep has your current information, so the supplier's web site will have up-to-date information. Customer/account service software & computers in a supplier's sales department probably don't communicate with software & computers used by the web site development team. If there's even a seemingly small change & the supplier doesn't update references to your store, you could lose some or all benefits from any possible referrals. Example: You may think everybody in your area knows about local area codes, but you should do what you can to keep things current. Don't bet your store on believing people will be diligent enough to look for your store after they get inaccurate information. If a defunct store is listed, people may try to contact it & not notice a listing for your store. They may be frustrated & figure other store listings may be wrong too. When they check a different brand (which you don't offer), you'll miss a sale. Suppliers should be willing to update information, so outlets can get as many sales as possible. I checked Frigidaire's web site for "Retailer Closest to You" The store name & address WERE (past tense) accurate. As far as I know after the store owner/founder died, 1 of the sons closed the store. Even if the store would be still in business, the area code 414 has been invalid in Two Rivers for more than 1 decade. The current area code is 920. Yes, I sent Frigidaire a message about that defunct store. Computer & smart phone users have distractions to deal with. Monitor & phone screens may be smudged &/or scratched. Bright lights cause glare. They may not see "Two Rivers" (the city name) clearly or not at all. If somebody sees 414, s/he may think the store is in Milwaukee (about 80 miles to the South). Plus, considering somebody (who wants a furnace) may think search engine results could be wrong. Frigidaire?! I want a furnace, not a freezer. Frigidaire Refrigerator ~~ yes Frigidaire Freezer ~~ yes Frigidaire Air Conditioner ~~ yes Frigidaire Dehumidifier ~~ yes Frigidaire Washer featuring Ready Steam ~~ maybe Frigidaire Dishwasher ~~ maybe Frigidaire heat pumps, furnaces, ovens & cooktops ~~ huh? frigid air - - heat producing appliances? That's not cool. A Similar Example Refrigerators & Freezers - Tell us what you prefer below and we'll show you a list of models! Hotpoint: Top Freezer - Which total capacity (cu.ft.) do you prefer? 18.10 16.50 15.60 Chest Freezer Which total capacity (cu.ft.) do you prefer? 19.90 14.90 8.80 What's the point? What does the idea of a HOT point have to do with freezers? Food Club Toilet Paper (enough said/written?) Hey! Did Your Wife Buy That For You? Here are excerpts from articles - Tommy John's Nice Package - Trade Talk: http://www.apparelnews.net/blog/986_tommy_johns_nice_package.html In the same vein as Old Spice’s ads that address the ladies from “The Man Your Man Can Smell Like,” Tom Patterson tried talking to the ladies about his undershirt line, Tommy John, after learning that wives and girlfriends do most of the unmentionables buying for their husbands and boyfriends. “We did a survey, and we couldn't find any women that didn't like Tiffany’s jewelry and chocolate. It was almost like a dessert color that kind of intrigued them,” said Patterson, who has been shipping Tommy John into department stores with this packaging design since July 2009. # # # Brand Finds Success Marketing Men's Underwear To Women http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eeuhDajGsUeYbMykfDfPbQcNmqls?format=standard Working under the assumption that women often buy underwear for the men in their life, the Tommy John brand focused on creating packaging that would appeal to them. The brand settled on packaging that is chocolate brown and robin's egg blue and is designed to make women "subconsciously feel good" by reminding them of sweets and Tiffany's. The brand is now available in more than 500 stores. Business Insider (1/7) # # # Tommy John Marketing Technique - Business Insider # How An Entrepreneur Used Women's Obsessions To Sell Men's Underwear A men's underwear company is taking over the world by appealing to the people who buy its product: women. Much of Tommy John's initial success is in the packaging, Patterson told us in an interview. "Most of the time, women are the ones buying underwear for their husbands or sons, and they simply buy the brand they always have," Patterson said. "So we were faced with the problem of appealing to women and getting their attention in stores." Patterson questioned groups of women to find out what made them happiest. "There are two things all the women loved: Tiffany & Co. and chocolate," Patterson said. So Patterson designed Tommy John's packaging in chocolate brown and robin's egg blue. "Our goal was that women would look at the packaging and subconsciously feel good," Patterson said. "Their emotional ties to those colors were very powerful." Patterson's strategy worked: five years after he designed his tapered undershirt, Tommy John is carried in more than 500 stores worldwide. Patterson felt certain that once customers tried his undershirt, they would come back for more. "I just wanted to make sure that the packaging initially grabbed the shopper's attention," Patterson said. "Once they try it, you usually get a loyal customer." Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/tommy-john-marketing-technique-2013-1#ixzz2HXGc0ulk Warning: What I wrote below may be offensive to some people. I'm not disguising the brand so it may seem like I'm hitting below the belt line. Considering the product & how it's marketed & packaged, it's apt to be the BUTT of some jokes. Are they serious about this "reminding them of sweets and Tiffany's"? Brown may seem appropriate for underwear, I suppose. Some women buy products for FAMILY members. Yeah, it seems accurate. Tiffany's? As in JEWELry ... Men's underwear PACKAGING ... OK, maybe it's appropriate after all. At least, it seems to fit, even if it isn't fitting. "Patterson said seven out of 10 men that try on a Tommy John shirt will buy it. About 60 percent of those that buy come back for more. And, sometimes, boatloads more." A woman said, "He’s going to freak out if he knows I spent $36 on one shirt.’" The products are definitely expensive, yet the demand seems high. Depending on the market niche size & economic conditions, I wonder if the demand is ELASTIC. I think sales may BOTTOM out at some point. As people will probably expect, Tommy John has a PRIVACY Policy. This Could Happen To You An AdAge DigitalNext Blog post "The Pants That Stalked Me on the Web" by Michael Learmonth (adage.com/article/digitalnext/pants-stalked-web/145204/) & underwear sold via a web site combined & got me wondering what will happen while I wander the web. I checked the Tommy John web site while I wrote this post. Will I be stalked now by ... OH! I hope not. That would be embarrassing when I use a chat room. "What's that you brought with you, Dennis?" I didn't BRING it, it's following me. Since women buy men's underwear, it would be even worse for them. Be careful guys. Think what may happen based on the web sites you visit. You may want to confess now to your significant others. My lady already knows I diligently do research about marketing & retailing. But how do I explain those other things? I have the right to remain silent. It Happened To Me I was reading about Macro-Economics & I got distracted by Tommy John's "Giddy Down not giddyup Stays in place, won't ride up". What does that have to do with Economics? (Are you sure you want to know?) Have a search engine look for "Alan Greenspan" & "underwear indicator". I've also gotten offers for other things on other sites based on what my Internet habits. I doubt anybody else in a chat room would see advertising that appears in my computer - I hope not. But even if so, as Sylvester Stallone wrote & said for/as Rocky Balboa, "A man's gotta do what man's gotta do. Don't ask me to stop being a man!" Dennis S. Vogel thrivingbusiness@email.com Successfully serving customers is helping people become & remain comfortable. Learn how to help your market niche. Please click here for free information. http://www.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Come On! Are They Really Serious? | Dennis S. Vogel | 23:18:54 03/29/13 Fri |
| Yes! They ARE Serious, But WHY?! | Dennis S. Vogel | 23:38:58 05/31/13 Fri |
| So, That's What They Think About Us | Dennis S. Vogel | 00:36:42 03/25/15 Wed |
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