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I was forwarded a post from Seth Godin’s blog this morning about his recent visit to a new restaurant. He reflected on the fact that, despite the relative vacancy of the dining room, his party was seated at the worst table available. The “best” tables were apparently reserved for regular customers. I worked in retail
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The negative aspects of your brand are just as important as the positive ones. Marketing missteps and managerial mistakes in the past should be embraced as learning opportunities, not errors. No company can ever be perfect, and forcing a squeaky-clean image of perfection on your brand can actually kill it – no one is perfect
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A colleague of mine forwaded me a very thoughtful article about Social Applications from the MIT Sloan Management Review. I have been trying to explain to people for a very long time the power of social networking sites, blogs, and user-contributed media. Apparently, people are starting to catch on. Here’s a great example of the
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Most brands start out distinguishing themselves based on products and unique service offerings. As the market develops, there are fewer ways to differentiate product lines. Features become ubiquitous across brands and most are forced down the dark road of competing on price alone. This, however, is just one possible fate for developing markets. The other
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Guerrilla marketing is the wave of the future. I have given you information about what it is and even showed you a video about how effective it can be. I do know, however, that you are waiting for my explanation of why guerrilla marketing is so important. Customers seek out your advertisements Think about that
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Every store advertises sales and discounts in today’s market. But how much value does a discount or clearance rack actually have? I currently work in a store that sells luxury goods. Our clearance items are 40-60% off and, for the next few days, we give an additional 20% off. The big numbers and “Save Now”
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A little while ago, I mentioned a new perspective I had on product categorization and marketing as it applies to retail. This is a brief summary of the new ideas I have to build anticipation for a soon-to-come series on the same topic. Divide products into two categories: luxury goods and necessities. I define necessities
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Sometimes there just isn’t anyone you can acquire to extend your coverage of the market. Either your competition is entirely incompatible with your organization or it would just be cheaper to start from scratch than incorporate another entity. In this case, it is easiest to establish an entirely new brand for the new segment of
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Corporate acquisitions, a phenomenon that is increasingly prevelent in today’s news media. Companies will buy up smaller competitors. Others will buy related businesses to leverage the competitive advantages of each. In a heavily saturated market, acquisitions are one way to get ahead, but only if pursued correctly. Buying a competitor just to reduce competition is
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If a move into a new blue ocean is impossible, consider setting yourself up as an island in your red ocean. There are techniques you can use to establish yourself as the market leader and provide a level of insolation from attack. Never be satisfied with your current products – Always fight for new product