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Archive for the 'Marketing Wisdom' Category (Chronologically Listed)

Get The Most Out Of Networking Events

May 6th, 2008 (880 Views) by Pinny Cohen

Networking EventsA while ago, I attended a networking event for business owners organized using Meetup.com. I always enjoy meeting new people, and if they are business owners it is an additional bonus.

The topic of the day happened to be a marketing one, and a common question I found myself fielding was, “everybody always says networking is important, but I don’t really get anything out of it, got any tips for me?”

What Do Blockbuster And The CIA Have In Common?

March 13th, 2008 (636 Views) by Pinny Cohen

Borders Books

Seth Godin put up a great post about how Borders Books has cut inventory yet increased sales. Borders accomplished this by carrying less titles, but showing them in a more creative way. Essentially, Borders quit trying to show you what you can buy, and started helping you make that decision by showing you the books it was most likely to convince you to buy.

It was a smart move by Borders (not just because of my fabulous 20/20 hindsight), because they realized that their brick n’ mortar store could never compete on the dimension of variety with online bookstores like Amazon. Instead of chasing a dream, they decided to use one of the huge advantages a brick n’ mortar store has over the internet - better control over what you see.

The $2.7 Million Question: Do Super Bowl Ads Pay?

February 12th, 2008 (1,607 Views) by Pinny Cohen

Super Bowl 2008 Ad Costs

I know what you did last week (assuming you don’t live under a rock). If you were one of the millions who watched the Super Bowl this past Sunday, you more than likely were wondering what some advertisers must have been thinking (ahem, SalesGenie) to run a certain ad.

Well, your humble host wondered the same thing, and set out to find the truth about what a company can expect out of a Super Bowl appearance.Interestingly, once a company advertises on the Super Bowl, they find it very hard to do without it the next year. It’s almost like a drug habit. Partially because they become part of the tradition of that memorable time (think Bud Light ads), and partially because they want to believe their investment the previous year was a wise one.

Customer Service Done Right (Begrudgingly)

January 28th, 2008 (768 Views) by Pinny Cohen

ShopRite SupermarketA while back, I covered the three rules of recovery customer service, which a company should use when they have messed up. Sadly, very few stores keep to them, and consequently lose a lot of longtime customers over rather trivial incidents. Just the other day, I had an opportunity to revisit that idea at ShopRite.

Norwegian SalmonI went into ShopRite, my favorite supermarket, to go food shopping. Walking around, I noticed a price label for 32 oz. of Norwegian Salmon that was surprising - $2.99 (after Price Plus card discount). Excited, since this item usually costs $20.53 for just one pound, I looked around for the right package, only to find that none existed. It was then that I realized they made a labeling error, and guessed that all of them were bought up already by someone with a sharp eye.

Is America Tired Of Social Networking?

January 15th, 2008 (1,323 Views) by Pinny Cohen

Tired of Social NetworkingSometime around June this year, Social networking sites (such as Facebook.com and Myspace.com) experienced a huge boost in visitors. However, if you really look at when the social networking sites started spreading like wildfire, it was around 4 years ago, and mostly in the college-age segment. Now, four years later, there is some evidence America is tired of social networking, or at the very least, social networking with no particular end goal.

Staples, Yeah, We’ve Got That - But We Need To Unlock It For You

January 9th, 2008 (744 Views) by Pinny Cohen

Staples - That was easy.I believe Staples made an error of omission. Their old slogan “Staples, yeah, we’ve got that” seems to be missing a crucial last part and so does their new slogan “that was easy”. Today I ran into a Staples in Manhattan to buy some RAM for a computer, and had a very odd shopping experience.

How To Deliver The Right Message At The Right Time

December 26th, 2007 (711 Views) by Pinny Cohen

You know the old saying, “being in the right place at the right time”? That is usually used as a sign of luck, rather than carefully planned action. But what if we could be at the right place at the right time more often than just by luck?

I have found over the years, that you can market anything a lot easier if you ask yourself one question:

What question does the customer have, but isn’t even consciously aware of?

The Holiday Greeting Card That Wasn’t

December 12th, 2007 (475 Views) by Pinny Cohen

Greeting Card

I checked my mail today, and found a thick envelope with a candy cane attached.  I’m still excited by the surprise of actual mail (sometimes even junk mail), and rushed to open it, when I noticed it oddly was addressed to my apartment number - not me.  Only slightly disappointed, I pulled out a letter with illustrated Santas, reindeer, and Christmas trees.   After looking at the header, I recognized the letter was from my landlord.

TomTom’s Partnership With Google Will Lower GPS Prices - Or Make It Free

December 6th, 2007 (1,681 Views) by Pinny Cohen

TomTom Partnership With Google

TomTom and Google announced a partnership today, and it is a particularly interesting one.  Tom Tom, maker of the popular portable GPS systems many people use in their cars, plans to let users send addresses from Google to their devices.

While Tom Tom already has “Points of Interest” on its devices, Google Maps will soon be able to be transferred right over with one click. This should cause a lot of moving around in the young industry, and here are some thoughts on what might happen.

Analysis

Would You Order Food By Text Messaging?

November 27th, 2007 (1,149 Views) by Pinny Cohen

Text Messaging Order FoodOver the last few years there has been great buzz surrounding text messaging and how businesses can use it to market. Less emphasis has been put on how businesses can use it to actually carry out their business. However, Papa John’s, a popular national pizza chain, has found a way to use text messaging - to order your pizza.

Papa John’s already accepts online orders, and the neat thing about them and the text message orders is that they both appear on the same screen at the store - integrating methods of ordering. This integration technology is key, since the number one reason why most restaurants today don’t offer texting or online orders is because of the hassle to manage those orders, and the additional hardware that is generally needed.

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