NW Marketing

This one kinda goes hand in hand with research. However new products are vital to sustain growth of a company – to help increase revenue.

Most follow a new-product development strategy. It starts with the basic idea. Where does that idea come from? Many places – customers being #1 on the list. Most companies have places on their sites to allow consumers to leave feedback. Blogging is another way marketers are able to gather new product ideas.

There is one are that seems to have a new product every other day – cell phones. The major players in this are having difficulty keeping up with todays “tech” minded people. Or is it that consumers are just wanting too much? That’s a good question. Hmm, I think consumers are becoming accustomed to having companies jump for them that now to demand faster, smaller, cheaper is 2nd nature

Marketing research is the “process of planning, collecting, and analyzing data relevant to a marketing decision”.

Approx 7 billion is spent each year in the US on this type of research. Some of the things it is spent on is advertising, pricing, packaging. Take for example one type of packaging change – Great Value brand bread. I was shocked the last time I went into the store and found that the packaging now contains less color (its white and black) so more of the product shows thru.  How great is that! And why did it take them so long to do it??

Managers can use the research to find out why their plan didn’t work. And also the trends of today, since they are ever changing! Sometimes I wonder though when I see clothes or shoes mostly – who in the world would buy these awful looking things? I’m not positive that every company knows the value of research

This one makes me chuckle. Who needs motivation these days? Well it depends on what kind you’re talking about. In decision making, marketers should be able to study shopper motivation to see what force influences shoppers to buy and not buy certain products.

How about on Sept 11, 2001 and the days that followed?  How many of you were motivated to show your American Pride by buying anything and everything with an American Flag on it? As horrible as it sounds, don’t you think that some shallow marketers cashed in on this? How many young men and women were motivated to joined the Armed Forces?

There are lots of ideas out there about what motivates shoppers. The most basic Is Maslows chart. Pretty much he has found that there are basic needs that human beings need. Among them are; hunger, love, security.  Hunger is the most effective in terms of marketing. Lets say that i’m a busy college student with a full and part time job. I really don’t have the time to cook 3 meals a day – i’m lucky if I cook 1.  So my going to a fast food restaurant is led by my hunger. However, there are those that take this a LITTLE too far and sue fast food because they are fat. But thats a whole other story!

Its time once again for parents and students to shop for back to school neccessities.  I do feel sorry for the parents, during these hard times – how do you know whats essential for your children to have?? 

I started an online search to see what was out there. I googled “back to school”, surprisingly a Wal-Mart ad didn’t pop up. So I went to their website to see what good deals I could get.  On the front page was a few items for college students, you have to actually search through the site to find anything else. Which to my surprise was not much. I guess Wal-Mart is scaling back this year.  I remember as a buyers assistant for pillows and mattress pads – we would always be hectic this time of year trying to get the stores set with the dorm neccessities.  However now kids are opting to go to college near their homes.

How cute, you can actually build your own school kit. Now it does come at a cost, but it does save you the hassle from having to go store to store. I’m going to say that was my fave marketing strategy. If I had kids – I seriously would do that!

I was disappointed that really no ads I saw stood out. Just about everyone is offering some sort of discount and free shipping.  One retailer had some pretty cheap deals, however there were limits – most “limit of 3″.  Now if you only have 1 child, that would be great.  But what happens if you have more than that.  I do know that most of the basic items, like pencils, paper, etc – retailers do take a HUGE profit cut hoping that they will lure you in with those deals and get you on the bigger items.

In conclusion – again, i’m glad i’m not a parent and having to deal with this mess. I do wonder what we as marketers could do next year to drive up sales? If the economy stays this way, it will have to be something drastic.

Product Lines, we all know them: Crest, Bath & Body, Degree, Suave. Lots of companies are expanding or extending their lines to attract new customers. Pepsi leaps out at me, who remembers Crystal Pepsi? Its one of those “back in the day” things. However, it was a clear Pepsi. Honestly, it did taste pretty good, it just didn’t last long!

Goodness, look at Coke, they have 100’s of different categories in their brand.

However, just like Crystal Pepsi, companies need to be aware of how many kinds of Suave shampoos their are. Some of these products are slow moving, therefore distrupting the bottom line (profit). Then there is brand loyalty. This is, as marketers, what we want. To have our customers be loyal to the brand. But what does that mean?  It means, that every consumer has a preference with what they buy, and even if it costs a little more, they will most likely still continue buying that one.  Bank of America is even trying this now.

And then of course there are the car makers. In my opinion, that was too much branding and not enough taking care of business, in the sense of making the cars already out – better.

The definition is: process of dividing a market into meaningful; identifiable groups.  So pretty much a marketer will “single” out (for lack of better word) a specific group. Now this group could be geographic, age, gender, etc.

Lets look at age. I’m in my mid 30’s. Why is it that most beauty products think that I am worried about wrinkles? I’ve scrutinized my face and only have fine ones. Does that mean that I need to go spend hundreds of dollars because i’m in “that” age group?? I really didn’t think so. But who am I to know what I want??

Many companies (not just beauty) are gearing towards age segmentation. Why is this type of seperation important? Because, marketers know that an incorrect strategy will lead to lost sales and missed profits. We’ve all heard the catchy phrases – baby boomers, Generation X, and tweens.

Teens are huge influences on marketing. Think about it, how many kids (teens/tweens) have you seen without a cell phone? Or the latest $100 jeans? Even in todays economy, there is no limit to how much this segment of society will spend. The sad part is, mostly its just to fit in. But thats an entirely different subject.

So we all know that alot of American companies are uprooting and going overseas leaving people jobless. In todays times, that is a little rough to handle. Trust me, i’m thankful to have a job that I don’t have to fear that. But honestly, if you were a major company- and could get your product made cheaper (and of same quality), would you not do that? With unions and everything else, its just too expensive to stay here.

The effects of globalizaion can be both good and bad: here are a few examples; economical, political, cultural. And one of the biggest complaints is child labor. Especially in India, where alot of American companies are going. I mean, lets not forget the whole Kathy Lee Gifford saga. Pretty much she said she “didn’t know”. If its your company, your name – shouldn’t it be your responsibility to know????

So, what are we, as Americans, to do? First of all (excuse me if I offend), I believe that “we” should not object change, if the Company we are working for is interested in lowering cost of labor – how about we get rid of the deadweight? Those people who don’t care, just want a paycheck. Or how about the top execs who believe it their “right” to have a compensation worth millions? Really, are they worth it? Cut your losses and work from the inside out. Not the outside in.

Basically this is the business’s concern for societys welfare. At the top of a pyramid is “be a good corporate citizen, improve quality of life in community”.  But how many companies can you name that have these programs?  To be honest, I can only name 2. Target and Starbucks. Its really sad those are the only 2 I know.

Just look at Targets Community page. So, if you read into this, they are pretty big on sponsorship and donations. However, I found this information all the way at the bottom of the homepage, in small writing. In my opinion – this is something they should (at the very least) make they writing larger. For a company this size, they should be extremly proud of what they have accomplished. 

Now onto my fave – Starbucks! Now they are obviously not as large as Target, however when you first go onto the site it has “PROUD PARTNER OF (RED)”, which is helping to eliminate Aids in Africa.  Then right below that is the Shared Planet.

What great things these 2 are doing! I am proud that I shop these places.

We all just need to be aware of the programs that all companies may or may not have. If they don’t have any at all, maybe enough of us to get them motivated.

Sales Orientation, by definition, is: “the idea that people will buy more goods and services if aggressive sales techniques are used”.   Huh, does that sound like a call you get around supper time? Or like the car sales person?

I recall one instance with a telemarketer. I was at my sisters house, she answered the phone – said i’m not interested and hung up. He called back – I said she already told you she wasn’t interested. The man had the nerve to call back 3 more times. Finally when he was told that was harassment he stopped.  Now in what idiots mind does a sales tactic like that work?? Do you REALLY want to buy something from someone like that?

Thank goodness the do not call list was created or we would be in trouble. Now don’t get me wrong – that has got to be a stressful job, they are under pressure from their bosses. However, it does not excuse them from being rude or harassment.

Another “issue” with high pressure tactics I have is- car sales people. Ive always known they’d sell their soul to sell a car. Or maybe they already have. Anywho, I’m one of those people that if I have to tell you no more than 2x – I get VERY testy. It isn’t always the sales people though, the (not so nice word) service technicians are just as bad. Thats why as consumers – we need to go to shops/garages that we trust.  I had a car once that was possessed (I truly believe!). My grandpa had a mechanic that he had used for years, well shoot – thats good enough for me. If its possible to love a mechanic – I did. My heater didn’t work, he kept my car for 2days (picked me up and took me to work), but all in all he couldn’t fix it. After all the labor and everything – that mechanic wouldn’t take a dime from me. He felt bad he couldn’t fix it.

Wish I could find another mechanic with integrity!

It used to be that as consumers, we would have to go from store to store in order to find the best price for the product. But as marketers have learned, that is not the case today.  All you have to do is use a search engine on the internet. For instance, i’m in the market for insurance, I searched cheap car insurance. And hundreds of links popped up. 

Here is a link to a blog, written by Stephen Cobb. http://monetate.com/blog/?p=529#more-529. I’ll summarize, the moral of the story is that we as marketers need to be aware of our customers. We cannot assume that because “we get it”, that our customers will. He writes of his experience with this, its a funny story and I hope that you read “it”.

I believe the weekly ads are still a good idea, if only for the “small” chain grocery stores. As you will often times find better deals. These are great for people who do not have access to web information, which is hard to believe this day and age. But trust me, there are people (young and older) who do not want to have a computer.

I think that marketers have realized that their “foot in the door” is a step in the right direction. Just go to your local mall sometime. Notice anything? There aren’t many people these days. Why would you want to get dressed, get in the car, fight traffic, and all that – when you can simply turn on the computer.