Sometimes I feel bad when homeless bums come up to me and say, "Hey man, I'm
just trying to get some bus fare," and I cut them off and say, "I don't have any cash."
Homeless bums should adapt to the times and accept my Visa Check Card. Then I would certainly pay their bus fare so that they would get out of here.
Sometimes when I'm in the car and I catch a red light right at a homeless bum intersection I feel bad that I don't have cash to give. At these times, I usually dig around in my car until I find something to give the homeless bum. Typically I give them something from my lunch. Something that my wife snuck in there that I don't even really want that much, like fruit or rice cakes or anheuser busch products.
I hope homeless bums like that stuff.
1.29.2007
1.26.2007
Miserable retail
The other day we had a harrowing experience at a Verizon Wireless store. Along with one of the business owners, I went to upgrade some phones to the new Motorola Q. On a previous visit, one of the salespersons had told us we could change one of the phones for the advertised price of $99.
These are the problems that we encountered at the Verizon Wireless store:
1) Ben, the individual helping us, did not stand up straight at all. Not only that, he didn't know what the hell he was doing and constantly had to ask some other guy for help.
2) "New Hire" was in training to learn and was standing around not doing anything. Ben was training him.
3) The most senior individual there who Ben kept asking for help ended up losing a sale because he couldn't deal with his own customer. He was really pissed, went in the back room, and screamed.
4) They would not upgrade our phones for the advertised price. Here we were, willing to spend money and upgrade our monthly plan (considerably, I might ad, VZW ain't cheap!), and they wouldn't do it.
5) They informed us that we would be totally out of contract in a few months, and we could renew then.
In short, they were completely inept, wouldn't take our money that we wanted to spend, couldn't find a way to sell us the phones we wanted, and told us how to get out of our contract. This is a retailer doing it all wrong. One of my favorite sites, Brand Autopsy, today asks the most important question about a retailer: Would you miss them if they were gone? In Verizon's case, no. I'd get someone else.
In a crowded marketplace such as cellular phones it is vital to stand out from the crowd. Technology is giving everyone a strong network and everyone great, cool phones. As soon as customer service starts to go, you've really got something to worry about.
These are the problems that we encountered at the Verizon Wireless store:
1) Ben, the individual helping us, did not stand up straight at all. Not only that, he didn't know what the hell he was doing and constantly had to ask some other guy for help.
2) "New Hire" was in training to learn and was standing around not doing anything. Ben was training him.
3) The most senior individual there who Ben kept asking for help ended up losing a sale because he couldn't deal with his own customer. He was really pissed, went in the back room, and screamed.
4) They would not upgrade our phones for the advertised price. Here we were, willing to spend money and upgrade our monthly plan (considerably, I might ad, VZW ain't cheap!), and they wouldn't do it.
5) They informed us that we would be totally out of contract in a few months, and we could renew then.
In short, they were completely inept, wouldn't take our money that we wanted to spend, couldn't find a way to sell us the phones we wanted, and told us how to get out of our contract. This is a retailer doing it all wrong. One of my favorite sites, Brand Autopsy, today asks the most important question about a retailer: Would you miss them if they were gone? In Verizon's case, no. I'd get someone else.
In a crowded marketplace such as cellular phones it is vital to stand out from the crowd. Technology is giving everyone a strong network and everyone great, cool phones. As soon as customer service starts to go, you've really got something to worry about.
10.24.2006
Over-Analyzing
So much emphasis today is placed on knowing who your customers, and rightly so. Understanding what makes your customers loyal is critically important to a successful business. CRM programs, loyalty clubs and cards and even credit cards are all based on maintaining a strong relationship with each and every individual customer.
Can there be too much, however? Is there a law of diminishing returns? Can you get to the point where you can truly do more harm than good by getting to know your customers so well?
Best Buy, well known for their customer segmentation efforts, might be the best company to look at when asking these questions. In recent years, Best Buy has restructured their company around the customer segments that they have identified. Two years ago, when Best Buy first identified the Jills, Barrys and Buzzes of their world, they were pioneering the way that retailers look at customers. Best Buy began to drive sales increases by focusing on specific customer segments, to great benefit. For more on the success, click here.
Next, Best Buy began to think about opening up stores that spoke to only one segment at a time. They came out with EQ Life and Studio d for the Jills and Escape stores for the Buzzes.
Now in concept, this was good. This was the logical next step. If focusing stores around your segments can increase comp sales three times more than stores that hadn't been changed over, than there must have been money to be made by creating stores specifically for each segment, right?
No longer would Jill need to come to Best Buy with her husband. No longer would the Buzzes of the world have to suffer through shopping in the same store with refrigerators.
But how did it work out? Well, EQ-Life closed it's flagship store in Richfielf, MN. Studio d has gone belly up. Escape still just has one location, in Chicago, after over 2 years in business.
So what comes first, the chicken or the egg? The knowledge about the customer, or a destination for the customer in the first place?
Anymore, people don't have to go out to go shopping. You can get everything you need from home. If someone is going to a store to get something, they're going for more than just product, and that's what Best Buy forgot.
Best Buy analyzed what people purchased and not necessarily what they shopped for. Maybe the Jills liked coming for a reason other than just the merchandise they bought that Best Buy used to identify them. Maybe they liked big, warehouse type feel because it was exciting and kept their kids occupied while they shopped.
In retail, there's so many factors to consider, such as location, assortment, differentiation, price point, marketing and advertising, and, of course, customers. And however amazing the data may be that you can collect from behind the two-way mirror, engaging your customers in conversation, asking them questions, and taking their feedback seriously may prove to yield much better results.
There comes a point when you can be overburdened by the data, where you can overthink the data. Never forget the KISS mantra. Apply it to your customer segmentation.
And now, it seems, Best Buy is doing just that. They've narrowed their segmentation down a bit, and are taking a more simple approach. I'm glad that they failed so that the rest of us don't have to. They're keeping Best Buy stores that we all know and love, and tweeking the model more appropriately here and there.
Can there be too much, however? Is there a law of diminishing returns? Can you get to the point where you can truly do more harm than good by getting to know your customers so well?
Best Buy, well known for their customer segmentation efforts, might be the best company to look at when asking these questions. In recent years, Best Buy has restructured their company around the customer segments that they have identified. Two years ago, when Best Buy first identified the Jills, Barrys and Buzzes of their world, they were pioneering the way that retailers look at customers. Best Buy began to drive sales increases by focusing on specific customer segments, to great benefit. For more on the success, click here.
Next, Best Buy began to think about opening up stores that spoke to only one segment at a time. They came out with EQ Life and Studio d for the Jills and Escape stores for the Buzzes.
Now in concept, this was good. This was the logical next step. If focusing stores around your segments can increase comp sales three times more than stores that hadn't been changed over, than there must have been money to be made by creating stores specifically for each segment, right?
No longer would Jill need to come to Best Buy with her husband. No longer would the Buzzes of the world have to suffer through shopping in the same store with refrigerators.
But how did it work out? Well, EQ-Life closed it's flagship store in Richfielf, MN. Studio d has gone belly up. Escape still just has one location, in Chicago, after over 2 years in business.
So what comes first, the chicken or the egg? The knowledge about the customer, or a destination for the customer in the first place?
Anymore, people don't have to go out to go shopping. You can get everything you need from home. If someone is going to a store to get something, they're going for more than just product, and that's what Best Buy forgot.
Best Buy analyzed what people purchased and not necessarily what they shopped for. Maybe the Jills liked coming for a reason other than just the merchandise they bought that Best Buy used to identify them. Maybe they liked big, warehouse type feel because it was exciting and kept their kids occupied while they shopped.
In retail, there's so many factors to consider, such as location, assortment, differentiation, price point, marketing and advertising, and, of course, customers. And however amazing the data may be that you can collect from behind the two-way mirror, engaging your customers in conversation, asking them questions, and taking their feedback seriously may prove to yield much better results.
There comes a point when you can be overburdened by the data, where you can overthink the data. Never forget the KISS mantra. Apply it to your customer segmentation.
And now, it seems, Best Buy is doing just that. They've narrowed their segmentation down a bit, and are taking a more simple approach. I'm glad that they failed so that the rest of us don't have to. They're keeping Best Buy stores that we all know and love, and tweeking the model more appropriately here and there.
Over-Analyzing
So much emphasis today is placed on knowing who your customers, and rightly so. Understanding what makes your customers loyal is critically important to a successful business. CRM programs, loyalty clubs and cards and even credit cards are all based on maintaining a strong relationship with each and every individual customer.
Can there be too much, however? Is there a law of diminishing returns? Can you get to the point where you can truly do more harm than good by getting to know your customers so well?
Best Buy, well known for their customer segmentation efforts, might be the best company to look at when asking these questions. In recent years, Best Buy has restructured their company around the customer segments that they have identified. Two years ago, when Best Buy first identified the Jills, Barrys and Buzzes of their world, they were pioneering the way that retailers look at customers. Best Buy began to drive sales increases by focusing on specific customer segments, to great benefit. For more on the success, click here.
Next, Best Buy began to think about opening up stores that spoke to only one segment at a time. They came out with EQ Life and Studio d for the Jills and Escape stores for the Buzzes.
Now in concept, this was good. This was the logical next step. If focusing stores around your segments can increase comp sales three times more than stores that hadn't been changed over, than there must have been money to be made by creating stores specifically for each segment, right?
No longer would Jill need to come to Best Buy with her husband. No longer would the Buzzes of the world have to suffer through shopping in the same store with refrigerators.
But how did it work out? Well, EQ-Life closed it's flagship store in Richfielf, MN. Studio d has gone belly up. Escape still just has one location, in Chicago, after over 2 years in business.
So what comes first, the chicken or the egg? The knowledge about the customer, or a destination for the customer in the first place?
Anymore, people don't have to go out to go shopping. You can get everything you need from home. If someone is going to a store to get something, they're going for more than just product, and that's what Best Buy forgot.
Best Buy analyzed what people purchased and not necessarily what they shopped for. Maybe the Jills liked coming for a reason other than just the merchandise they bought that Best Buy used to identify them. Maybe they liked big, warehouse type feel because it was exciting and kept their kids occupied while they shopped.
In retail, there's so many factors to consider, such as location, assortment, differentiation, price point, marketing and advertising, and, of course, customers. And however amazing the data may be that you can collect from behind the two-way mirror, engaging your customers in conversation, asking them questions, and taking their feedback seriously may prove to yield much better results.
There comes a point when you can be overburdened by the data, where you can overthink the data. Never forget the KISS mantra. Apply it to your customer segmentation.
And now, it seems, Best Buy is doing just that. They've narrowed their segmentation down a bit, and are taking a more simple approach. I'm glad that they failed so that the rest of us don't have to. They're keeping Best Buy stores that we all know and love, and tweeking the model more appropriately here and there.
Can there be too much, however? Is there a law of diminishing returns? Can you get to the point where you can truly do more harm than good by getting to know your customers so well?
Best Buy, well known for their customer segmentation efforts, might be the best company to look at when asking these questions. In recent years, Best Buy has restructured their company around the customer segments that they have identified. Two years ago, when Best Buy first identified the Jills, Barrys and Buzzes of their world, they were pioneering the way that retailers look at customers. Best Buy began to drive sales increases by focusing on specific customer segments, to great benefit. For more on the success, click here.
Next, Best Buy began to think about opening up stores that spoke to only one segment at a time. They came out with EQ Life and Studio d for the Jills and Escape stores for the Buzzes.
Now in concept, this was good. This was the logical next step. If focusing stores around your segments can increase comp sales three times more than stores that hadn't been changed over, than there must have been money to be made by creating stores specifically for each segment, right?
No longer would Jill need to come to Best Buy with her husband. No longer would the Buzzes of the world have to suffer through shopping in the same store with refrigerators.
But how did it work out? Well, EQ-Life closed it's flagship store in Richfielf, MN. Studio d has gone belly up. Escape still just has one location, in Chicago, after over 2 years in business.
So what comes first, the chicken or the egg? The knowledge about the customer, or a destination for the customer in the first place?
Anymore, people don't have to go out to go shopping. You can get everything you need from home. If someone is going to a store to get something, they're going for more than just product, and that's what Best Buy forgot.
Best Buy analyzed what people purchased and not necessarily what they shopped for. Maybe the Jills liked coming for a reason other than just the merchandise they bought that Best Buy used to identify them. Maybe they liked big, warehouse type feel because it was exciting and kept their kids occupied while they shopped.
In retail, there's so many factors to consider, such as location, assortment, differentiation, price point, marketing and advertising, and, of course, customers. And however amazing the data may be that you can collect from behind the two-way mirror, engaging your customers in conversation, asking them questions, and taking their feedback seriously may prove to yield much better results.
There comes a point when you can be overburdened by the data, where you can overthink the data. Never forget the KISS mantra. Apply it to your customer segmentation.
And now, it seems, Best Buy is doing just that. They've narrowed their segmentation down a bit, and are taking a more simple approach. I'm glad that they failed so that the rest of us don't have to. They're keeping Best Buy stores that we all know and love, and tweeking the model more appropriately here and there.
Over-Analyzing
So much emphasis today is placed on knowing who your customers, and rightly so. Understanding what makes your customers loyal is critically important to a successful business. CRM programs, loyalty clubs and cards and even credit cards are all based on maintaining a strong relationship with each and every individual customer.
Can there be too much, however? Is there a law of diminishing returns? Can you get to the point where you can truly do more harm than good by getting to know your customers so well?
Best Buy, well known for their customer segmentation efforts, might be the best company to look at when asking these questions. In recent years, Best Buy has restructured their company around the customer segments that they have identified. Two years ago, when Best Buy first identified the Jills, Barrys and Buzzes of their world, they were pioneering the way that retailers look at customers. Best Buy began to drive sales increases by focusing on specific customer segments, to great benefit. For more on the success, click here.
Next, Best Buy began to think about opening up stores that spoke to only one segment at a time. They came out with EQ Life and Studio d for the Jills and Escape stores for the Buzzes.
Now in concept, this was good. This was the logical next step. If focusing stores around your segments can increase comp sales three times more than stores that hadn't been changed over, than there must have been money to be made by creating stores specifically for each segment, right?
No longer would Jill need to come to Best Buy with her husband. No longer would the Buzzes of the world have to suffer through shopping in the same store with refrigerators.
But how did it work out? Well, EQ-Life closed it's flagship store in Richfielf, MN. Studio d has gone belly up. Escape still just has one location, in Chicago, after over 2 years in business.
So what comes first, the chicken or the egg? The knowledge about the customer, or a destination for the customer in the first place?
Anymore, people don't have to go out to go shopping. You can get everything you need from home. If someone is going to a store to get something, they're going for more than just product, and that's what Best Buy forgot.
Best Buy analyzed what people purchased and not necessarily what they shopped for. Maybe the Jills liked coming for a reason other than just the merchandise they bought that Best Buy used to identify them. Maybe they liked big, warehouse type feel because it was exciting and kept their kids occupied while they shopped.
In retail, there's so many factors to consider, such as location, assortment, differentiation, price point, marketing and advertising, and, of course, customers. And however amazing the data may be that you can collect from behind the two-way mirror, engaging your customers in conversation, asking them questions, and taking their feedback seriously may prove to yield much better results.
There comes a point when you can be overburdened by the data, where you can overthink the data. Never forget the KISS mantra. Apply it to your customer segmentation.
And now, it seems, Best Buy is doing just that. They've narrowed their segmentation down a bit, and are taking a more simple approach. I'm glad that they failed so that the rest of us don't have to. They're keeping Best Buy stores that we all know and love, and tweeking the model more appropriately here and there.
Can there be too much, however? Is there a law of diminishing returns? Can you get to the point where you can truly do more harm than good by getting to know your customers so well?
Best Buy, well known for their customer segmentation efforts, might be the best company to look at when asking these questions. In recent years, Best Buy has restructured their company around the customer segments that they have identified. Two years ago, when Best Buy first identified the Jills, Barrys and Buzzes of their world, they were pioneering the way that retailers look at customers. Best Buy began to drive sales increases by focusing on specific customer segments, to great benefit. For more on the success, click here.
Next, Best Buy began to think about opening up stores that spoke to only one segment at a time. They came out with EQ Life and Studio d for the Jills and Escape stores for the Buzzes.
Now in concept, this was good. This was the logical next step. If focusing stores around your segments can increase comp sales three times more than stores that hadn't been changed over, than there must have been money to be made by creating stores specifically for each segment, right?
No longer would Jill need to come to Best Buy with her husband. No longer would the Buzzes of the world have to suffer through shopping in the same store with refrigerators.
But how did it work out? Well, EQ-Life closed it's flagship store in Richfielf, MN. Studio d has gone belly up. Escape still just has one location, in Chicago, after over 2 years in business.
So what comes first, the chicken or the egg? The knowledge about the customer, or a destination for the customer in the first place?
Anymore, people don't have to go out to go shopping. You can get everything you need from home. If someone is going to a store to get something, they're going for more than just product, and that's what Best Buy forgot.
Best Buy analyzed what people purchased and not necessarily what they shopped for. Maybe the Jills liked coming for a reason other than just the merchandise they bought that Best Buy used to identify them. Maybe they liked big, warehouse type feel because it was exciting and kept their kids occupied while they shopped.
In retail, there's so many factors to consider, such as location, assortment, differentiation, price point, marketing and advertising, and, of course, customers. And however amazing the data may be that you can collect from behind the two-way mirror, engaging your customers in conversation, asking them questions, and taking their feedback seriously may prove to yield much better results.
There comes a point when you can be overburdened by the data, where you can overthink the data. Never forget the KISS mantra. Apply it to your customer segmentation.
And now, it seems, Best Buy is doing just that. They've narrowed their segmentation down a bit, and are taking a more simple approach. I'm glad that they failed so that the rest of us don't have to. They're keeping Best Buy stores that we all know and love, and tweeking the model more appropriately here and there.
10.11.2006
Job Hoppers
Sure, people my age don't stick at one job the way people would 20 years ago, but why is it? Is it because we loose our interest? Our ambition? Our drive?
No, we leave for greener pasteurs. The problem isn't that today's young workforce isn't comprised of good workers, the problem is that yesterday's workforce doesn't work to retain us.
Wanna keep us around longer? Here's what you need to do:
1) Challenge us. Don't just keep us busy, challenge us with rewarding tasks.
2) Manage us. Don't micro manage us, just manage us, keep us pointed in the right direction.
3) Pay us well, and keep paying us well.
We're not third rate employees, we're first rate. We've been better educated, we're more ambitious, and if you take care of us we'll be far more loyal.
No, we leave for greener pasteurs. The problem isn't that today's young workforce isn't comprised of good workers, the problem is that yesterday's workforce doesn't work to retain us.
Wanna keep us around longer? Here's what you need to do:
1) Challenge us. Don't just keep us busy, challenge us with rewarding tasks.
2) Manage us. Don't micro manage us, just manage us, keep us pointed in the right direction.
3) Pay us well, and keep paying us well.
We're not third rate employees, we're first rate. We've been better educated, we're more ambitious, and if you take care of us we'll be far more loyal.
10.09.2006
9.19.2006
K.I.S.S.
Quigo knows what they’re doing, and they’re doing it pretty well. They understand John Maeda’s ideas on simplicity. How, as marketers, can we apply Maeda’s ideas and Quigo’s approach to our work?
To me, new products offer the most temptation when it comes to adding unnecessary complexity. When brainstorming, it’s easy to get into the “What if we do this?” phase, taking what could have been a perfectly good product that served a legitimate need and diluting it until nobody cares anymore.
Quigo looked at Google and Yahoo, and saw an opportunity to do one part of what those companies were dabbling in really well. As marketers, it’s our responsibility to find out what it is that our client does really well, and promote that. A campaign should boil down to one simple, differentiating theme that strikes at the true nature of the product.
As a word of caution, as soon as you have something that promises to be everything to everyone, put up your red flags. While we should strive to simplify messaging until it applies to everyone, we should be wary of clients, products or services that try to be everything to everyone.
GM tried to have a car for everyone. They’ve got GM, Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Saab, Hummer, Saturn and Cadillac. They’ve gotten to the point where they’re just doing too much to be successful at any of it. Saturn has never had a profitable year. Their marketing has become so diluted that Pontiac’s G6 hard top convertible isn’t getting near the attention it deserves. While Buick might have some nice cars, they struggle with a perception of being stale.
You could say the same about Ford, with Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar. Or Chrysler, with Dodge, Jeep, and Mercedes. The automotive industry is a prime example of large companies that, in trying to have something to appeal to everyone, have diluted their brands, and have lost sales as a result.
The auto industry also offers brands that do it well. Toyota, seeing significant growth right now in the US, keeps it simple. They have the Toyota brand, which markets affordable and reliable automobiles. They have Lexus, which offers luxury automobiles.
Where you may confuse a Mercury model with it’s Ford counterpart, or a Chrysler 300 with a Dodge Charger, or any Chevy truck with it’s GM doppelganger, you’re just not going to confuse a Toyota with a Lexus. They are very different looking automobiles.
Keep it real. Keep it simple. Keep it real simple.
To me, new products offer the most temptation when it comes to adding unnecessary complexity. When brainstorming, it’s easy to get into the “What if we do this?” phase, taking what could have been a perfectly good product that served a legitimate need and diluting it until nobody cares anymore.
Quigo looked at Google and Yahoo, and saw an opportunity to do one part of what those companies were dabbling in really well. As marketers, it’s our responsibility to find out what it is that our client does really well, and promote that. A campaign should boil down to one simple, differentiating theme that strikes at the true nature of the product.
As a word of caution, as soon as you have something that promises to be everything to everyone, put up your red flags. While we should strive to simplify messaging until it applies to everyone, we should be wary of clients, products or services that try to be everything to everyone.
GM tried to have a car for everyone. They’ve got GM, Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Saab, Hummer, Saturn and Cadillac. They’ve gotten to the point where they’re just doing too much to be successful at any of it. Saturn has never had a profitable year. Their marketing has become so diluted that Pontiac’s G6 hard top convertible isn’t getting near the attention it deserves. While Buick might have some nice cars, they struggle with a perception of being stale.
You could say the same about Ford, with Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar. Or Chrysler, with Dodge, Jeep, and Mercedes. The automotive industry is a prime example of large companies that, in trying to have something to appeal to everyone, have diluted their brands, and have lost sales as a result.
The auto industry also offers brands that do it well. Toyota, seeing significant growth right now in the US, keeps it simple. They have the Toyota brand, which markets affordable and reliable automobiles. They have Lexus, which offers luxury automobiles.
Where you may confuse a Mercury model with it’s Ford counterpart, or a Chrysler 300 with a Dodge Charger, or any Chevy truck with it’s GM doppelganger, you’re just not going to confuse a Toyota with a Lexus. They are very different looking automobiles.
Keep it real. Keep it simple. Keep it real simple.
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