Nilewide Marketing Review articles from November 2005

Nilewide Marketing Review archives from November 2005

Enough dialogues!(managing a dialogue with customers)
November 6, 2005... Despite the ever-optimistic discussion about the benefits of creating a dialogue with customers, there will be many occasions when it may not be the most appropriate approach. In fact, dialogues are too often expensive, unwanted and lead to...

Dialogue or monologue marketing?
November 6, 2005... Customer database technologies have progressed (in the hyped guises of relationship and one-to-one marketing), from transaction data to greater knowledge about the individual customer to, with improved segmentation tools, the ability to direct...

The reverse flow economy.
November 6, 2005... Various terms have been coined to describe the shift of power from companies towards people in the rules of consumption. It has been called the "pull economy" and "the reverse flow economy", and US advertising commentator Bob Garfield has added...

Pass it on!(word-of-mouth appears to be the marketing strategy of the moment)
November 6, 2005... As TV advertising continues to fall from favour, word-of-mouth (WOM) appears to be the marketing strategy of the moment. It is appealing, not least because it is cheap (even described as a "cheap bet"), but also because talking to each other is...

Simply better — too simple?(brand identity)
November 6, 2005... An article by Barwise and Meehan in Marketing Research, called Simply Better, claimed that the primary reason for purchasing a brand was because it best meets the generic needs of that category. Therefore, products must aim to be simply better...

Money can't buy innovation.(growth in spending on R&D)
November 6, 2005... It appears that companies everywhere believe in the benefits of innovation and have increased their spending on R&D. The latest Booz-Allen study found the top 1,000 global spenders (software, health, cars) spent $US 384 bill in 2004, an annual...

The one cent difference.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2005... Everyone is familiar with the retail practice of charging $2.99 or $59.99 for a product when it might just as well be priced as $3.00 or $60.00. However, a US academic study appears to confirm the theory that consumers automatically drop off...

Like mother, like daughter.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2005... One of the strongest influences on consumption behaviour and choice of brands is one's family. Whoever does most of the shopping, usually the mother, is likely to have the greatest influence and, as daughters are more likely to discuss...

Self-determination is more profitable.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2005... Companies commonly send out reminder coupons or discount vouchers to their existing customers to encourage them to purchase again. This tactic may be misplaced, as it can discourage customers who see it as manipulation. For example, among new...

No-one wants to be a millionaire.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2005... We may all be genetically coded to take risks, (and to be very poor at assessing the probability of the outcome of risk taking behaviour), but there seems to be one area of risk taking that we avoid — risking our own money. Results from a...

Only talking to ourselves.
November 13, 2005... One of the paradoxes of marketing, and it is also true of other professions, is that most of the literature is read by marketers even though it contains knowledge that would be highly relevant to non-marketers. It might even be said that...

Complexity thru innovation.
November 13, 2005... The demand for innovation has its insidious side that often goes unrecognised. Innovation creates new products and services, new variations and ways of communicating, but all too often it adds to complexity, both for the customer and the...

Six Sigma for marketing.
November 13, 2005... Jack Welch popularised the data driven process management approach of Six Sigma when he was at GE, but its philosophy and discipline seems to have been ignored or even denigrated if applied to marketing and marketing services. Demands for...

When business goes on a diet.
November 13, 2005... The process that a company goes through when it wants to change its strategy is quite similar to that of an individual wanting to make a change. It is also highly likely to make the same kinds of mistakes. One of the most frequent is to think...

Who is loyal to whom?
November 13, 2005... There are more than fifty different definitions of loyalty, yet we still do not seem to know how to manage it well. A recently published book, Loyalty Myths, shows that even what we think we do know is probably misunderstood. For example, the...

Planning loyalty analytics.
November 13, 2005... Loyalty programs are full of promise and, while the successful ones are often used as examples, some become financial liabilities. One reason is because simple heuristics are used, such as the meaning of loyalty, and another is because customer...

Research for the future.
November 13, 2005... Many of our research techniques persist in mining the past for a view of the future, even though we are well aware of the pace of change. As part of his vision for a new agenda for branding research, Don Schultz suggests that we need to pay...

A me or them approach.(Brief Article)
November 13, 2005... Sometimes advertising sets out to sell a product or service that will help people achieve their goals in life. Researchers have shown that putting primes in an ad can influence consumer choices. People primed with the belief that they are...

Ad congruence with the self.(Brief Article)
November 13, 2005... Many studies have found that advertising is more effective if it reflects someone's sense of self. How people see themselves is called the "self-schemata", and can include all the roles or attributes that they both aspire to and possess, and...

The struggle with anti-brands.
November 20, 2005... The stronger a brand is the more defined it is in the minds of both customers and non-customers. In the auto market most people know what a BMW stands for and can easily decide whether it is for them or not. BMW also knows that its strong brand...

Still heading to the ends.
November 20, 2005... McKinsey data confirm the trend for markets to move to the discount and premium ends. A global study across 25 industries shows mid-tier products and services trailed the growth of those at either end of the spectrum by 6% from 1999 to 2004....

Business is booming.
November 20, 2005... One notable ad for a magazine for the over 50s claims that, according to most marketers, 10,000 people die every day. It acerbically refers to the people who turn 50 and hence drop off the marketing radar. Certainly, one survey of boomers...

Aging down the aisle.
November 20, 2005... For many people, going to the supermarket can be a frustrating or difficult process. They have to navigate around crowded aisles with unbalanced trolleys, reach up to shelves beyond their height, and deal with staff who are not always friendly...

Notice the sex, ignore the brand.(MediaAnalyzer.com )
November 20, 2005... Advertising has long relied on sex to sell, but the question is what a sexual ad actually sells and to whom it sells it. An online study by MediaAnalyzer of ads for credit cards, cigarettes, alcohol, jeans and shoes had some perhaps surprising...

Expanding marketing.(marketing tactics)
November 20, 2005... Any discussion about the future of marketing (or even its present) inevitably comes down to the way we conceptualise marketing. Attempts to define marketing, such as the AMA's recently adopted definition, are usually met with a chorus of...

Who is responsible?
November 20, 2005... Whenever the topic of corporate social responsibility arises, there is always a schism between the right and the left, with accusations of cold-hearted economics on one hand and wishy-washy socialist thinking on the other. One might therefore...

Get your house in order!(Brief Article)
November 20, 2005... US academic Don Schultz has regularly presented his argument that "too much market and marketing research was focused on inconsequential, tactical, short-term studies, used to confirm decisions managers had already made". As a consequence, it...

For what it's worth.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2005... Anyone who has been to an auction for a house or bought something on eBay will recognise that participating in the process reduces deliberation over the actual deal. It can lead to someone paying potentially more than the item is worth....

Digital books or more ads?
November 20, 2005... It is impossible to ignore announcements from Google, Yahoo!, Amazon and Microsoft about the digitising of books and threats from some publishers to sue for breach of copyright. While this is all potentially exciting for consumers, it may not...

Google hits retail.
November 20, 2005... Wal-Mart is feared and loathed by manufacturers of everything from diapers to computers, as they are forced to respond to its demands for quality and low price. Now Wal-Mart is beginning to look as closely at Google as its suppliers look at...

Reducing the costs of complexity.
November 27, 2005... Analysis I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex. Oscar Wilde Many people look back at the past and rather wistfully claim that times were simpler and better back then. They remember they had a clear path for...