AllBusiness.com - Advertising Made Simple

Basics of Retail Marketing from a Nine-Year-Old

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:30:00 GMT

As each customer finished a cup of lemonade, Lindsey first confirmed that they were satisfied. “It was good, wasn't it?” When her customer affirmed that it was, indeed, good, she pointed out that a single eight ounce cup probably hadn't completely quenched the customer's thirst. She poured another and held it out to each customer. Most bought a second cup.

How Cognitive Dissonance Skews Marketing Surveys

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:20:00 GMT

When the ideal of “what I want” collides with the reality of “what I can afford,” cognitive dissonance is the likely outcome. We're a nation of optimists. We all want to believe that next year will be better than this one. It's painful to admit that we don't have the power to create the lives we want, even when we only have to admit it to ourselves.

If Elected, I Will Not Serve

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:10:00 GMT

And this is perhaps the way to mass produce individual experiences. Treat the whole company as theatre. Treat the underlying goods and services as props. Can you stop focusing on delivering a less expensive widget, and instead deliver a memorable experience, of which the purchase of the widget is only one of the steps?

Bottled Water, Fresh Fruit, and the Price of Gasoline

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:10:00 GMT

Some of us remember when gas was $0.25 per gallon. We remember the grumbling when it hit $1.00. This story has been replayed a few times, and people always adjust. They will not change their consumption patterns for homes, bottled water, fresh fruit, or even gasoline... it will just take them a bit to grow accustomed to the changes.

A Business Seminar For the 21st Century

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:25:00 GMT

Yes, their profit comes from buying low and selling higher, but it also comes from the retailer's specialized knowledge – what to buy, how much to buy, how to price it. But the Internet places massive amounts of information just a few keystrokes away, and for free, which changes your entire relationship with your customers.

Military Positioning as Marketing Strategy

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:25:00 GMT

The expression “level playing field” implies a fair contest. In battle, as in marketing, a level field is the last thing we want. Military strategists from Genghis Kahn to Douglas MacArthur have all understood the advantages of taking the high ground.

Seven Characteristics of an Effective Small Business Web Site

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:15:00 GMT

If a site looks old and unsophisticated, the site loses much of its credibility. If the design is current and up to date, then the user will be more likely to continue and dig deeper into the content. Digging deeper into the content means they stay on the site longer and will be more likely to have a positive feeling for the brand or convert to a sale.

Marketing P.A.I.N. - Part 8, Message Frequency, Media Choices, and Tracking

Fri, 30 May 2008 09:15:00 GMT

Within hours of experiencing the final trigger, people at Stage 4 will become someone’s customer. When they don’t have experience with anyone in your business category, people turn to the Yellow Pages and local Internet searches.

Marketing P.A.I.N. - Part 7, Tie It All Together.

Sat, 17 May 2008 06:45:00 GMT

Once you've expended the resources to anchor your message firmly in a prospective customer’s mind, you’ll get the best return on your advertising investment by sticking to that position, and building on it.

Marketing P.A.I.N. - Part 6, Make It Stop!

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:00:00 GMT

A lot of advertising consists of the very common "We're wonderful. We're the best" kind of chest thumping one would expect from car dealers or personal injury attorneys. Among those businesses which sell services, "We've been in business for 70 years," is an all too typical statement.