Mashable posted a great synopsis by Soren Gordhamer of how social media is changing business. His four changes are straight-forward and revolutionary at the same time:
- From “Trying to Sell” to “Making Connections”
- From “Large Campaigns” to “Small Acts”
- From “Controlling Our Image” to “Being Ourselves”
- From “Hard to Reach” to “Available Everywhere”
He then summarized these perfectly in one sentence: “In this new era of social media, companies are asked to be increasingly transparent and personal.” Read the rest of this entry »
According to a forecast from eMarketer, 18 million US consumers will use Twitter this year, rising to 26 million next year. Seems like enough people to make this interesting, but for whom?
Advertising consumer electronics online has been a no-brainer, but most would not list powersports as an industry with the most technically-savvy consumer group. They are out riding in the dirt, right? Well, even the more “offline” industries are moving online. Read the rest of this entry »
Ever wonder if a branded manufacturer using Shopatron really gets more love from retailers? Check out this submission we received off the Shopatron site last week from a skateboard shop in San Francisco, CA:
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Select an interest: Contact Shopatron North America
Name: Lizzie Lee
Phone: 415-668-7905
Email: info at purpleskunk.com
Comment:
Hello Shopatron
I have been introduced to your site from our vendor Never Summer. I am in the middle of signing up, but before doing so, I want to personally thank you for existing. We are going on 17 years and internet sales has hurt our brick and mortar sales. Your site is giving us hope that more people will come in for what we love doing most – on-hand “customer service”.
Cheers!
Lizzie Lee
Owner
Purple Skunk Board Shop
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So I wrote back to Lizzie and asked her if I could use her submission on my blog. And I asked her to send me a video, so I could share her story that way, too.
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The holiday shopping season is quickly approaching. I can tell because the Toys R’ Us inserts in the newspaper are growing thicker (and my children are starting to talk about their Christmas lists). It is now time to talk about implementing those in-season strategies – ones that can have a more immediate affect.
Merchandising is a perfect example. A change to an online store can have immediate impact. Promote a product on your homepage, and sales will go up. Just look at Amazon’s promotion of the Kindle, it is everywhere…
Merchandising is always important, but even more so during the holidays. Shoppers looking for gifts need extra hand-holding to make their purchase decisions. It is difficult to decide which Spy sunglasses style will look best on Uncle Jimmy. To facilitate gift-buying decisions, brands should provide shoppers as many ways as possible to find their gifts. Read the rest of this entry »
Most business books are too long. Everyone knows this.
Clever concepts, which would be great subject matter for three-page essays, are expanded into 200+ pages. It’s all done to make books thick enough to attract $25+ from customers with money to spend and problems to solve. Wouldn’t they be willing to pay even more for something that takes less time to read but delivers the same insights?
Alas, much time has been wasted by the millions of people who read business books. This can’t be the intent of authors who care about the future of American business. Unnecessarily long books are hurting our country’s competitiveness!
My solution is the Turbo Topic. Read the rest of this entry »
Who’s up for a game of chicken?
Whether we like it or not, it seems like we are heading for one in retail this holiday season. Last year’s massive dive in the economy just prior to the holiday season lead to desperate discounting in quest of sales. A significant factor contributing to this was that retailers and brands were not prepared for the drop. They entered the season with high inventories and an expectation that things would grow as the previous year. When buying didn’t occur, retailers cut prices to sell inventory. We all remember this well.
Now, according to the Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey consumers may be expecting the same situation this year – discounting and sell-off. The survey of 526 consumers found that while they are planning to complete their shopping earlier than last year, 86% said they won’t buy without a discount of 20% or more. And 25% said they will be looking for 50% discounts before they buy.
But this year is different. Retailers are prepared. They have lowered their inventories, cut smaller product lines and reduced the breadth of items carried from larger brands. This year, brands and retailers are ready to hold the line on prices.
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In working with brands preparing for the holidays, we have been talking frequently about the tactic of getting involved in social marketing. This morning, I received a newsletter from GasPedal noting two great examples that I wanted to share here.
First, is Rubbermaid, who worked with a social network/blogging site BigTent to promote their kitchen products. To engage online moms, Rubbermaid partnered with Leanne Ely, a popular author and nutritionist who leads the popular BigTent group called Saving Dinner. Rubbermaid completed a full kitchen makeover for Ely, who blogged about the experience and offered Rubbermaid coupons to her 50,000 readers.
This campaign resulted in nearly 1,000 consumers downloading a $1 Rubbermaid coupon and roughly 2,500 people linking to the blog. Rubbermaid also received lots of useful feedback and comments submitted by readers about its products, the campaign, and the blog.
Read the rest of this entry »
A recent edition of the Wall Street Journal contained an article about: How to Find Free Shipping Offers. The authors looked at this strategy from a consumer perspective:
“To snare many of the new shipping deals, shoppers have to be in the know: They need to input the right “coupon code” when checking out online. These codes are often delivered via email, advertised on the retailer’s Web site or sent in the mail.”
“But you need not be an insider to crack retailers’ coupon codes. Dozens of sites post codes for various online offers, including SlickDeals.net, RetailMeNot.com, DealNews.com and FatWallet.com… A simple Web search will [also] do: Just enter the name of the retailer and the word “coupons.”
We have recently seen some of our innovative brands using this “value hunter” tactic to their brand’s advantage.
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Success is a journey, not a destination. Too many cooks in the kitchen. The only thing that’s constant is change. Failure is not an option.
These phrases are so overused; their meanings are lost. Platitudes are words worn out. Like old (but still operable) appliances on the curb, waiting for special trash pickup, the best turns of phrase were also useful when shiny and new. But as time has passed, so has their power.
For business leaders and managers, words are appliances. Words are tools. For a CEO like me, words are powerful and dangerous at the same time, like a chainsaw. Most people at Shopatron tend to listen carefully to what I say. Often, I speak briefly because time is short. A clear statement inspires action and innovation. A confusing sentence paralyzes the listener.
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