Search results for Gap
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July 6, 2011 From Tipline
Sure, there are all these nifty tools out there to make life easier, but many companies are still struggling with how to institutionalize change—especially when it comes to integration. Businesses wanting to become the customer-centric ideal need to have communications cross channels, embedded with the data necessary to allow cross-trained personnel to nimbly respond.
January 11, 2011 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
When Peggy and I moved to Center City Philadelphia nearly 20 years ago, around the block from our 1817 row house was a typical, tacky pizza shop on the corner of Fourth St. and raffish South St. Every morning when I walked the dog in the area, discarded pizza crusts and paper waste were all over the sidewalk and in the gutter. The dog was in hog heaven; I found it disgusting.
Suddenly the pizza shop was replaced by Starbucks. I was thrilled. Good coffee and terrific snacks. The enthusiastic young baristas (clerks who make coffee) are up and at ‘em at 4:45 a.m. preparing for the 5:30 opening. And the place is always clean and tidy. For 16 years, Starbucks has been a great neighbor and presumably profitable.
Many years ago, Seattle direct marketing guru Bob Hacker took Peggy and me on a sightseeing tour of his city and we stopped for a requisite cuppa Joe at Starbucks’ first store at the Pike’s Place Market. I felt part of American corporate history.
In Madrid several years ago, I was delighted to spy the Starbucks logo just down the street where I could bring a couple of coffees back to the room well before our out-of-the-way hotel dining room opened for breakfast.
At the Starbucks down the street from our hotel in Geneva, two small coffees, two blueberry muffins and a small bottle of orange juice was a whopping US$27.50, but hey! the little muffins were loaded with juicy blueberries and it was all lots cheaper than the US$3 per person continental breakfast at the hotel.
In fact, just about anywhere in the world, Starbucks is a welcome sight.
Now suddenly Starbucks’ has decided to change its logo. It is deleting the word “STARBUCKS,” deleting the word “COFFEE” and being represented by a naked green cartoony mermaid with a Miss America tiara and two fish tails.
Will she become the Nike Swoosh of world-class coffee?
I don’t think so.
“If it ain’t broke,” said Jimmy Carter’s budget guy Bert Lance, “don’t fix it.”
Good advice.
August 25, 2010 From Tipline
Marketing dashboards provide insights, not orders. But used exactly the wrong way, dashboards can drive micromanaging to a new plane of existence. Marketers should focus on using the data-capturing mechanisms to facilitate improved communications and clearer views of the big picture.
3 Ways to Segment Mobile Customers
November 11, 2009 From Tipline
With 90 percent of Americans using cell phones, many marketers may not be surprised that studies are emerging showing that mobile customers convert at significantly higher rates than online consumers—even when viewing the same offer. The device that's often with them all day is a perfect one-on-one marketing opportunity. Now all marketers have to do is figure out exactly who's holding the phone.
November 11, 2009 From Tipline
With 90 percent of Americans using cell phones, many marketers may not be surprised that studies are emerging showing that mobile customers convert at significantly higher rates than online consumers—even when viewing the same offer. The device that's often with them all day is a perfect one-on-one marketing opportunity. Now all marketers have to do is figure out exactly who's holding the phone.
December 2007 From Target Marketing
Your mother was right. Manners really are important. Please and thank you, common courtesy and civility—where have they gone? I bring this up as a consumer being treated less than what I would call “pleasantly” by many companies. I think you can relate. Like you, I am over-e-mailed, underappreciated, hassled and bombarded by irrelevant messages. My time is not of marketers’ concern. My past, present and future purchasing power are ignored. My money is taken without gratitude, often by people talking on the phone to a noncustomer. My stress level is increased by too many choices because companies are too lazy to edit their product
The Worst PR Debacle in History
August 2007 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
When the media get hold of a juicy story—one that inspires outrage or prurience—they will continue to run with it until something more outrageous or prurient overshadows it. Such was the case with Watergate and the Monica Lewinsky scandal that plagued the Clinton presidency. These pale to the gross mishandling of national public relations by the government and the private sector of China. In 50 years of being a news junkie, I cannot recall a tectonic success—the roaring Chinese economy—being so badly trashed by greed, incompetence and appalling PR. With a 1.3 billion population, China is governed by an iron-fisted Communist regime. But with millions of individual
August 2007 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
When the media get hold of a juicy story—one that inspires outrage or prurience—they will continue to run with it until something more outrageous or prurient overshadows it. Such was the case with Watergate and the Monica Lewinsky scandal that plagued the Clinton presidency. These pale to the gross mishandling of national public relations by the government and the private sector of China. In 50 years of being a news junkie, I cannot recall a tectonic success—the roaring Chinese economy—being so badly trashed by greed, incompetence and appalling PR. With a 1.3 billion population, China is governed by an iron-fisted Communist regime. But with millions of individual
Direct Mail Strategy: Still In Style
May 2007 From Target Marketing
I’m fairly certain the study of direct mail would still be my favorite pastime even if I hadn’t grown up as the daughter of the postmaster of Inman, Kan., (pop. 1,194). It’s true that, from an early age, I was as eager to see the newly issued stamp designs as some of my friends were to see the newest fashions. But, as fond as I am of direct mail, I also recognize that, thanks to changing technology, new media opportunities, and exciting possibilities offered by the Internet, direct marketers now face a dilemma: What should we do with direct mail? If you’re already using it,
May 2007 From Target Marketing
I’m fairly certain the study of direct mail would still be my favorite pastime even if I hadn’t grown up as the daughter of the postmaster of Inman, Kan., (pop. 1,194). It’s true that, from an early age, I was as eager to see the newly issued stamp designs as some of my friends were to see the newest fashions. But, as fond as I am of direct mail, I also recognize that, thanks to changing technology, new media opportunities, and exciting possibilities offered by the Internet, direct marketers now face a dilemma: What should we do with direct mail? If you’re already using it,
November 2006 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
The idea that advertising agencies are recommending campaigns based on humor—and marketers are going along with it—is an act of desperation. At the end of this issue is an illustration from an upcoming Campbell’s Soup commercial that urges consumers to “Make some holiday magic.” It depicts the branch of an evergreen tree reaching through an open window and grabbing some green bean casserole. The viewer will think, “My isn’t that cute and clever,” and remember the gag, but not the Campbell Soup. Be well-mannered, but don’t be a clown. People don’t buy from bad-mannered salesmen, and research has shown that they don’t buy from
The New Robber Barons
November 2006 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
In the late 1970s, I was hired to write a membership mailing for Comp-U-Card, a Stamford, Conn. organization that claimed to have built “a data base of price and product information on approximately 60,000 brand name products.” Consumers could tap into this wealth of information and presumably save many times the $25 membership fee. Goods were shipped directly from wholesalers to the customer. I met briefly with the president, Walter A. Forbes, who was good-looking, articulate and very intense. At one point in our meeting, he took a phone call and asked me to step outside, which I did. When I returned, Forbes told me that
November 2006 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
In the late 1970s, I was hired to write a membership mailing for Comp-U-Card, a Stamford, Conn. organization that claimed to have built “a data base of price and product information on approximately 60,000 brand name products.” Consumers could tap into this wealth of information and presumably save many times the $25 membership fee. Goods were shipped directly from wholesalers to the customer. I met briefly with the president, Walter A. Forbes, who was good-looking, articulate and very intense. At one point in our meeting, he took a phone call and asked me to step outside, which I did. When I returned, Forbes told me that
November 2006 From Target Marketing
“Stickiness” was one of the original criteria by which Web sites were judged. Marketers wanted visitors to come to their site and stay a while—look around, sign up, make a purchase, tell their friends and, of course, come back. Over the 10-year history of the consumer-oriented Internet, much has changed about the nature of our Web experiences—they’re faster and safer, more educational, more focused and more productive—but stickiness persists as a goal. What has changed is how marketers achieve it and how we’ve grown more sophisticated in our assessment of it. Some Mistakes of the Past In the last five years, stickiness has meant flashiness—literally and figuratively.
With No Plan for Succession, You're Toast
November 2005 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
Just look at ABC and CBS Nov. 22, 2005: Vol. 1, Issue No. 50 IN THE NEWS NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams Pulls Ahead; Widens the Gap Over ABC TO 1.4 Million Viewers NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams had a big ratings win last week, topping ABC's "World News Tonight" by a 16% or +1.390 million viewers - representing the program's best advantage over ABC since the week of the Brokaw/Williams anchor transition (Nov. 29, 2004). --Matt Drudge, The Drudge Report, Nov. 17, 2005 I don't watch one evening news program on television. Rather, I use the remote
November 2005 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
Just look at ABC and CBS Nov. 22, 2005: Vol. 1, Issue No. 50 IN THE NEWS NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams Pulls Ahead; Widens the Gap Over ABC TO 1.4 Million Viewers NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams had a big ratings win last week, topping ABC's "World News Tonight" by a 16% or +1.390 million viewers - representing the program's best advantage over ABC since the week of the Brokaw/Williams anchor transition (Nov. 29, 2004). --Matt Drudge, The Drudge Report, Nov. 17, 2005 I don't watch one evening news program on television. Rather, I use the remote
Drive Profitable Behavior
September 2004 From Target Marketing
Strategies for building a successful customer loyalty program Roughly 80 percent of Americans participating in a loyalty program say their membership in the program impacts their purchasing decisions, according to a recent Maritz poll of consumers. Seventy-four percent of Americans say that without a loyalty program, they would buy less from any given company. Indeed, many savvy direct marketers realize the value of customer loyalty, and have been offering loyalty programs for years to drive repeat purchases and establish stronger customer relationships. But, with the growing number of loyalty programs on the market, consumers have more choices than ever before. The competition is fierce,
September 2004 From Target Marketing
Strategies for building a successful customer loyalty program Roughly 80 percent of Americans participating in a loyalty program say their membership in the program impacts their purchasing decisions, according to a recent Maritz poll of consumers. Seventy-four percent of Americans say that without a loyalty program, they would buy less from any given company. Indeed, many savvy direct marketers realize the value of customer loyalty, and have been offering loyalty programs for years to drive repeat purchases and establish stronger customer relationships. But, with the growing number of loyalty programs on the market, consumers have more choices than ever before. The competition is fierce,
Editor’s Notes: Mighty Media Pairings
March 2004 From Target Marketing
Forcing your direct mail package or free-standing insert into the cold, harsh world by itself is not the truest path to success in this brave, new age of direct marketing. Rather, enterprising companies continue to discover the effectiveness of channel integration to optimize response. For example, a shopping trip to the GAP Web site during last year’s holiday season revealed a smart cross-over strategy for turning the company’s TV commercials into Web sales. Instead of making visitors hunt high and low on its site to find, say, the sweater actress Amanda Peet modeled in the commercials, the GAP made a special section featuring this
March 2004 From Target Marketing
Forcing your direct mail package or free-standing insert into the cold, harsh world by itself is not the truest path to success in this brave, new age of direct marketing. Rather, enterprising companies continue to discover the effectiveness of channel integration to optimize response. For example, a shopping trip to the GAP Web site during last year’s holiday season revealed a smart cross-over strategy for turning the company’s TV commercials into Web sales. Instead of making visitors hunt high and low on its site to find, say, the sweater actress Amanda Peet modeled in the commercials, the GAP made a special section featuring this
The New B-to-B Fundamentals (1,907 words)
October 2003 From Target Marketing
By John M. Coe ... Or How to Sell More by Spending Less For decades, sales and marketing communications groups coexisted as complementary but separate silos in most B-to-B companies. Marketing was responsible for advertising, collateral, public relations and trade shows. Sales was responsible for following up on leads generated by marketing, and selling the product or service to prospects and customers. The twain rarely met. In the 1990s companies began to qualify leads more aggressively, deploy outbound telemarketing, build marketing databases, and install sales and marketing software systems. Since sales revenues continued to grow and grow, we assumed that real progress was
October 2003 From Target Marketing
By John M. Coe ... Or How to Sell More by Spending Less For decades, sales and marketing communications groups coexisted as complementary but separate silos in most B-to-B companies. Marketing was responsible for advertising, collateral, public relations and trade shows. Sales was responsible for following up on leads generated by marketing, and selling the product or service to prospects and customers. The twain rarely met. In the 1990s companies began to qualify leads more aggressively, deploy outbound telemarketing, build marketing databases, and install sales and marketing software systems. Since sales revenues continued to grow and grow, we assumed that real progress was
Bridging the Gap
June 2003 From Target Marketing
Target Marketing chats with B-to-B marketer of the year Richard Rosen about brand-interactive synergy Interview by Brian Howard To outside observers, the rivalry between brand and direct has at times resembled a bout between punch-drunk pugilists. Richard Rosen, president and CEO of direct marketing agency AlloyRed (formerly Rosen/Brown Direct), was named the first ever recipient of the DMA Business-to-Business council's B-to-B Marketer of the Year award, partly because he's a member of an emerging group of marketers who's trying to stop the brand-direct slug fest and bring in the love. He was granted his award at the Direct Marketing to Business Con-ference (DMB) in
June 2003 From Target Marketing
Target Marketing chats with B-to-B marketer of the year Richard Rosen about brand-interactive synergy Interview by Brian Howard To outside observers, the rivalry between brand and direct has at times resembled a bout between punch-drunk pugilists. Richard Rosen, president and CEO of direct marketing agency AlloyRed (formerly Rosen/Brown Direct), was named the first ever recipient of the DMA Business-to-Business council's B-to-B Marketer of the Year award, partly because he's a member of an emerging group of marketers who's trying to stop the brand-direct slug fest and bring in the love. He was granted his award at the Direct Marketing to Business Con-ference (DMB) in
