MEGO: My Eyes Glaze Over

Books. Gifts. Goats

Sep 7, 2009 A Good Laugh, Consumer Brands, Retail Marketing

I don’t know if this is a new sign – or I am just noticing it for the first time. I thought it was “Indigo Music and Books” – but they have the right to change their tagline.

However, this is just weird.

Books – check (picked up Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julian Smith and Six Pixels by Mitch Joel).

Gifts – check (picked up a gift certificate for my sons teacher).

Kids -didn’t see any for sale there.  Couldn’t they just say “Toys”? Books and Gifts will cover any other children’s products they sell.

Popularity: 41% [?]

Tags: Books, children, indigo books, Retail Marketing, shopping

Isn’t this so 1982? Shopping Old – School

Jan 15, 2009 A Good Laugh, Advertising, Consumer Brands, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Environment, Marketing & Communication, Retail Marketing

I was going to make this a Wordless Wednesday but I had to talk about this weight that arrived on the doorstep.

Things that make you go hmmmm….

To me this is on the WTF side of the spectrum. First of all, with the Internet available for an infinite number of product listings and information – doesn’t a catalog seem like a colossal waste of money and resources? This doorstop of a book has got to cost a fortune to produce, and while I am sure a selection of folks still peruse and buy via catalog – this number has likely diminished a lot since the 80s. So, it begs the question – what is the return on the investment? Even if a few people still enjoy the feeling of paper and glossy ink between their fingers, there are equally a few people who will be offended by the waste and environmental negligence on the part of Sears for distributing this beast to a vast number of homes who will dump this in the blue bin without even a thumb through. At the very least could they not give these out “by request”!

It is no wonder other retailers have decided to dump their glossy catalogues for greener pastures online. Is it possible that the cost of the printing (mailing, production, creation etc), and anger of some foolish environmentalists is outweighed by catalog sales? Perhaps I am wrong. If so, it will only be a matter of time before this catalog beast is extinct. Sears, be watchful – the time is approaching to get rid of this tomb tome ; )

Popularity: 42% [?]

Tags: catalog, Environment, green, internet shopping, online, Retail Marketing, sears, shopping

Spreading Word of Mouth: My experience with Canon

Sep 15, 2008 Blogs, Customer Service, Marketing & Communication, Retail Marketing, Social Media, social networks, word of mouth

Two weeks ago I wrote about my ongoing trouble with my new Canon Camera, and the less-than ideal customer service I was receiving from Canon’s service centre.  I owe Canon at least one to one-and-a-half stars for finally replacing my camera with a “refurbished” product. But, don’t get me started on why my brand new camera (purchased in June) got replaced by a refurb model!

Word of Mouth

If Canon runs all customer service transactions like this – they will certainly lose status as a top camera manufacturer – due to the negative word of mouth. One customer can spread the word through their social network and beyond.
Since word of mouth recommendations is the number one influencer for consumer purchase decision, it is important for businesses to pay attention to what their customers are saying. And, just as importantly make strategic marketing decisions and position the brand in a way that will garner positive word of mouth.  Not always an easy task, but a company that understands and listens to their customers is ahead of the game.

The Bottom Line

How important is word of mouth to the bottom line? According to a study done by the Listening Company both positive and negative word of mouth is a predictor of sales growth.  According to the study:

Popularity: 10% [?]

Loblaws: Returns Gone Wild

Sep 9, 2008 Consumer Brands, Customer Service, Marketing & Communication, Retail Marketing

I seem to complain a lot about shopping experiences and products. Once more bare with me on a little rant.

My last post on Loblaws was far more supportive. But like all good things, they must come to an end!

The Situation

A friend purchased a lovely gift for the new baby, a package of 0-3 month Organic Onesies from Joe Clothing (Loblaws) and some Newborn Diapers.  My little baby, however, is not so little anymore and newborn diapers leak and 0-3 month Onesies won’t button up. So, I went to Loblaws to exchange them. Since they were a gift I didn’t have a receipt, but in the past exchanges at Loblaws have been no problem.  This time this was not the case.

The Return

I went to the customer service counter with both items. A very pleasant girl told me that she could exchange the diapers no problem, but that I would have to exchange the clothing at the Joe desk. So I gave her the diapers and said I would be back with my new bag of diapers for exchange after I was done my grocery shopping.

Went to the Joe desk with the clothing to be exchanged. She scanned the items and said I could exchange them for $5.94 (despite the sticker of $8.00 on the package) because the item had recently been put on clearance. Since this was a gift, and I had no inclination to spend more money I went on the lookout for something in that price range. Of course there was nothing in the baby section as it had been relatively cleaned out. I saw a cute hat that might be nice for my older son, but wasn’t sure about size. So, I asked the lady at the counter if she could just put the amount on a gift card until I could come back and find something appropriate (keep in mind at this point my 3 week old is fussing in the car seat…so it is obvious I don’t really want to hang around!). She says they have a policy that they can’t put returns on gift cards.

I said, if I wait – there is a chance that this item will be further reduced in price, correct? Yes. And then I will only get that decreased amount as a return, correct? Yes.  So, not much good in my waiting, so my option is to buy something I don’t want or need now and then come back another time to exchange it AGAIN? You could do that. Seriously. Let me talk to the manager.  {Girl picks up phone and calls manager} She says to refund you the cash.

Take note. Never asked for the cash. Just wanted the opportunity to find something I WANTED! Sounds like the manager was simply lazy, and lost the store $5.94 in sales.

You would think the story ends here.

Went back to customer service with my new pack of Size 1 diapers ($4 more than the newborn ones) and all my groceries. She can’t of course ring in my groceries, and so she offers to return the diapers on a GIFT CARD – so that I can purchase the groceries and the Size 1 diapers at the same time. Yup, a gift card. Now why could she do this and not the girl at the clothing counter.  A mystery to me and to her. If baby hadn’t been fussing I would have insisted on talking to the manager…but instead I leave it here on my blog as a testament to store stupidity.

Technorati Tags: customer service,loblaws,return policies

Popularity: 7% [?]

The Canon Advantage?

Sep 2, 2008 Customer Service, Marketing & Communication, Retail Marketing

  When  I love a product I recommend it to friends, will gladly share my opinion on forums or discussion groups, and of course occassionally give it time on my blogs. I certainly have done this with what was once a favourite product – my Canon Powershot Digital Camera. Sadly, I have a bad taste in my mouth now with regards to Canon, their customer service, and their cameras.

I have owned three Powershot Digital Cameras in the past 8 years or so. And, in those 8 years I likely recommended Canon directly to 50-75 friends.  My mother convinced me to buy a Canon when I first spent $500 on a digital camera, and I loved it so much that when I replaced it a few years later – I simply bought the next generation. In May, of this year we decided it was once again time to replace the old camera. It had gone through a lot: 3 years, soda spilled on it, sand in crevices, and salt water sprayed all over it by a Killer Whale! We briefly looked at our options, but once again didn’t stray from what we knew and bought another Powershot.

It has been nothing but trouble.  The next time I make a camera purchase (which may be sooner than I would like!) I will not be a return customer, I will research… research…research.

Visit 1:

At the beginning the camera had an issue with the battery light. As soon as we put recently charged batteries in the camera – the red “Change the batteries” light flashed.  We bought new batteries thinking it might be the batteries. Light still flashed. There was no way to tell when the batteries might run out as the light was ALWAYS ON! We looked on the web and my husband found that this was a common problem for this particular model and that the fix had to be done by Canon. Strangely, Canon’s site mentioned nothing about the issue, and upon emailing the company they asked if I was using the correct type of batteries. If the rest of the world knows you have a problem…why not admit it?

I brought the camera in, again the customer service rep didn’t acknowledge that this was a common problem. In fact, I had to go into great detail about the problem so he could write it out on a worksheet.

The only commendation I can make to Canon is that their service is quick. I received my camera back within 15 days. The paperwork indicate they gave me all new parts, cleaned the camera – at no charge due to warranty. They even set everything to original factory settings it seemed because when we turned the camera on it was in Chinese. So my husband spent time fooling around with settings, and the instruction manual to set it to English.

Visit 2:

Within an hour of taking pictures we discovered that the camera was making an odd sound. It was an intermittent whining. Back to Canon I went. This is a week before my second child is to be born. Great timing.

Once again I had to go into detail with the rep at the desk.  I explained the sound, and then demonstrated it to him. He wrote it all down diligently. Despite his efforts, however, in 15 days my camera came back “No problem found, sound is normal for this model”. This was a week after my son was born. So far all pictures were taken with our old camera.

Visit 3:

Back I went to Canon, thinking they should pay for my gas back and forth to this place.

Once again, demonstrated the noise to the rep at the desk. Explained that this was my third visit, and held up my baby so she could see how important a camera was to me. I asked if there was a camera they could loan me while mine was being repaired. She told me she would write RUSH on the paperwork, ignoring the request for a loan. She wrote the same details down on the sheet that they other rep had, “Intermittent noise, whining, cat-like sound. “  I asked how we could be sure that they wouldn’t miss the problem this time? She said since the tech for this particular model was not at this particular office she couldn’t bring it to the back to show them the camera, but that since she used the old paperwork and added the same issue again it would likely get looked at very closely. She also underlined intermittent, and gave my instructions for making the noise (zoom out, take a picture and it will make a noise, and if you shake it the sound will change with the movement).

At this time the camera is still with Canon.

I realize products can have defects, and initial bugs. I work for a small appliance company, sometimes products have issues – sometimes something gets by QC! It happens. But a good company stands by its products, and gives the customer what they need. In my case a loan of a camera would have likely made me 10 times happier. Even just a rep who acknowledged the issue would have done wonders for the situation. With both problems I felt like I was telling them something they had never heard before – when with the battery issue – it was a common problem with the model.  With the bizarre sound, both reps looked at me like I was crazy until I could produce the sound for them. By the third visit the phone representative I spoke to initially should have offered to send a courier to pick the camera up rather than requiring me to drive back to the office, or send at my own costs. But despite, my telling her that I had already been to service twice and that I had a new baby at home – this offer was not forthcoming.

And, don’t even get me started on their dismal website.

Technorati Tags: Canon,Camera,Digital Camera,customer service,product review,photography,shopping,marketing,michelle kostya,megoagain

Popularity: 6% [?]

iRant iPhone

Jul 12, 2008 Advertising, Customer Service, Retail Marketing

There is a lot of talk about the iPhone around the world, with the launch of the new 3G phone. In Canada, a lot of the talk is negative. Not about Apple or he iPhone itself – that would be scandalous! The negative is about one of Canada’s largest telecom companies- Rogers.

Now I could go into a rant about the numerous flubs this company has done in the past with regards to the iPhone launch. I could talk about lack of information, high data package pricing, gouging customers because they can, and then the back pedaling with a new “deal”. I could rant about how I absolutely despise contracts, especially 3 year ones, and why. I could complain about how Rogers is using their monopoly over the iPhone in Canada to take iPhone customers for a ride… I could also point out all the bad marketing decisions Rogers has made during this escapade likely making a number of potential customers run for their competitors.

Instead I think Omovo blogger (my brother) is right. Sometimes Puppet’s say it best.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Trading Up: Part One

Jun 1, 2008 Books, Marketing & Communication, Retail Marketing

In March, I wrote a post on my other blog about the fancy and functional new baby gear that I had seen while shopping for gear for our second child (impending August 08).  Just three years ago, I had been given or purchased a variety of baby stuff for my first born – Graco stroller, cumbersome plastic highchair, and a cotton blue sling.  Luxury baby products existed then; stunning strollers for $1200 (compared to other systems at $300), and solid wood sleek highchairs for over $300 (compared to $110). But, now even the standard Graco stroller and highchair sport new fabrics, new colours and better design. There are coordinated collections in “Cherry Blossom”  (brown and pink), “Deco” (large and small circles reminiscent of pop-art). You will pay a premium of course for style, in some cases 20-50% more. It seems we are willing to pay.

the truth about relativity

Dan Ariely, in his New York Times bestseller, Predictably Irrational**, puts a few theories that I think help to explain how we as consumers trade-up and spend more than perhaps we set out on spending.  He explains that the way the mind is wired: ” we are always looking at the things around us in relation to others.”  We compare everything from vacations to toasters, and restaurant choices to education options. We tend to compare things with one another, but we also tend to focus on comparing things that are easily comparable and avoid things that cannot be compared easily.

He clearly shows how this works with this example:
Option A is better on Attribute 1 (quality, perhaps). Option B is better on Attribute 2 (beauty). They are very different options. What happens when we add another option called -A.  This option is clearly worse than option A, but it is similar so a comparison between the two is very easy. Ariely calls -A the decoy. The decoy makes A look better, relative to -A but overall as well. In fact, the inclusion of -A in the set makes more people choose A as their final choice over B.

He throws in a real-life example: William-Sonoma introduced a bread making machine, cost is $275. Customers didn’t know what a bread making machine was, why they needed it over a fancy toaster or stand mixer. Needless to say, sales were poor. A research firm hired by William-Sonoma suggested introducing an additional model, one that would be larger and priced higher than the original unit. Guess what, all of a sudden with a comparison model in the mix customers begin buying the original bread maker.

Three years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of spending $300 on a highchair. In fact, I still wouldn’t. Three years ago I would have wondered about spending $179  on a highchair (if there was such an option) when I could get a perfectly good one for $110.  But now, somehow, relative to a $300 highchair, and the one for $179 that is both stylish and functional appeals to me.

arbitrary coherence

A related theory from Ariely’s book is “arbitrary coherence” – the idea that “although initial prices are arbitrary once those prices are established in our minds they will shape not only present but future prices.” The initial price becomes the anchor. In the situation of the highchair, the anchor would be the $110 price tag I originally contemplated purchasing the item at, all others are compared relative to that price.  So once we anchor ourselves to an initial price ($110 for a highchair) does it become the anchor for a long time?

How do we then trade up if we always have the anchor price in mind? Ariely asks this very question about how one would move from purchasing Dunkin Donut’s coffee (for those Canadian’s consider Tim Horton’s) to trading up to Starbucks. In this situation he points the the atmosphere the Starbucks stores created with fancy snacks, quirky coffee names, and the smell of roasted beans. The Starbucks experience was made to feel entirely different than Dunkin Donuts- so different he says “that we would not use the prices at Dunkin’ Donuts as an anchor, but instead would be open to the new anchor.”

In the case of the new trendy and expensive baby gear, the style and design is in some cases so different from the traditionally priced products that we do not consider the anchor of $110 at all. We are willing to place a new anchor price, as though it were a new category or new product altogether.

the book

** Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely examines the paradoxes surround human judgment using real life examples and numerous quirky experiments run by the author.  I haven’t finished the book, but for anyone who enjoyed Freakonomics or Stumbling on Happiness would enjoy this examination on human behaviour.  The book is written in a down-to-earth tone, Ariely’s wit and humour makes the book engaging for any reader. An important book for marketers who want to understand consumer behaviour.  Thanks to the folks at HarperCollins Canada who sent me this book through their blogger outreach program. 

Popularity: 10% [?]

iBuy

Apr 8, 2008 A Good Laugh, Advertising, Marketing & Communication, Retail Marketing

How is this for impulse purchases? An iPod vending machine…

Thanks – to my parents for the picture.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Tire Goes Green

Apr 7, 2008 Advertising, Marketing & Communication, Retail Marketing

Canadian Tire, a major Canadian retailer, is favouring the web and going green. For the last 80 years the Canadian Tire catalogue has been sent to millions of Canadians who thumb through pages of automotive parts, tools, camping gear and sporting goods.

Now, 80 years later, with the growing importance of the Internet to consumers, Canadian Tire has decided to no longer print the catalogue in favour of an online version. Shopping habits have changed considerably in the last few year, with a growing number of consumers turning to the web to research and make purchases.

The Internet has a lot of benefits over a paper catalogue:
Unlimited space for information
Ability to categorize in multiple product groups
Low Cost
Green – no recycling needed!
Social Aspect – Canadian Tire’s website includes ratings and reviews by customers

A few people will likely be disappointed that they won’t have a glossy catalogue to fold down the corners, and draw circles around model numbers and prices. But, for Canadian Tire it is a long-term win – low cost, environmentally friendly and a new informative, social version of the 80 year old catalogue.

I am sure the decision took some “selling” up the bureaucratic food chain – due to its untraditional nature, so – kudos to Canadian Tire.
Technorati Tags: catalogue,online catalogue,canadian tire,internet shopping,online research,michelle kostya,MEGO,marketing,shopping,canadian retailers,housewares

Popularity: 6% [?]

What Do You Want to be When You "Grow Up"?

Sep 10, 2007 Books, Marketing & Communication, Retail Marketing

On the drive into work today I was listening to the Inside PR podcast and the hosts Terry Fallis and David Jones were discussing the idea that often PR professionals never intended to go into PR – but rather have fallen into the career rather randomly. I began thinking about my own career path which may look less like a path and more like a trampled trail going nowhere at first glance. However, a closer look shows that the path is loosely connected.

HIGH SCHOOL

In high school parents, guidance counselors and teachers insist that you know exactly what you want to do when you “grow up”. They tell you to find out what you need to get there. They give you aptitude tests ( I recall mine thought I should be a teacher…) and course calendars for Universities. Your parents insist that you take all the right courses – Algebra and Physics – even though you are miserable in those classes and require a tutor… (turns out you don’t need either for a BA).

UNIVERSITY

I decided that since I enjoyed writing (enjoyed, doesn’t equal “good at it”) I should probably be a Journalist. So I went to Carleton University. It met the requirements-
(a) it had a good journalism school
(b) it was far from home.

Carleton accepts about 300 students, and by second year cuts that number in half by high grade requirements. I made it to second year, which meant I was one of the lucky ones. I completed my second year, but I realized early on that the type of writing they were having us do – wasn’t what I was interested in – “John Doe, 18, died at 11:00″. It was formulaic. I had little interest in memorizing writing formulas, and even less in re-learning and memorizing grammar rules (can you tell?). I transferred my credits to what was then called Mass Communication. I think at the time I had wild visions of working for the Government. This lasted only until I actually did a summer work program at Immigration Canada and then Health Canada the following year when I realized how dull it could be. No offense to government workers – you get some decent perks but it is balanced by bureaucracy and boredom.

While I was at University I worked at bookstores – as my other love is reading. I know, what a nerd. So when I was about to graduate from University and still had no idea what I wanted to do when I “grew up”- I searched the Internet for a profession. I found out that Colleges had programs on Corporate Communications, Public Relations and Publishing. So I applied to all three and determined I would extend my time in school. I was accepted into all programs but I chose Publishing. As a Senior Director at Health Canada said on my last day, ” So you have decided you don’t want to make money?”

BOOK PUBLISHING

I was thrilled when I got my first job in publishing making $30,000 grand with a company car. Sadly, at the time this was considered high for a new publishing grad. Some of my fellow grads got jobs making $22,000 (no car).

I worked in Publishing sales for four years. It was during my years in sales that I gained a passion for marketing. My territory was known as “Special Sales”, which meant non-traditional bookstores – Toys R Us, Whole Foods, Cook shops etc. The company pretty much ignored this territory within its marketing plans. They focused heir attention on the front list titles, pushing new books to the book reviewers and advertising fiction titles over the non-fiction and back list titles that ruled my retailers. I began creating newsletters, creating in-store promotions, and taking my team to trade shows.

TRANSITION TO MARKETING

I started and completed the Marketing Management program at Ryerson. I made it my goal to get a job in Marketing. No easy feat it turns out – to make the transition. Very few companies were willing to move me into a more senior role, with the experience I had – and I was not keen on taking the pay cut that was required to move into a junior marketing role! Marketing positions in publishing were few and far between which made the search more difficult. Eventually I found a position in one of the few publishing companies that took marketing seriously (in my opinion…) – Harlequin. Romance books.

I loved the job. I worked on catalogues, packaging, ads, tracking spending and the best seller lists. But the drive was long. The best time – 1 hour. Most days 1 1/2 hours each way. In the winter…it could be four hours. Brutal Toronto traffic. It was also before I got my ipod!

This time it was easier to find a marketing job – now that I had experience. I was even able to make it out of publishing into the more lucrative consumer goods arena!

NOW

I work for a company that most would assume is big – Conair. But we are a small group – just over 100 in Canada (including the Warehouse). I work for the Kitchen Division, where our Marketing team is just four people. Total. So we all do a bit of everything. Originally my job was in Product Management, with Communications and Marketing “on the side”. Now that part has become the largest part of my position as I have taken on more projects, and started new ones. I get to do what I love – Marketing. I get to affect change. I get to build the strategy and execute it.

THE FUTURE

You see in each job I discovered something else I love, which led me to the next job. What is next? Right now I love Social Media, I am excited by the future of Digital Marketing, I think the future of business is the Long Tail, companies need to accept the Cluetrain Manifesto, and I believe that “Word of Mouth” works and is a strong long-term way of building brands.

I suspect that in many fields, there are a lot of people that start going down one field only to end up somewhere completely different.

What did you want to be? Now what do you do?

www.megoagain.com

Popularity: 4% [?]