Marketing - the good, the bad and the downright ugly

Merry Maids Outrages Maid Service Consumers Nationwide.   Complaints such as the one below continue to be lodged against Merry Maids by consumers. Merry Maids just ripped me off for 341.00. The owner misrepresents his company, leading you to believe that by hiring 2 girls for 2.5 hours it's like getting 1 girl for 5 hours. I said, I just want to make sure the baseboards and the tile floors get done. He said, We have a system, we work from the top down, cobwebs, ceiling fans, then dusting on down. An hour and 1/2 into the cleaning the girls said that they could ... Read Full Story

Seaweed is all the rage at Lululemon Athletica. The company has a product line called VitaSea, which is apparently made with seaweed. It “releases marine amino acids, minerals and vitamins into the skin upon contact with moisture.” It is obviously appealing to a high-end market and is riding the wave to profitability and growth. But, the New York Times commissioned some research and reported that "there was no significant difference in mineral levels between the VitaSea fabric and ordinary cotton T-shirts". It then quoted the company's founder, Dennis Wilson, as saying, “If you actually put it on and wear it, it is different from ... Read Full Story

I was talking to a marketing colleague the other day about a classic marketing and sales problem. Sales was complaining that the company's product was not competitive in the market and it couldn't sell it. Marketing was complaining that Sales was not positioning the product correctly in the market and was dooming it to failure. I figure there are a number of options: Marketing can wave the big stick and say, "Thou shalt sell it this way". After all, it controls the messaging and the marketing deliverables. Downside is that it does not make for a productive partnership. Marketing can go out and visit ... Read Full Story

There is a good article by Roy Young in Marketing Profs on measuring marketing's success in helping Sales do more with less. I have lectured on this subject at Sprott School of Business at Carleton University so it a subject that I have thought a lot about. I like this approach. Metrics are split in to four segments: top of the sales funnel; inside the funnel; bottom of the funnel; retention funnel. You can read the full article on their web page ; in the meantime here are the metrics: Top of the sales funnel Profile of best prospects and decision makers Quantity of ... Read Full Story

There is an interesting Nielsen study, reported by Marketing Daily , looking at supermarket foods and people's buying habits. The theory is that people buy some products every week, without looking for variety, and other products where they are always looking for something new. The categories are: Autopilot - Margarine, coffee, popcorn, cheese, cold cuts. Buzz - Yogurt drinks, chocolate, sports drinks Variety-seeking - Cookies, chewing gum, cereal, candy Bargain-hunting - Canned tuna, canned tomatoes, pasta sauce It resonated with me and my weekly trips up and down the aisles. I buy some stuff the same, week after week, without giving a second glance ... Read Full Story