Filed under: Marketing Theory | Tags: census, government, marketing, new market order
The US Census provides access to valuable geo-demographic data that allows companies to more effectively targ
et narrowly defined customer segments, down to a household level. It allows retailers to better define site locations and product mix, and direct marketers to deliver more relevant messages and offers. The problem is that this data has a relatively short freshness date as the market has become increasingly fluid and dynamic, which is why the 2010 census is so important — a lot has changed over the past ten years.
Demographers are speculating that this census update might be one of the most significant of any in history, in terms of shifting demographics and clustering.
Filed under: Customer Rules | Tags: customer experience, auto industry, worst practices
Talk about leading with your chin. A car dealership in Minneapolis is actually suing one of its customers because they made a mistake — this has to be one of the best worst practices I’ve seen in awhile.
The case in point is a woman named Tammie Townsend who leased a 2007 Chrysler Pacifica from Walser Chrysler in Hopkins, MN, then agreed to purchase the vehicle when the dealer offered a very attractive buyout price, well below blue book value. She opted to finance through the dealer and signed the contract, driving off with a pretty good deal. Or was it a steal?
I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it very interesting to watch what appears to be a desperation move (or is it a Kamikaze mission?) by Domino’s Pizza, as the company has launched an aggressive mea culpa campaign using traditional advertising and social media, including a high visibility video on YouTube, in an attempt to resuscitate its dying brand. The campaign is essentially an admission that their pizza sucks — at least in the minds of customers. Domino’s has listened and is responding with a complete overhaul of the product.
Domino’s president Patrick Doyle speaks to us from his corporate headquarters in Ann Arbor about how painful it was to hear focus group participants describe how bad his pizza is; the crust tastes like cardboard, the sauce like ketchup, the cheese tasteless and processed. The average frozen pizza is far superior. A vocal leader in the focus group sessions, a woman named Adrian, proclaims it to be the worst excuse for pizza she’s ever seen. Ouch. That’s not a wound, it’s a head shot.
Filed under: Business Models | Tags: customer experience, email, marketing, word of mouth
Here’s a thought: when companies ask if the customer wants to unsubscribe from unwanted email solicitation, they should honor that request, or they shouldn’t ask. Very often they do not but are merely complying with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. In many cases by unsubscribing we are merely validating our email addresses for distribution to more spam lists.
It would seem this should be a matter of proper social etiquette — especially for a company that is in the social etiquette business.
