Great sellers are not immune to lousy meetings. They sometimes miss a cue, get distracted, make decisions to abort the effort too soon, or too late. Sometimes they mis-target, short change the research effort or just come across a prospect who's there to win the session, which usually means to lose the opportunity.
So great sellers experience what the rest of us do as well, episodic failure. The difference between the remarkable sellers and the rest of the pack is that the exceptional performer doesn't judge himself by an unfortunate outcome. That is to say, he doesn't become that failed visit. That's just not who he is.
The great seller takes a much longer view. The bad call was an occurrence; an event, rather than an inevitable outcome in the absence of sheer luck. He sees it for what it is; a moment in time...a short moment over a long time period. So, he doesn't get down. His self-image doesn't take a "hit." He either has an immediate take on what fell through or makes an artful analysis. If no answer satisfies in either case, he moves on, comfortable in the knowledge that, "hey, stuff happens." It's not a defining moment. There are lots of folks out there to meet with and help. Tomorrow's another day, as is the day after.
Great sellers don't get down and lose time. They get challenged. They never stop learning and growing and trying to make life/business better for all with whom they come in contact.
They take a longer view.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
4 in 10 Seek American-Made Vehicles First
Here's a bit of good news for those venturesome souls who are buying up stock in the back-from-the-dead General Motors: A Rasmussen Reports poll fielded this month finds 41 percent of respondents saying they look for an American-built car first when they're in the market for a vehicle.
That nearly equals the 44 percent who said they look for "the best possible deal regardless of where it was manufactured." Just 12 percent said they look first for a foreign-built car.
The buy-American constituency has risen significantly since a similar Rasmussen poll in June 2008, when it stood at 32 percent. And the best-possible-deal vote has declined from its June figure of 51 percent.
Of course, with factories that build foreign-based brands having proliferated in the U.S., it's more complicated now to decide just what constitutes an American-made car. Forty-one percent of respondents subscribed to the view that buying a foreign brand of car that's manufactured in the U.S. is "the same as buying an 'American' product." Forty-two percent dissented from that notion, and the rest were unsure.
Looking at the matter another way, the poll found 59 percent saying they "consider just the Detroit Big Three -- Ford, General Motors and Chrysler -- to be American car companies."
(Source: Adweek, 11/19/10)
That nearly equals the 44 percent who said they look for "the best possible deal regardless of where it was manufactured." Just 12 percent said they look first for a foreign-built car.
The buy-American constituency has risen significantly since a similar Rasmussen poll in June 2008, when it stood at 32 percent. And the best-possible-deal vote has declined from its June figure of 51 percent.
Of course, with factories that build foreign-based brands having proliferated in the U.S., it's more complicated now to decide just what constitutes an American-made car. Forty-one percent of respondents subscribed to the view that buying a foreign brand of car that's manufactured in the U.S. is "the same as buying an 'American' product." Forty-two percent dissented from that notion, and the rest were unsure.
Looking at the matter another way, the poll found 59 percent saying they "consider just the Detroit Big Three -- Ford, General Motors and Chrysler -- to be American car companies."
(Source: Adweek, 11/19/10)
Consumers Set High Bar for Cause Marketing
These days, found Edelman, consumers set the bar high for companies when it comes to their involvement in social issues. Among respondents to polling in the U.S. (fielded in August), 87 percent agreed that "business needs to place at least equal weight on society's interests" as it does on its own interests. And this can't be just a matter of handing one of those oversized checks to some charity: 62 percent said it's "no longer enough for corporations to give money; they must integrate good causes into their everyday business." Of course, this doesn't mean money is a trivial aspect of corporate commitment to good purposes, as 63 percent of respondents also said they "expect brands to donate a portion of their profits to support a good cause."
According to Mitch Markson, chief creative officer at Edelman and founder of its Goodpurpose study, "It's a matter of brands ingraining the cause into their DNA." And that, in turn, means the cause should have some plausible connection to the brand's own business. "I think it speaks to the need for a company to ask what its business purpose is and to find its cause through that purpose. If you go back to what is the purpose of the brand or company, I think there's a natural pathway to finding a cause," he says.
Mitch Baranowski, principal and chief creative officer at BBMG (a firm whose specialties include analyzing consumer interest in corporate behavior vis-à-vis environmental and other issues), concurs on the importance of choosing a cause that truly fits the company's core identity. Speaking of "conscious consumers" who are alert to matters like corporate social responsibility, he says, "They see companies and causes in a holistic sense. While they often see the benefit of more traditional cause-related marketing, they are candidly more interested in seeing companies be the cause -- for example, Tom's Shoes and Newman's Own -- rather than engage in 'stick-on' cause-related marketing that risks being inauthentic if done poorly." Drawing the implication of this for companies, he says, "If you are to engage in cause marketing, do so in a way that is authentic to your brand. The cause should be relevant to your consumer set and align with who you are and what you do. It shouldn't be an order dictated by the C-suite for no apparent reason."
'A UNIQUELY POWERFUL POSITION'
If consumers expect a lot from business in committing to good causes, it's because they think it's capable of a lot -- and perhaps all the more so in an era of skepticism about what government can and should do. Eighty percent of Edelman's respondents agreed that "corporations are in a uniquely powerful position to make a positive impact on good causes."
Happily for marketers, it's not purely a matter of imposing obligations on companies. Consumers will also reward a company that makes engagement with good causes an integral part of the way it does business: 72 percent in the Edelman polling said they're "more likely to purchase a product from a company that supports good causes and has fair prices than a company that simply offers deep discounts." And while a willingness to pay a premium for cause-supporting products is less than universal, 34 percent said that, in the past six months, they've "purchased a brand that supports a good cause even if it was not the cheapest." That dovetails with the findings of recent polling by BBMG in which 81 percent of respondents said they bought more "socially and environmentally friendly products and services" in the past year than they'd done in the preceding year.
Consumers will also enlist as unpaid spokespeople for brands they believe have a purpose beyond just making profits. Sixty-six percent of Edelman's respondents subscribed to the statement, "I would help a brand promote their products or services if there is a good cause behind them." Surprisingly, given the foibles of human nature, the impulse to reward good corporate deeds seems more common than the inclination to punish bad ones. If a company failed to engage with worthy causes, 34 percent "would criticize it to others" and 36 percent would "refuse to buy its products/services."
CONSUMERS AS PARTICIPANTS
If a company does integrate cause-supporting behavior into its normal operations, rather than making it a conspicuous add-on, does this raise a danger that consumers won't notice its good deeds and give credit for them? Not if the company makes a point of involving consumers in the cause-supporting action -- as, for instance, Pepsi (an Edelman client) has done with its Pepsi Refresh project, which invites consumer input in choosing causes to be funded. In the social networking era, people expect and seek such participation, especially since they feel it will yield the most benefit for good causes. Edelman found 74 percent of respondents agreeing that "brands and consumers could do more to support good causes by working together."
Says Markson: "To me, it's about whether the consumer is partnering with and participating with companies to do something good. If you're involving consumers in your community of cause, we'll all get the credit."
This also empowers consumers to affect the corporate world in a way they normally cannot. Says Markson of such corporate-consumer cooperation on behalf of causes: "It allows consumers to put their mark on it. They can't be involved in setting price or developing product, but they can be involved in defining a company's engagement with a cause."
The long economic downturn has lent a greater urgency to this. Markson notes that the overseas portion of the Goodpurpose polling found people in emerging markets "have higher expectations of companies on social issues than we do in the West, because they're closer to social need." The bad economy here may be creating a kind of global convergence in that regard as economic hardship bites harder for many in the developed countries. This also blurs the divide between self-interest and social interest. Says Markson: "Thinking about 'me' may also be thinking about a social issue, because it might affect 'me.'"
When Edelman asked respondents in the U.S. to identify the causes they'd like to see companies engage in, "alleviating hunger and homelessness" topped the list, cited by 89 percent. "Maybe we're getting closer to the need here, too," Markson says.
(Source: Brandweek, 11/16/10)
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Used-car shortage strains dealers, boosts lenders
For example, the volume of off-lease vehicles coming back to Ford Motor Credit Co. will fall in 2011, echoing a drop in retail volume in 2008 and 2009.
Ford Credit expects only around 230,000 lease terminations in 2011, down from 400,000 this year, says CFO K.R. Kent. That's a decline of 43 percent.
For dealerships, a shortage of off-lease cars, trade-ins and former rental cars has retailers scrambling to buy newer used vehicles. As a result, those vehicles are more expensive. And dealerships are buying more off-lease units instead of sending them back to the lender to be auctioned off.
“As auction values have improved, we have seen lease return rates decline,” Kent said this month at a conference sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York.
Fewer returns
In the third quarter, 61 percent of Ford Credit lease terminations came back to Ford Credit, down from 70 percent a year ago. Ford Credit's average 3-year-old off-lease vehicle fetched $16,235 at auction in the third quarter, up from $15,615 a year earlier.
The shortage of off-lease units is helping to drive up used-car prices for the whole industry.
Auction firm Adesa Inc. reported that the average wholesale used vehicle was $9,768 in October, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier. Tom Kontos, Adesa executive vice president, said auction prices may vary seasonally, but overall, tight supplies of used vehicles should continue to support used-vehicle prices for the rest of 2010 and into 2011.
Better results
That's generating much better auction results on off-lease units for auto lenders such as Ford Credit. Instead of more or less automatically losing money on lease returns, in some cases auto lenders can actually come out ahead on off-lease cars and trucks that retained their value better than expected.
Adam Berger, vice president of sales for Milwaukee-based Doering Leasing Co., told a recent finance summit that his company's corporate lease clients are recovering up to $5,000 each on off-lease cars because the cars have appreciated so much in value. His clients include big corporations that lease fleets of cars for the use of their employees.
Most leases are closed-ended. That means the lender bears the risk that the car may be worth less than the residual value that is set at the beginning of the lease. Of course, the lender also can reap the reward if the actual value of the off-lease unit turns out to be greater than expected. That rarely happened before this year, but the rise in used-car values has made it happen for several auto lenders.
In contrast, Doering clients have so-called open-ended leases. In their case, the fleet customer bears the residual risk — and reaps the reward, Berger said.
At Ford Credit, improved residual values in the third quarter accounted for an improvement in pretax earnings of about $100 million, the company said last week.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Digital Advertising Is Driving Growth of Traditional Media
Traditional advertising investments in television, print, radio and out-of-home are projected to grow only 1.8% but digital advertising investments in these media will grow by an estimated 28%, spurring total 3.6% growth in traditional media categories, according to Jack Myers Media Business Report's Media Vision 2020: Media, Advertising and Marketing Economic Health Report 2010-2020. The Report projects total 2010 U.S. marketing communications and advertising investments will grow 3.2% to $601.5 billion. The newly recalibrated data includes 57 media and marketing categories and, for the first time in any advertising analysis, breaks down digital and traditional investments for 14 traditional media and marketing categories.
Consumer print magazine advertising is projected to increase 1.0%, but magazine publishers' digital advertising is estimated to increase 8.5% to nearly one billion dollars, driving magazine publishers' combined growth to 1.4%.
The new Myers Report includes detailed data on advertiser investments in Online Originated Display Advertising, Online Originated Video Content & Advertising, Mobile & Apps Advertising, Satellite/Internet Radio Advertising, Interactive/VOD/Addressable TV Advertising, Point-of-Influence/GPS Advertising, Videogame Advertising, Social Media/Word-of-Mouth/Conversational Marketing, Offline Public Relations, Branded Entertainment/Product Placement, Search Marketing (Online/Mobile), Experiential/Event Marketing, Cinema Advertising and Out-of-Home/Place-Based Advertising.
The report eliminates the traditional barriers between above and below-the-line marketing budgets. Marketers are integrating their budget allocations to reflect the increasing cross-over between their marketing and sales functions, which have historically been separated. This trend is especially apparent in social media, which is growing 50% to $1.2 billion in 2010. (Most Facebook advertising is accounted for within the new Online Originated Display Advertising category, is which increasing 9.2%.)
Consumer print magazine advertising is projected to increase 1.0%, but magazine publishers' digital advertising is estimated to increase 8.5% to nearly one billion dollars, driving magazine publishers' combined growth to 1.4%.
The new Myers Report includes detailed data on advertiser investments in Online Originated Display Advertising, Online Originated Video Content & Advertising, Mobile & Apps Advertising, Satellite/Internet Radio Advertising, Interactive/VOD/Addressable TV Advertising, Point-of-Influence/GPS Advertising, Videogame Advertising, Social Media/Word-of-Mouth/Conversational Marketing, Offline Public Relations, Branded Entertainment/Product Placement, Search Marketing (Online/Mobile), Experiential/Event Marketing, Cinema Advertising and Out-of-Home/Place-Based Advertising.
The report eliminates the traditional barriers between above and below-the-line marketing budgets. Marketers are integrating their budget allocations to reflect the increasing cross-over between their marketing and sales functions, which have historically been separated. This trend is especially apparent in social media, which is growing 50% to $1.2 billion in 2010. (Most Facebook advertising is accounted for within the new Online Originated Display Advertising category, is which increasing 9.2%.)
Small Business Saturday Planned for November 27
U.S. Consumers Encouraged to Join the Movement and Spread the Word
First there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday. Now, on November 27, comes Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. Small Business Saturday is a national movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the U.S.
Joining American Express OPEN, the small business unit of American Express, in declaring the Saturday after Thanksgiving as Small Business Saturday, are an initial group of more than a dozen advocacy, public and private organizations. To support Small Business Saturday, American Express has launched a comprehensive national advertising campaign that includes a heavy Radio component.
Small businesses are critical to the nation's overall economy. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there were nearly 28 million small businesses in the United States last year. Over the past two decades, they created 65 percent of net new jobs. Their importance to local communities extends even further. For every $100 spent in locally-owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures, according to the small business advocacy group The 3/50 Project.
"Small business is the engine of job creation in the US economy," said Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer, American Express. "It is also among the sectors hardest hit by the recession. By spreading the word about Small Business Saturday, we can help raise awareness about the critical role small businesses play in cities and towns across the country at a time when they need support the most."
"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the glue that holds communities together, and we've always sought new ways to support them -- something that became even more important when the national economic downturn began," said New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "When Ken Chenault told me about his idea for Small Business Saturday, I jumped at the opportunity to participate. We've all heard about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, if you have the opportunity to shop on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, make it a point to visit local small businesses. It really can make an enormous difference for merchants trying to succeed."
"When we invest in small businesses, we are investing in Main Streets -- the places that give our towns and cities a unique sense of place," said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which includes the National Trust Main Street Center. "By celebrating Small Business Saturday and shopping at independent businesses, everyone can play a part in strengthening our economy and supporting revitalization on our Main Streets."
(Source: American Express, 11/08/10)
First there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday. Now, on November 27, comes Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. Small Business Saturday is a national movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the U.S.
Joining American Express OPEN, the small business unit of American Express, in declaring the Saturday after Thanksgiving as Small Business Saturday, are an initial group of more than a dozen advocacy, public and private organizations. To support Small Business Saturday, American Express has launched a comprehensive national advertising campaign that includes a heavy Radio component.
Small businesses are critical to the nation's overall economy. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there were nearly 28 million small businesses in the United States last year. Over the past two decades, they created 65 percent of net new jobs. Their importance to local communities extends even further. For every $100 spent in locally-owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures, according to the small business advocacy group The 3/50 Project.
"Small business is the engine of job creation in the US economy," said Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer, American Express. "It is also among the sectors hardest hit by the recession. By spreading the word about Small Business Saturday, we can help raise awareness about the critical role small businesses play in cities and towns across the country at a time when they need support the most."
"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the glue that holds communities together, and we've always sought new ways to support them -- something that became even more important when the national economic downturn began," said New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "When Ken Chenault told me about his idea for Small Business Saturday, I jumped at the opportunity to participate. We've all heard about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, if you have the opportunity to shop on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, make it a point to visit local small businesses. It really can make an enormous difference for merchants trying to succeed."
"When we invest in small businesses, we are investing in Main Streets -- the places that give our towns and cities a unique sense of place," said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which includes the National Trust Main Street Center. "By celebrating Small Business Saturday and shopping at independent businesses, everyone can play a part in strengthening our economy and supporting revitalization on our Main Streets."
(Source: American Express, 11/08/10)
Daily Sales Tip: The Shorter the Better
You have to ask questions that truly engage the customer. However, this doesn't mean you need to develop complex questions.
Instead, the best tactic is to ask shorter ones. Long questions tend to result in short answers, while short questions will generally result in long answers.
An example of a great short question is, "Why?" In my opinion, there isn't a better follow-up question you can ask after the customer has shared with you some information.
Consider how your customers would respond to other short examples like, "Can you elaborate on that?" and "Could you explain more?" These shorter questions elicit detailed responses and that's just what you want.
On the other hand, asking complex questions often tends to perplex customers. Because they are not sure what you are looking for, they respond with the universal answer representing total confusion, "What did you say?"
Questions should not be your means of showing your customers that you are an expert. Save that for your statements.
Instead, the best tactic is to ask shorter ones. Long questions tend to result in short answers, while short questions will generally result in long answers.
An example of a great short question is, "Why?" In my opinion, there isn't a better follow-up question you can ask after the customer has shared with you some information.
Consider how your customers would respond to other short examples like, "Can you elaborate on that?" and "Could you explain more?" These shorter questions elicit detailed responses and that's just what you want.
On the other hand, asking complex questions often tends to perplex customers. Because they are not sure what you are looking for, they respond with the universal answer representing total confusion, "What did you say?"
Questions should not be your means of showing your customers that you are an expert. Save that for your statements.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Moving Beyond Banners
As most everybody connected with the industry has seen, domestic ad spending is on the rebound in 2010 with a nearly 6% increase during the first half of the year alone. A September report from research firm Kantar Media only broke out display spending for digital, but overall as a category, display was up nearly 6%. AOL also announced that it was increasing the size of the banners it runs, further providing testament to this statistic.
While the trend appears to be "bigger is better," I'd like to believe that the industry has evolved "beyond the banner" in online advertising. Storytelling through integrated sponsorships is far more effective at enhancing awareness, preference, and ultimately, purchase intent for the product or service being advertised.
Organically integrating a brand into site content provides a level of interaction that is nearly impossible to achieve with a standard (or nonstandard) media unit. Users are sure to rebel against these larger ad formats, whereas seamless integration of a brand into the content that users already want and consume means you are far more likely to actually engage them.
In a community setting, similar to social networks like Facebook, the power of word of mouth is magnified exponentially. Users are far more likely to trust their friends or people they know over those that they do not. This trust can help virally spread the word regarding an advertised product or service more easily. By "pulling" rather than "pushing" users into this type of messaging, the results are even more amplified.
Of course, there are inherent costs associated with integrated brands but it is difficult to argue with the overall effectiveness of these campaigns. They involve multiple departments within an organization; creative, development, engineering, sales, and account management, to name a few.
The team needs a full understanding of what a client's objectives for the advertised brand are, and it helps to understand the offline marketing initiatives of the brand in order to effectively connect the dots between linear and digital. If you properly achieve this, the results speak for themselves.
It takes a lot of work to get this right. However, isn't this what we should be accomplishing for our partners anyway? Sure, the results related to display speak for itself -- advertisers are spending more money on these ad units, which is good for all of us connected to the industry. That does not mean, however, that this money is being spent as wisely as it could be, or better yet, that the money being spent and the clicks generated are leading to increased sales.
I am aware of the reports out there suggesting the obvious impacts on consumer behavior as it relates to display units, but also realize that CTRs (click-through rates) are declining. The larger and more obtrusive these ad units become, the more frustration web users are going to experience, which in turn will lead to even more "banner blindness", a term that is becoming increasingly popular, based on the declining CTR's experienced throughout the industry.
As a result, we get innovation such as AOL's "Project Devil" or other advances that really do not improve a site user's experience. Is that really what is needed in an increasingly fragmented and more socially-connected Internet experience?
I would prefer to think that web users are more likely to accept sponsorships and other forms of integrated advertising that actually align with their overall experience on the site being visited. In essence, by doing this we are actually "listening" to them, and making the experience more relevant.
It's certainly no secret that "interaction" and "engagement" are two of the most over-utilized terms associated with online advertising this century. But if we can get members of a community to spend more time with brands within more integrated environments, we are improving the overall experience and putting the brand in a more favorable light with users who would previously only see banners and largely ignore them.
I do believe we can do better as an industry. We need more innovation in this area. Sites like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare obviously realize this, and are aiming to innovate consistently. Other sites in the social networking/virtual world space are also engaging users in a manner that is more consistent with a brand's ultimate goal -- whether it is awareness or a myriad of other ad effectiveness metrics.
I think that this trend will continue and I'd like to hope that we don't end up in a zero sum game of "bigger is better." Nobody actually wins in that scenario.
While the trend appears to be "bigger is better," I'd like to believe that the industry has evolved "beyond the banner" in online advertising. Storytelling through integrated sponsorships is far more effective at enhancing awareness, preference, and ultimately, purchase intent for the product or service being advertised.
Organically integrating a brand into site content provides a level of interaction that is nearly impossible to achieve with a standard (or nonstandard) media unit. Users are sure to rebel against these larger ad formats, whereas seamless integration of a brand into the content that users already want and consume means you are far more likely to actually engage them.
In a community setting, similar to social networks like Facebook, the power of word of mouth is magnified exponentially. Users are far more likely to trust their friends or people they know over those that they do not. This trust can help virally spread the word regarding an advertised product or service more easily. By "pulling" rather than "pushing" users into this type of messaging, the results are even more amplified.
Of course, there are inherent costs associated with integrated brands but it is difficult to argue with the overall effectiveness of these campaigns. They involve multiple departments within an organization; creative, development, engineering, sales, and account management, to name a few.
The team needs a full understanding of what a client's objectives for the advertised brand are, and it helps to understand the offline marketing initiatives of the brand in order to effectively connect the dots between linear and digital. If you properly achieve this, the results speak for themselves.
It takes a lot of work to get this right. However, isn't this what we should be accomplishing for our partners anyway? Sure, the results related to display speak for itself -- advertisers are spending more money on these ad units, which is good for all of us connected to the industry. That does not mean, however, that this money is being spent as wisely as it could be, or better yet, that the money being spent and the clicks generated are leading to increased sales.
I am aware of the reports out there suggesting the obvious impacts on consumer behavior as it relates to display units, but also realize that CTRs (click-through rates) are declining. The larger and more obtrusive these ad units become, the more frustration web users are going to experience, which in turn will lead to even more "banner blindness", a term that is becoming increasingly popular, based on the declining CTR's experienced throughout the industry.
As a result, we get innovation such as AOL's "Project Devil" or other advances that really do not improve a site user's experience. Is that really what is needed in an increasingly fragmented and more socially-connected Internet experience?
I would prefer to think that web users are more likely to accept sponsorships and other forms of integrated advertising that actually align with their overall experience on the site being visited. In essence, by doing this we are actually "listening" to them, and making the experience more relevant.
It's certainly no secret that "interaction" and "engagement" are two of the most over-utilized terms associated with online advertising this century. But if we can get members of a community to spend more time with brands within more integrated environments, we are improving the overall experience and putting the brand in a more favorable light with users who would previously only see banners and largely ignore them.
I do believe we can do better as an industry. We need more innovation in this area. Sites like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare obviously realize this, and are aiming to innovate consistently. Other sites in the social networking/virtual world space are also engaging users in a manner that is more consistent with a brand's ultimate goal -- whether it is awareness or a myriad of other ad effectiveness metrics.
I think that this trend will continue and I'd like to hope that we don't end up in a zero sum game of "bigger is better." Nobody actually wins in that scenario.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Daily Sales Tip: You Are Always on Stage
What habits do you have that could potentially create a negative perception of you with your customers and prospects?
It could be your style of dress, a dirty or bent business card, disorganized samples, typos and grammar mistakes in written communication, your table manners at business dinners, a cluttered car, talking too much, or any of a myriad list of behaviors that your prospects and customers observe. Think hard, and be honest with yourself. Then begin the process of changing these behaviors.
You see, in sales you are always on stage. Everyone from the guys in the guard shacks, to the receptionists, to the decisionmakers are watching you and based on their perceptions, deciding if they like you or not.
If you want to close more business and earn more commissions, it is imperative that you work tirelessly to influence these perceptions. Being likeable won't necessarily guarantee you get the deal done, but being unlikeable will almost certainly guarantee that you won't get the sale.
It could be your style of dress, a dirty or bent business card, disorganized samples, typos and grammar mistakes in written communication, your table manners at business dinners, a cluttered car, talking too much, or any of a myriad list of behaviors that your prospects and customers observe. Think hard, and be honest with yourself. Then begin the process of changing these behaviors.
You see, in sales you are always on stage. Everyone from the guys in the guard shacks, to the receptionists, to the decisionmakers are watching you and based on their perceptions, deciding if they like you or not.
If you want to close more business and earn more commissions, it is imperative that you work tirelessly to influence these perceptions. Being likeable won't necessarily guarantee you get the deal done, but being unlikeable will almost certainly guarantee that you won't get the sale.
Big-Spending Baby Boomers Bend the Rules of Marketing
Chris Bonney knows precisely when marketers abandoned him: the day he turned 55.
Until then, the consultant from Virginia Beach says, his opinion on new products was valued by a major marketing research firm that crunches consumer preference data. It would ask him to respond to surveys almost daily. But after his 55th birthday, the e-mail surveys abruptly stopped.
"The minute I turned 55, it was like nobody cared anymore," Bonney says. "I didn't change from one day to the next, but as far as they were concerned, I'd aged out of relevance."
Marketers traditionally have lavished the most attention on the 18-to-34-year-old set, believing their brand loyalties are more malleable so they can be captured as lifetime customers.
It's as if marketers all wear the same blinders. Because so many marketing executives are under 40 -- or even under 30 -- many presume most consumers not only think like them, but want to be like them, says Matt Thornhill, 50, founder of The Boomer Project, a specialty research firm. "They forget that people over 50 still have dreams," he says.
The traditional thinking among marketers is that older folks spend less, have little interest in new products and have brand preferences set in stone. But across the USA, the 77 million members of the Baby Boom generation -- folks born from 1946 through 1964 -- are turning that conventional marketing wisdom on its head.
As Baby Boomers are aging and accumulating wealth, their spending is growing at a pace that's leaving younger generations far behind. Spending by the 116 million U.S. consumers age 50 and older was $2.9 trillion last year -- up 45% in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, the 182 million people younger than 50 spent $3.3 trillion last year -- up just 6% during the same decade, according to an analysis for USA TODAY of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by The Boomer Project.
And unlike the stereotype of older consumers being averse to new things, Boomers are among the biggest buyers of new technology and new cars.
"Life doesn't stop at 49," says Peg Hudson, 59, a radio station sales rep from Greenville, S.C.
All this has some marketers taking a new look at older buyers and testing new avenues and products to tap into this gold mine. Among them: Unilever, which makes Dove soap and Lipton tea; General Mills; Lincoln; investment firm Raymond James; Best Buy; and Maidenform. Instead of treating Boomers like damaged goods, marketers for these products are notably celebrating them.
"Most marketing that targets Boomers presumes there's something wrong with them that needs fixing," such as age spots, wrinkles or erectile dysfunction, Thornhill says. "It's malady-based. For the most part, it's not accurate."
About to get richer
Marketers who ignore Boomers do so at their peril. For one thing, Boomers are about to get a lot richer. Maybe not as rich as before the recession, but richer nonetheless.
People 50 and older will inherit an estimated $14 trillion to $20 trillion during the next 20 years.
"This is something that will never happen again," says Brent Bouchez, founder of consulting firm Agency Five-0, which specializes in adults 50 and older. "What's more, this group will probably not leave a lot of that money to the next generation."
Among the things Boomers most love to buy: new cars.
Last year, consumers 50 and older spent $87 billion on cars compared with $70 billion by those under age 50, reports the Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They buy more new cars, spend more on the cars they buy -- and even buy cars for their kids and grandkids.
"But can you think of any carmaker that really focuses on the 50-plus segment?" asks Thornhill. "Cadillac doesn't even do it anymore. The whole auto category thinks people over 50 are invisible. I just can't explain this. There's a major change afoot that most marketers are missing."
What they're missing is not just the spending power Boomers have -- it's their sheer numbers. By 2030, there will be twice as many people over age 65 as now, Thornhill says. One in seven drivers now is over 65; by 2030 it will be one in four.
"This is demographic dynasty," Thornhill says. "If you don't have a strategy for making your product relevant to 50-plus consumers, you will have a very rough time over the next 20 years."
Crafting a strategy for age-specific products -- such as seniors-only condos on a golf course -- is relatively simple. But making mass-market products relevant to Boomers is more like walking a generational minefield.
Marketers have to be careful their ads don't make Boomers feel like old fogies, and avoid talking to them as if they're under 30.
Here's how some marketers are trying to avoid that fate and are courting Boomers:
• Make them feel good. There was heated debate at Unilever over a proposal to extend marketing of its 53-year-old Dove soap brand to men -- particularly men 35 and older.
"Let's say it wasn't an idea that everyone said 'yes' to," says Lisa Klauser, Unilever's consumer solutions vice president.
But executives ultimately bought into the idea that self-confident men wouldn't be shy about using Dove products to help with dry and aging skin. After all, many had been using their wives' Dove for years.
The Dove Men Plus Care line got its initial ad push in February's Super Bowl and already has nearly 3% of the bar and body wash market -- a big win.
"There were certainly people who were skeptical of the idea," says Klauser. Not anymore.
• Make them feel hip. From 2007 to 2010, the average age of a new car buyer rose from 52 to 56. Lincoln saw its average buyer shoot past 60 in that time.
Lincoln's marketing challenge was to skew slightly younger -- into the mid-50s -- and also appeal to people in their 40s.
So it brought in 48-year-old "Mad Men" star John Slattery to help pitch its tech-loaded 2011 Lincoln MKX crossover SUV.
"Fiftysomethings can relate to him, but he's also cool to people in their 40s," says Matt VanDyke, marketing director for Lincoln.
The ads avoid conspicuous consumption and any "over-the-top characterization of luxury," says VanDyke. Instead, they focus on the MKX's Boomer-appealing intuitive technology. For example, ads show there's no volume knob on the radio -- you slide your finger across a touch bar.
• Make them feel smart. Raymond James is not a household name. So the investment firm decided it had to try outside-the-box marketing to capture Boomer attention.
Many Boomers are retiring without pensions, so managing their 401(k) and other retirement accounts is critical. "It's a huge need and a huge opportunity from a business standpoint," says marketing head Mike White.
So Raymond James recently began airing an ad with a woman who lives (and lives vigorously) to 187. She remarries at 100. And again, at 150. And she hang glides at 187.
Many Boomers seriously believe they may live into their 90s -- or beyond. "But if you told the same story about a woman who lived to be 90, it wouldn't be very interesting," says White.
Boomers relate to the woman who appears in the ad -- and actually is 80, says White. "They look at her and think: That'll be me in 20 years."
• Make them feel sexy. For Boomer women, "slimming, toning and smoothing becomes more relevant," says Lucille DeHart, chief marketer for women's lingerie maker Maidenform.
That's one reason the 88-year-old brand has created Boomer-appealing products intended to enhance one's shape and counteract gravity. Long gone are the days of girdles and corsets, replaced by undergarments with new materials -- and a new spin -- dubbed shapewear.
And sex appeal is part of the sell. Several months ago, Maidenform rolled out the Ultimate Push Up Bra -- a bra with lift, as well as enough padding to expand a woman's shape by two cup sizes. The bra is aimed at women ages 35 to 54 who "like the lift and definition," says DeHart.
The brand's shapewear also includes the all-in-one Fat Free Dressing line rolled out two years ago: tank tops and legging items that DeHart calls an "undergarment, shaping piece and apparel in one."
Key to selling these products, says DeHart, is to keep them fashionable. "We don't design older pieces for older people."
• Make them feel hungry. While Boomers may eat less as they age, they'll pay for quality. After hearing consumers say they wanted P.F. Chang's food at home, Unilever in April teamed with the Asian-food casual-dining chain on P.F. Chang's Home Menu meals for two. While they may seem a tad pricey for frozen meals at $7.99, Klauser says sales were nearly $14 million last month, so it's well on its way to becoming a $100 million-plus brand.
General Mills had a similar idea and, in September, rolled out Romano's Macaroni Grill frozen entrees for two.
Food marketers also are aware that Boomers' lives have changed, that some have health conditions that require diet changes and many are empty nesters. "We know the majority have had a trigger event that changes the way they interact with food," says John Haugen, vice president of health and wellness at General Mills.
So General Mills added a line of reduced-sodium Progresso soups. It's launched portion-control Green Giant veggies. And it's begun to increase type size on packaging targeted at Boomers.
• Make them feel techie. Boomers spend more on tech than anyone. They spent an average of $850 for their latest home computer -- $50 more than any other group, reports Forrester Research. "People presume that Gen Y is the most eager to adopt technology, but they don't have the spending power of Boomers," says Jacqueline Anderson, consumer insights analyst.
Bonney, the Virginia Beach Boomer, owns an iPhone, an iPod and a Mac. He particularly likes Apple's marketing because it speaks to his interests "and not to my age." Such thinking can help broaden any product's appeal. While few brands beyond the tech world think so successfully outside the box, Louis Vuitton, the designer brand, takes a similar tactic by featuring Bono in its newest print campaign and Madonna in a previous one.
Familiar celebs aside, few things capture Boomer interest more than tech. And few marketers are more aware of Boomers' tech interest than retailer Best Buy.
Spokeswoman Paula Baldwin says Best Buy tries to make its stores "touch and feel" places, which helps Boomers feel comfortable with new technologies. The chain's Geek Squad service -- which helps buyers set up new devices and get more out of them -- is heavily used by Boomers.
In a recent blog post, Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn, 51, who is a Boomer, noted, "I'm always caught off-guard by the assumption that Boomers hesitate to embrace technology."
Boomers do demand ease of use, he says. Apple's iPad "caused some bloggers to quip that this device is merely an iPhone for the elderly. To which I respond, 'You got a problem with that?' "
(Source: USA Today, 11/16/10)
Until then, the consultant from Virginia Beach says, his opinion on new products was valued by a major marketing research firm that crunches consumer preference data. It would ask him to respond to surveys almost daily. But after his 55th birthday, the e-mail surveys abruptly stopped.
"The minute I turned 55, it was like nobody cared anymore," Bonney says. "I didn't change from one day to the next, but as far as they were concerned, I'd aged out of relevance."
Marketers traditionally have lavished the most attention on the 18-to-34-year-old set, believing their brand loyalties are more malleable so they can be captured as lifetime customers.
It's as if marketers all wear the same blinders. Because so many marketing executives are under 40 -- or even under 30 -- many presume most consumers not only think like them, but want to be like them, says Matt Thornhill, 50, founder of The Boomer Project, a specialty research firm. "They forget that people over 50 still have dreams," he says.
The traditional thinking among marketers is that older folks spend less, have little interest in new products and have brand preferences set in stone. But across the USA, the 77 million members of the Baby Boom generation -- folks born from 1946 through 1964 -- are turning that conventional marketing wisdom on its head.
As Baby Boomers are aging and accumulating wealth, their spending is growing at a pace that's leaving younger generations far behind. Spending by the 116 million U.S. consumers age 50 and older was $2.9 trillion last year -- up 45% in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, the 182 million people younger than 50 spent $3.3 trillion last year -- up just 6% during the same decade, according to an analysis for USA TODAY of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by The Boomer Project.
And unlike the stereotype of older consumers being averse to new things, Boomers are among the biggest buyers of new technology and new cars.
"Life doesn't stop at 49," says Peg Hudson, 59, a radio station sales rep from Greenville, S.C.
All this has some marketers taking a new look at older buyers and testing new avenues and products to tap into this gold mine. Among them: Unilever, which makes Dove soap and Lipton tea; General Mills; Lincoln; investment firm Raymond James; Best Buy; and Maidenform. Instead of treating Boomers like damaged goods, marketers for these products are notably celebrating them.
"Most marketing that targets Boomers presumes there's something wrong with them that needs fixing," such as age spots, wrinkles or erectile dysfunction, Thornhill says. "It's malady-based. For the most part, it's not accurate."
About to get richer
Marketers who ignore Boomers do so at their peril. For one thing, Boomers are about to get a lot richer. Maybe not as rich as before the recession, but richer nonetheless.
People 50 and older will inherit an estimated $14 trillion to $20 trillion during the next 20 years.
"This is something that will never happen again," says Brent Bouchez, founder of consulting firm Agency Five-0, which specializes in adults 50 and older. "What's more, this group will probably not leave a lot of that money to the next generation."
Among the things Boomers most love to buy: new cars.
Last year, consumers 50 and older spent $87 billion on cars compared with $70 billion by those under age 50, reports the Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They buy more new cars, spend more on the cars they buy -- and even buy cars for their kids and grandkids.
"But can you think of any carmaker that really focuses on the 50-plus segment?" asks Thornhill. "Cadillac doesn't even do it anymore. The whole auto category thinks people over 50 are invisible. I just can't explain this. There's a major change afoot that most marketers are missing."
What they're missing is not just the spending power Boomers have -- it's their sheer numbers. By 2030, there will be twice as many people over age 65 as now, Thornhill says. One in seven drivers now is over 65; by 2030 it will be one in four.
"This is demographic dynasty," Thornhill says. "If you don't have a strategy for making your product relevant to 50-plus consumers, you will have a very rough time over the next 20 years."
Crafting a strategy for age-specific products -- such as seniors-only condos on a golf course -- is relatively simple. But making mass-market products relevant to Boomers is more like walking a generational minefield.
Marketers have to be careful their ads don't make Boomers feel like old fogies, and avoid talking to them as if they're under 30.
Here's how some marketers are trying to avoid that fate and are courting Boomers:
• Make them feel good. There was heated debate at Unilever over a proposal to extend marketing of its 53-year-old Dove soap brand to men -- particularly men 35 and older.
"Let's say it wasn't an idea that everyone said 'yes' to," says Lisa Klauser, Unilever's consumer solutions vice president.
But executives ultimately bought into the idea that self-confident men wouldn't be shy about using Dove products to help with dry and aging skin. After all, many had been using their wives' Dove for years.
The Dove Men Plus Care line got its initial ad push in February's Super Bowl and already has nearly 3% of the bar and body wash market -- a big win.
"There were certainly people who were skeptical of the idea," says Klauser. Not anymore.
• Make them feel hip. From 2007 to 2010, the average age of a new car buyer rose from 52 to 56. Lincoln saw its average buyer shoot past 60 in that time.
Lincoln's marketing challenge was to skew slightly younger -- into the mid-50s -- and also appeal to people in their 40s.
So it brought in 48-year-old "Mad Men" star John Slattery to help pitch its tech-loaded 2011 Lincoln MKX crossover SUV.
"Fiftysomethings can relate to him, but he's also cool to people in their 40s," says Matt VanDyke, marketing director for Lincoln.
The ads avoid conspicuous consumption and any "over-the-top characterization of luxury," says VanDyke. Instead, they focus on the MKX's Boomer-appealing intuitive technology. For example, ads show there's no volume knob on the radio -- you slide your finger across a touch bar.
• Make them feel smart. Raymond James is not a household name. So the investment firm decided it had to try outside-the-box marketing to capture Boomer attention.
Many Boomers are retiring without pensions, so managing their 401(k) and other retirement accounts is critical. "It's a huge need and a huge opportunity from a business standpoint," says marketing head Mike White.
So Raymond James recently began airing an ad with a woman who lives (and lives vigorously) to 187. She remarries at 100. And again, at 150. And she hang glides at 187.
Many Boomers seriously believe they may live into their 90s -- or beyond. "But if you told the same story about a woman who lived to be 90, it wouldn't be very interesting," says White.
Boomers relate to the woman who appears in the ad -- and actually is 80, says White. "They look at her and think: That'll be me in 20 years."
• Make them feel sexy. For Boomer women, "slimming, toning and smoothing becomes more relevant," says Lucille DeHart, chief marketer for women's lingerie maker Maidenform.
That's one reason the 88-year-old brand has created Boomer-appealing products intended to enhance one's shape and counteract gravity. Long gone are the days of girdles and corsets, replaced by undergarments with new materials -- and a new spin -- dubbed shapewear.
And sex appeal is part of the sell. Several months ago, Maidenform rolled out the Ultimate Push Up Bra -- a bra with lift, as well as enough padding to expand a woman's shape by two cup sizes. The bra is aimed at women ages 35 to 54 who "like the lift and definition," says DeHart.
The brand's shapewear also includes the all-in-one Fat Free Dressing line rolled out two years ago: tank tops and legging items that DeHart calls an "undergarment, shaping piece and apparel in one."
Key to selling these products, says DeHart, is to keep them fashionable. "We don't design older pieces for older people."
• Make them feel hungry. While Boomers may eat less as they age, they'll pay for quality. After hearing consumers say they wanted P.F. Chang's food at home, Unilever in April teamed with the Asian-food casual-dining chain on P.F. Chang's Home Menu meals for two. While they may seem a tad pricey for frozen meals at $7.99, Klauser says sales were nearly $14 million last month, so it's well on its way to becoming a $100 million-plus brand.
General Mills had a similar idea and, in September, rolled out Romano's Macaroni Grill frozen entrees for two.
Food marketers also are aware that Boomers' lives have changed, that some have health conditions that require diet changes and many are empty nesters. "We know the majority have had a trigger event that changes the way they interact with food," says John Haugen, vice president of health and wellness at General Mills.
So General Mills added a line of reduced-sodium Progresso soups. It's launched portion-control Green Giant veggies. And it's begun to increase type size on packaging targeted at Boomers.
• Make them feel techie. Boomers spend more on tech than anyone. They spent an average of $850 for their latest home computer -- $50 more than any other group, reports Forrester Research. "People presume that Gen Y is the most eager to adopt technology, but they don't have the spending power of Boomers," says Jacqueline Anderson, consumer insights analyst.
Bonney, the Virginia Beach Boomer, owns an iPhone, an iPod and a Mac. He particularly likes Apple's marketing because it speaks to his interests "and not to my age." Such thinking can help broaden any product's appeal. While few brands beyond the tech world think so successfully outside the box, Louis Vuitton, the designer brand, takes a similar tactic by featuring Bono in its newest print campaign and Madonna in a previous one.
Familiar celebs aside, few things capture Boomer interest more than tech. And few marketers are more aware of Boomers' tech interest than retailer Best Buy.
Spokeswoman Paula Baldwin says Best Buy tries to make its stores "touch and feel" places, which helps Boomers feel comfortable with new technologies. The chain's Geek Squad service -- which helps buyers set up new devices and get more out of them -- is heavily used by Boomers.
In a recent blog post, Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn, 51, who is a Boomer, noted, "I'm always caught off-guard by the assumption that Boomers hesitate to embrace technology."
Boomers do demand ease of use, he says. Apple's iPad "caused some bloggers to quip that this device is merely an iPhone for the elderly. To which I respond, 'You got a problem with that?' "
(Source: USA Today, 11/16/10)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
GM Expands landmark IPO...May Raise $22.7 Billion
General Motors Co. today set the final terms for a landmark initial public offering that could raise up to $22.7 billion after a surge of investor interest in an automaker that had fallen from blue-chip status to government bailout.
At the high end of its price range, the IPO could be the largest ever in the United States -- and a major first step toward break-even for a $50 billion U.S. government bailout of the 102-year-old company.
GM now plans to sell 478 million common shares for $32 to $33 each and $4 billion worth of preferred shares, according to an amended filing with U.S. securities regulators on Wednesday.
The automaker had initially filed to sell 365 million shares for $26 to $29 each and $3 billion worth of preferred shares, but upped the terms in the face of robust demand.
If the underwriters exercise an overallotment provision, the IPO could raise $18 billion in common stock and $4.6 billion in dividend-paying preferred shares in GM.
The U.S. Treasury owns 61 percent of GM and may reduce its stake to as low as 26 percent following the IPO.
The decision to raise the offering was made late Tuesday afternoon.
The U.S. Treasury, GM and underwriters felt recent stock market declines wouldn't deter investors, a person familiar with the discussions told The Wall Street Journal.
Underwriters say they are receiving excess demand for available shares.
The IPO, scheduled for today, will help CEO Dan Akerson return some of the $49.5 billion GM received in a taxpayer bailout last year. The Treasury, which is taking a loss on its portion of the sale, will break even only if the shares climb at least 50 percent, Bloomberg data show.
The IPO could top Visa Inc.'s $19.7 billion sale in March 2008, and comes 16 months after GM emerged from bankruptcy.
At the high end of its price range, the IPO could be the largest ever in the United States -- and a major first step toward break-even for a $50 billion U.S. government bailout of the 102-year-old company.
GM now plans to sell 478 million common shares for $32 to $33 each and $4 billion worth of preferred shares, according to an amended filing with U.S. securities regulators on Wednesday.
The automaker had initially filed to sell 365 million shares for $26 to $29 each and $3 billion worth of preferred shares, but upped the terms in the face of robust demand.
If the underwriters exercise an overallotment provision, the IPO could raise $18 billion in common stock and $4.6 billion in dividend-paying preferred shares in GM.
The U.S. Treasury owns 61 percent of GM and may reduce its stake to as low as 26 percent following the IPO.
The decision to raise the offering was made late Tuesday afternoon.
The U.S. Treasury, GM and underwriters felt recent stock market declines wouldn't deter investors, a person familiar with the discussions told The Wall Street Journal.
Underwriters say they are receiving excess demand for available shares.
The IPO, scheduled for today, will help CEO Dan Akerson return some of the $49.5 billion GM received in a taxpayer bailout last year. The Treasury, which is taking a loss on its portion of the sale, will break even only if the shares climb at least 50 percent, Bloomberg data show.
The IPO could top Visa Inc.'s $19.7 billion sale in March 2008, and comes 16 months after GM emerged from bankruptcy.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Holiday Sales Projections Look Encouraging for Consumer Electronics
Nearly three in four consumers who plan to spend money on gifts during the holidays intend to aim their dollars squarely at technology products -- the highest percentage of tech-leaning holiday shoppers in the 17 years the Consumer Electronics Association has been studying holiday shopping trends.
"That was a key finding," said Steve Koenig, CEA's director of industry analysis, who, with the group's chief economist, Shawn DuBravac, presented fine-tuned unit-sales-projection updates for the holidays on figures provided just last month. The newer figures were given on Tuesday at a New York City-held CEA briefing on the 2011 International CES.
CEA's research showed no change between October and November in the 5.1 million units of tablets that are expected to be sold through to the U.S. market during the holiday season. A modest rise was noted in the projection for flat-panel TV sales -- from 10.51 million projected in October to 10.74 million projected in November. Blu-ray player projections dipped very slightly, from 4.77 million units to 4.76 million. Projections for MP3 players were up to a small degree, from 12.83 million to 12.88 million units, and digital camera projections were adjusted from 14 million to 14.3 million units, while camcorders dropped from 2.65 million to 2.41 million.
"Overall, we see the holidays shaping up quite nicely," said DuBravac about buyers' intent to spend on CE. He painted a retail scenario that the CEA findings showed was already being shaped -- and would continue to be shaped -- by the momentum of well-before-and-well-after Black Friday deals.
DuBravac added that retailers are for the first time using appliance-deal-driven advertising on the front pages of their circulars to take advantage of Black Friday's irresistible lure.
Computer-product and video-product "uber-bundling" taking the form of deals like two TVs for the price of one, DuBravac said, would also be a hallmark of the season. "It communicates value to the consumer and helps achieve a higher-ticket ring for the dealer," he said.
Another trend that CEA research showed would make the season bright for CE sales is the tendency of nascent technologies to see half their sales volume realized in the fourth calendar quarter. DuBravac pointed out that "this year, there are lots of new product categories in the market to take advantage of this." He specifically cited tablets, and noted that as this is 3DTV's inaugural year, "50 percent of volume in the fourth quarter would be unsurprising."
(Source: Dealerscope Today, 11/10/10)
"That was a key finding," said Steve Koenig, CEA's director of industry analysis, who, with the group's chief economist, Shawn DuBravac, presented fine-tuned unit-sales-projection updates for the holidays on figures provided just last month. The newer figures were given on Tuesday at a New York City-held CEA briefing on the 2011 International CES.
CEA's research showed no change between October and November in the 5.1 million units of tablets that are expected to be sold through to the U.S. market during the holiday season. A modest rise was noted in the projection for flat-panel TV sales -- from 10.51 million projected in October to 10.74 million projected in November. Blu-ray player projections dipped very slightly, from 4.77 million units to 4.76 million. Projections for MP3 players were up to a small degree, from 12.83 million to 12.88 million units, and digital camera projections were adjusted from 14 million to 14.3 million units, while camcorders dropped from 2.65 million to 2.41 million.
"Overall, we see the holidays shaping up quite nicely," said DuBravac about buyers' intent to spend on CE. He painted a retail scenario that the CEA findings showed was already being shaped -- and would continue to be shaped -- by the momentum of well-before-and-well-after Black Friday deals.
DuBravac added that retailers are for the first time using appliance-deal-driven advertising on the front pages of their circulars to take advantage of Black Friday's irresistible lure.
Computer-product and video-product "uber-bundling" taking the form of deals like two TVs for the price of one, DuBravac said, would also be a hallmark of the season. "It communicates value to the consumer and helps achieve a higher-ticket ring for the dealer," he said.
Another trend that CEA research showed would make the season bright for CE sales is the tendency of nascent technologies to see half their sales volume realized in the fourth calendar quarter. DuBravac pointed out that "this year, there are lots of new product categories in the market to take advantage of this." He specifically cited tablets, and noted that as this is 3DTV's inaugural year, "50 percent of volume in the fourth quarter would be unsurprising."
(Source: Dealerscope Today, 11/10/10)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
WBAP's Brad Barton inducted into Texas Radio Hall of Fame
Six longtime radio personalities with Dallas-Fort Worth connections, including some who are still very much on the job, will be inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame this weekend.
The ceremony, which is sold out, will take place Sunday at Tin Hall in Cypress, northwest of Houston. Seventeen Texas-radio personalities will be honored. The ones from North Texas are:
Brad Barton: One of the most respected broadcast meteorologists in Dallas-Fort Worth, Barton has been with WBAP/820 AM for the past year, after a lengthy career at KRLD/1080 AM, where he spent 31 years before being laid off in a round of budget-cutting. Barton had already been a 14-year member of KRLD's news team in 1992, when he began studying to be a licensed meteorologist through Mississippi State University's two-year degree program. Among the big stories Barton has covered are the 1994 Lancaster tornado, 1995 Mayfest hailstorm and the 2000 tornado in downtown Fort Worth. He also briefly resumed his role as news anchor to cover the news on 9-11. Barton also did weather during the '90s for KTVT/Channel 11. He has received an Edward R. Murrow Award and several Katie Awards.
Also being inducted in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame; Tony Bridge, Bud Buschardt, Jack Hines, Scott Hodges & Jim White
Buyers Usually Don’t Consider Loyalty When Choosing Dealerships
After the termination of about 2,300 Chrysler and General Motors dealerships over the past year, the market research firm Morpace found that consumer loyalty to brand name dealers is an insignificant factor in choosing a dealership.
The recent survey of 1,000 online respondents -- representative of the general U.S. population over 18 years old -- examined factors that consumers consider most influential when choosing a dealership. It marked the first time that Morpace posed these specific questions.
In the data collected over four days in September, respondents were asked to rank the importance of dealership attributes such as personal service, location, environment, inventory, deals, referrals and prior experiences with a dealership.
Of the 1,000 people surveyed, 74 percent of respondents considered "best deal offerings" when choosing to buy from a dealer. In fact, four in 10 respondents -- the largest group -- ranked best deal offerings as the top consideration.
Other top considerations were "prior positive experience" and "referral from family or friends."
Among the lowest-ranking considerations for buyers were "location," the top consideration for 4.4 percent of respondents, and "desire to patronize a particular salesperson," the No. 1 consideration for 1.6 percent.
The survey also asked respondents to rank the importance of the brand name of a dealer, such as Smith Chevrolet or Johnson Toyota. The majority of respondents -- 54 percent -- said "not at all" important, further showing that customers cared more about what they were buying rather than from whom they were planning to buy.
Although the survey shows that customers do consider friend-and-family referrals, their own prior experiences and even dealer marketing strategies, these factors are only starting points for buyers, said Morpace Vice President Karen Gaule.
"The bottom line is that people go where they can get the best deals," Gaule told Automotive News. "They may start with a recommendation from a friend or go to the closest dealership. But when it comes to actually making a purchase, they are willing to travel for a good deal on the product they really want."
This may be bad news for dealerships in the post-bailout chaos. GM has shuttered about 1,550 dealerships and Chrysler about 760 since their bankruptcies in 2009.
Based on these findings, consumers may not mourn the loss of particular dealers so long as they still can find what they want at a low price.
"The fact is, the American consumer buys products that are convenient, predictable and affordable. It's the same for cars. The most important factors for a car buyer are overall price and monthly payment," Ed Tonkin, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association and a multifranchise dealer from Portland, Ore., said in a recent speech to the Automotive Press Association in Detroit.
(Source: Automotive News, 10/26/10)
The recent survey of 1,000 online respondents -- representative of the general U.S. population over 18 years old -- examined factors that consumers consider most influential when choosing a dealership. It marked the first time that Morpace posed these specific questions.
In the data collected over four days in September, respondents were asked to rank the importance of dealership attributes such as personal service, location, environment, inventory, deals, referrals and prior experiences with a dealership.
Of the 1,000 people surveyed, 74 percent of respondents considered "best deal offerings" when choosing to buy from a dealer. In fact, four in 10 respondents -- the largest group -- ranked best deal offerings as the top consideration.
Other top considerations were "prior positive experience" and "referral from family or friends."
Among the lowest-ranking considerations for buyers were "location," the top consideration for 4.4 percent of respondents, and "desire to patronize a particular salesperson," the No. 1 consideration for 1.6 percent.
The survey also asked respondents to rank the importance of the brand name of a dealer, such as Smith Chevrolet or Johnson Toyota. The majority of respondents -- 54 percent -- said "not at all" important, further showing that customers cared more about what they were buying rather than from whom they were planning to buy.
Although the survey shows that customers do consider friend-and-family referrals, their own prior experiences and even dealer marketing strategies, these factors are only starting points for buyers, said Morpace Vice President Karen Gaule.
"The bottom line is that people go where they can get the best deals," Gaule told Automotive News. "They may start with a recommendation from a friend or go to the closest dealership. But when it comes to actually making a purchase, they are willing to travel for a good deal on the product they really want."
This may be bad news for dealerships in the post-bailout chaos. GM has shuttered about 1,550 dealerships and Chrysler about 760 since their bankruptcies in 2009.
Based on these findings, consumers may not mourn the loss of particular dealers so long as they still can find what they want at a low price.
"The fact is, the American consumer buys products that are convenient, predictable and affordable. It's the same for cars. The most important factors for a car buyer are overall price and monthly payment," Ed Tonkin, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association and a multifranchise dealer from Portland, Ore., said in a recent speech to the Automotive Press Association in Detroit.
(Source: Automotive News, 10/26/10)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Client-voiced commercials: What’s your take?
The Friday Poll Question for members of Radio Sales Café was a two-parter:
1) What percentage of your advertisers voice their own ads?
2) What are your thoughts on having clients doing their own voicework?
Some stations said "zero." Others reported that 15-20% or more of their clients did their own ads.
My answer was decidedly, and perhaps remarkably, on the high end: two-thirds of my top local clients voice all or most of their own commercials!
Of these, most read from scripts. They have been doing this for so many years that they're quite comfortable at the microphone.
Admittedly, I'm a fairly driven coach. I have no problem requiring repeated readings or "takes," until I have sufficient material to piece together an effective spot.
Former Los Angeles radio production whiz Blaine Parker, who now operates a boutique advertising agency/creative services company atop a mountain in Park City, UT, is adamant about the conditions under which he allows his clients to get near a mic. He says:
We're a general agency, and at the moment, we have two clients on radio. One of those clients is voicing his own commercials. The other client has testimonials. Both campaigns were produced exactly the same way: non-professional voice talent sitting behind a microphone, answering relevant questions about the business and what it means to be a customer. Then, those extemporaneous recordings are cherry picked and massaged to create glowing sound bites. When we know what the performer is saying via the magic of non-linear digital editing, we write announcer wraparounds.
That is just about the ONLY way we ever let clients voice their own commercials.
When you hand them a script and crack the mic, most clients' voiceover sound like exactly what it is: amateur product. Sometimes, that can be endearing and work in their favor. Too often, it just sounds bad. If it must be done that way, there are simple tricks to directing them that make them sound much better. But overall, I try to never make a client read a script or carry the entire weight of the voiceover on his shoulders. Whenever possible, I record him extemporaneously and pull out the nuggets. It's more real than anything we could ever write, and it presents the client in the best, most flattering light possible.
I would tend to agree with Blaine's approach: recording conversations and extracting the gold. It's time-consuming and painstaking, and a labor of love that typically results in an exceptional and effective commercial. This is the only technique I employ when creating testimonial campaigns, and it's a great way for an advertiser to tell his story, one nugget at a time.
Do my clients have the training and polish of voice actors? Of course not.
Nor is it important that they do.
In the context of a local market where they are known by many, what's important is that they come across as who-they-are, doing what-they-do, that they sound authentic and credible, and that the content of their communication meets their customers' needs. When all these factors line up, the results speak for themselves*.
Now, I don't disagree with Blaine's analysis for the most part, based on the fact that too many client-voiced commercials one hears seem to have been done hastily and without critical analysis. Whether due to a lack of education or training, a lack of time or effort, or a lack of concern, there's no good reason to settle for second-rate work. But the salesperson, producer and client must be of the same mind on this, each willing and able to invest the time and effort to persist until it's right.
Either do it well or don't do it at all.
It's interesting how attitudes toward client-voiced ads have changed over the past couple of decades. Today the practice is widely accepted. When I first started pushing for clients appearing in their own commercials back in the late 1970's, most radio programming and production people resented it as an incursion onto their sacred turf. Their attitude was not unlike what we encountered from the education establishment when the home-schooling movement began to gain some momentum in the late 1980's. These days, the accumulation of success stories has demonstrated the merit of both ideas.
*Here are three examples from campaigns currently on the air in our small market. One is relatively new, having started this past summer. Two have been on the air for over a decade. Are they "airworthy?" Listen, then decide.
Sales trainer Jim Williams used to say that the real proof a campaign is working is that the advertiser continues to pay his monthly bill, year after year. Folksy, perhaps, but true nonetheless.
--Rod Schwartz, owner/creative director of Grace Broadcast Sales
1) What percentage of your advertisers voice their own ads?
2) What are your thoughts on having clients doing their own voicework?
Some stations said "zero." Others reported that 15-20% or more of their clients did their own ads.
My answer was decidedly, and perhaps remarkably, on the high end: two-thirds of my top local clients voice all or most of their own commercials!
Of these, most read from scripts. They have been doing this for so many years that they're quite comfortable at the microphone.
Admittedly, I'm a fairly driven coach. I have no problem requiring repeated readings or "takes," until I have sufficient material to piece together an effective spot.
Former Los Angeles radio production whiz Blaine Parker, who now operates a boutique advertising agency/creative services company atop a mountain in Park City, UT, is adamant about the conditions under which he allows his clients to get near a mic. He says:
We're a general agency, and at the moment, we have two clients on radio. One of those clients is voicing his own commercials. The other client has testimonials. Both campaigns were produced exactly the same way: non-professional voice talent sitting behind a microphone, answering relevant questions about the business and what it means to be a customer. Then, those extemporaneous recordings are cherry picked and massaged to create glowing sound bites. When we know what the performer is saying via the magic of non-linear digital editing, we write announcer wraparounds.
That is just about the ONLY way we ever let clients voice their own commercials.
When you hand them a script and crack the mic, most clients' voiceover sound like exactly what it is: amateur product. Sometimes, that can be endearing and work in their favor. Too often, it just sounds bad. If it must be done that way, there are simple tricks to directing them that make them sound much better. But overall, I try to never make a client read a script or carry the entire weight of the voiceover on his shoulders. Whenever possible, I record him extemporaneously and pull out the nuggets. It's more real than anything we could ever write, and it presents the client in the best, most flattering light possible.
I would tend to agree with Blaine's approach: recording conversations and extracting the gold. It's time-consuming and painstaking, and a labor of love that typically results in an exceptional and effective commercial. This is the only technique I employ when creating testimonial campaigns, and it's a great way for an advertiser to tell his story, one nugget at a time.
Do my clients have the training and polish of voice actors? Of course not.
Nor is it important that they do.
In the context of a local market where they are known by many, what's important is that they come across as who-they-are, doing what-they-do, that they sound authentic and credible, and that the content of their communication meets their customers' needs. When all these factors line up, the results speak for themselves*.
Now, I don't disagree with Blaine's analysis for the most part, based on the fact that too many client-voiced commercials one hears seem to have been done hastily and without critical analysis. Whether due to a lack of education or training, a lack of time or effort, or a lack of concern, there's no good reason to settle for second-rate work. But the salesperson, producer and client must be of the same mind on this, each willing and able to invest the time and effort to persist until it's right.
Either do it well or don't do it at all.
It's interesting how attitudes toward client-voiced ads have changed over the past couple of decades. Today the practice is widely accepted. When I first started pushing for clients appearing in their own commercials back in the late 1970's, most radio programming and production people resented it as an incursion onto their sacred turf. Their attitude was not unlike what we encountered from the education establishment when the home-schooling movement began to gain some momentum in the late 1980's. These days, the accumulation of success stories has demonstrated the merit of both ideas.
*Here are three examples from campaigns currently on the air in our small market. One is relatively new, having started this past summer. Two have been on the air for over a decade. Are they "airworthy?" Listen, then decide.
Sales trainer Jim Williams used to say that the real proof a campaign is working is that the advertiser continues to pay his monthly bill, year after year. Folksy, perhaps, but true nonetheless.
--Rod Schwartz, owner/creative director of Grace Broadcast Sales
Monday, November 8, 2010
Americans tightening belts for leaner Thanksgiving
Middle-class families appear to be scaling back their Thanksgiving celebrations as a result of the economy, according to recent data compiled for Fort Worth-based First Command Financial Services.
The latest results of the First Command Financial Behaviors Index show that 38 percent of families are changing their Thanksgiving plans for economic reasons, continuing a larger trend toward more responsible spending and saving.
“This Thanksgiving we celebrate a continuing evolution in the way middle-class Americans manage their finances,” said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command Financial Services, Inc. in a release. “Families have responded to the economic turmoil of recent years by changing their financial behaviors for the better, with one in four people now saying they have cut back for good on spending. We see that new commitment to frugal living reflected in Thanksgiving plans that focus less on consumption and more on family.”
Middle-class families say they plan to implement one or more cost-cutting strategies this Thanksgiving, several of which are perennial choices that have been growing in popularity during the economic downturn. The top five strategies are:
*Dining with immediate family only (20 percent). The family-only dinner has become a recurring belt-tightening tradition for many consumers. Out of this group, 39 percent say they have been cutting costs by celebrating with immediate family members for more than three years.
*Staying closer to home/reducing travel (19 percent). Two-thirds of families who opt for this strategy say they have been cutting back on travel for two or more years. Forty-one percent of these families say they are not traveling anywhere and 36 percent are traveling 50 miles or less.
*Spending less on food (12 percent). This is a new choice for almost half (44 percent) of these families. For 39 percent, it will be the second Thanksgiving in a row they plan to cut back on food costs.
*Sticking to a set budget (10 percent). Forty percent of these consumers say this will be the first time they rely on budget control to rein in Thanksgiving costs.
*Going to someone else’s house for dinner (10 percent). This is an ongoing strategy for many in this group. Forty-one percent say they have been eating Thanksgiving dinner away from home for more than three years.
Other cost-cutting strategies that middle-class families are planning for this Thanksgiving include serving a “pot-luck” dinner, spending less on decorations and going out to a restaurant for dinner.
Compiled by Sentient Decision Science, LLC, the First Command Financial Behaviors Index assesses trends among the American public’s financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions through a monthly survey of approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000. Results are reported quarterly.
~Rob Robertson - Fort Worth Business Press.
First command Financial Services Inc. is the parent company of First Command Bank.
The latest results of the First Command Financial Behaviors Index show that 38 percent of families are changing their Thanksgiving plans for economic reasons, continuing a larger trend toward more responsible spending and saving.
“This Thanksgiving we celebrate a continuing evolution in the way middle-class Americans manage their finances,” said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command Financial Services, Inc. in a release. “Families have responded to the economic turmoil of recent years by changing their financial behaviors for the better, with one in four people now saying they have cut back for good on spending. We see that new commitment to frugal living reflected in Thanksgiving plans that focus less on consumption and more on family.”
Middle-class families say they plan to implement one or more cost-cutting strategies this Thanksgiving, several of which are perennial choices that have been growing in popularity during the economic downturn. The top five strategies are:
*Dining with immediate family only (20 percent). The family-only dinner has become a recurring belt-tightening tradition for many consumers. Out of this group, 39 percent say they have been cutting costs by celebrating with immediate family members for more than three years.
*Staying closer to home/reducing travel (19 percent). Two-thirds of families who opt for this strategy say they have been cutting back on travel for two or more years. Forty-one percent of these families say they are not traveling anywhere and 36 percent are traveling 50 miles or less.
*Spending less on food (12 percent). This is a new choice for almost half (44 percent) of these families. For 39 percent, it will be the second Thanksgiving in a row they plan to cut back on food costs.
*Sticking to a set budget (10 percent). Forty percent of these consumers say this will be the first time they rely on budget control to rein in Thanksgiving costs.
*Going to someone else’s house for dinner (10 percent). This is an ongoing strategy for many in this group. Forty-one percent say they have been eating Thanksgiving dinner away from home for more than three years.
Other cost-cutting strategies that middle-class families are planning for this Thanksgiving include serving a “pot-luck” dinner, spending less on decorations and going out to a restaurant for dinner.
Compiled by Sentient Decision Science, LLC, the First Command Financial Behaviors Index assesses trends among the American public’s financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions through a monthly survey of approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000. Results are reported quarterly.
~Rob Robertson - Fort Worth Business Press.
First command Financial Services Inc. is the parent company of First Command Bank.
Men Will Pause for a Cause, Survey Suggests
For many years, the assumption on Madison Avenue has been that cause marketing -- doing well (selling products) by doing good (helping causes that matter to consumers) -- plays more strongly with women than men. That may not be the case, according to a new survey.
The 2010 edition of the PR Cause survey, co-sponsored by the trade publication PR Week and Barkley, an agency in Kansas City, Mo., found that men were nearly as supportive of cause marketing campaigns as women.
Eighty-eight percent of the men questioned for the survey said they believed it was important for companies to support causes. When the question was asked last year of women, 91 percent of respondents said they agreed.
"Men do have a heart," said Mike Swenson, president at Barkley. The agency suggested to PR Week that part of the survey be devoted to men's views of cause marketing, he added, and the publication agreed.
The survey, as usual, also canvassed corporate marketing executives for their opinions about cause-related promotions and advertising. Two-thirds said their companies engaged in cause marketing, versus 58 percent in the survey last year.
However, 68 percent of the marketing executives who were questioned for the survey said they had no plans to aim cause marketing efforts at men.
"It's certainly an open door for brands that cater to men," Mr. Swenson said.
A cause marketing program centered on breast cancer, which Barkley created for Lee Jeans, part of the VF Corporation, also has a male target audience in addition to the obvious female audience. The idea is to generate men's help to fight a disease that affects the women in their lives.
The results of the survey showed that the economy "hasn't affected corporate support" of cause marketing, said Erica Iacono, executive editor of PR Week in New York, owned by the Haymarket Media Group. In fact, it may have increased that support because consumers are more interested in causes after going through tough times.
"Last year, we had two clients that, while making other budget cuts, each started a new cause program," Mr. Swenson said.
(Source: The New York Times, 11/02/10)
The 2010 edition of the PR Cause survey, co-sponsored by the trade publication PR Week and Barkley, an agency in Kansas City, Mo., found that men were nearly as supportive of cause marketing campaigns as women.
Eighty-eight percent of the men questioned for the survey said they believed it was important for companies to support causes. When the question was asked last year of women, 91 percent of respondents said they agreed.
"Men do have a heart," said Mike Swenson, president at Barkley. The agency suggested to PR Week that part of the survey be devoted to men's views of cause marketing, he added, and the publication agreed.
The survey, as usual, also canvassed corporate marketing executives for their opinions about cause-related promotions and advertising. Two-thirds said their companies engaged in cause marketing, versus 58 percent in the survey last year.
However, 68 percent of the marketing executives who were questioned for the survey said they had no plans to aim cause marketing efforts at men.
"It's certainly an open door for brands that cater to men," Mr. Swenson said.
A cause marketing program centered on breast cancer, which Barkley created for Lee Jeans, part of the VF Corporation, also has a male target audience in addition to the obvious female audience. The idea is to generate men's help to fight a disease that affects the women in their lives.
The results of the survey showed that the economy "hasn't affected corporate support" of cause marketing, said Erica Iacono, executive editor of PR Week in New York, owned by the Haymarket Media Group. In fact, it may have increased that support because consumers are more interested in causes after going through tough times.
"Last year, we had two clients that, while making other budget cuts, each started a new cause program," Mr. Swenson said.
(Source: The New York Times, 11/02/10)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Automotive Deal Making Perks Up
Deal making is starting to wake up.
By this, I mean the auto dealer's fine art of getting customers into a new ride. It's a tradition that has been in decline the past couple of years.
In the Great Recession, the showroom free-wheeling, “let's make a deal” process has been cramped. No financing for less-than-perfect credit. Few leases. Let's face it, only the highly rational, deal-oriented prospects were shopping. And they waited for the advertised incentive deals before they walked through the doors.
No cash deal offered, no sale.
That started to ease a bit earlier this year, when automakers shifted their emphasis on customer incentives to leasing deals rather than cash.
Now this month, there is evidence that automakers are making another move -- moving more factory incentive money from customers to dealers.
Yes, the shift is normal for this time of year, as everybody starts trying to make a year-end number. But on average, sweetening the dealer-cash pot is hotter than usual.
Consider: Edmunds.com says the industry average per-vehicle incentive in October was about $2,500, down 6 percent from a year ago. TrueCar.com says it's up 6 percent to $2,818.
That's not really a contradiction. Both companies get their data from dealers. Both measure cash incentives, subsidized leases and dealer cash. But TrueCar.com also includes variable dealer cash based on total monthly volume. That is, those who sell 50 cars and get $50 extra per unit or sell 80 and get $100-per-unit deals.
That's what manufacturers are boosting this fall, says analyst Jesse Toprak of TrueCar.com.
“They reason that unadvertised incentives do less damage to the brand, and it lets the dealer figure out the best way to get the vehicles off the lot,” Toprak says.
With U.S. market momentum starting to pick up -- finally -- incentive spending is coming down from the all-time peak in March 2009: about $1,000 a vehicle from $3,500 back then, using Edmunds.com numbers.
But the swing to dealer cash signals another shift in the market.
Manufacturers recognize they still have to bribe customers to buy their vehicles. But now they calculate they don't have to promise as much up front.
Baby steps, I'm afraid. But moving forward.
~Jesse Snyder, senior writer for Automotive News
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20101103/BLOG06/101109918/1448#ixzz14JytQcq4
By this, I mean the auto dealer's fine art of getting customers into a new ride. It's a tradition that has been in decline the past couple of years.
In the Great Recession, the showroom free-wheeling, “let's make a deal” process has been cramped. No financing for less-than-perfect credit. Few leases. Let's face it, only the highly rational, deal-oriented prospects were shopping. And they waited for the advertised incentive deals before they walked through the doors.
No cash deal offered, no sale.
That started to ease a bit earlier this year, when automakers shifted their emphasis on customer incentives to leasing deals rather than cash.
Now this month, there is evidence that automakers are making another move -- moving more factory incentive money from customers to dealers.
Yes, the shift is normal for this time of year, as everybody starts trying to make a year-end number. But on average, sweetening the dealer-cash pot is hotter than usual.
Consider: Edmunds.com says the industry average per-vehicle incentive in October was about $2,500, down 6 percent from a year ago. TrueCar.com says it's up 6 percent to $2,818.
That's not really a contradiction. Both companies get their data from dealers. Both measure cash incentives, subsidized leases and dealer cash. But TrueCar.com also includes variable dealer cash based on total monthly volume. That is, those who sell 50 cars and get $50 extra per unit or sell 80 and get $100-per-unit deals.
That's what manufacturers are boosting this fall, says analyst Jesse Toprak of TrueCar.com.
“They reason that unadvertised incentives do less damage to the brand, and it lets the dealer figure out the best way to get the vehicles off the lot,” Toprak says.
With U.S. market momentum starting to pick up -- finally -- incentive spending is coming down from the all-time peak in March 2009: about $1,000 a vehicle from $3,500 back then, using Edmunds.com numbers.
But the swing to dealer cash signals another shift in the market.
Manufacturers recognize they still have to bribe customers to buy their vehicles. But now they calculate they don't have to promise as much up front.
Baby steps, I'm afraid. But moving forward.
~Jesse Snyder, senior writer for Automotive News
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20101103/BLOG06/101109918/1448#ixzz14JytQcq4
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Prioritize Your Sales Pipeline
Salespeople who are exceptional at targeting high-probability prospects are 12% more likely to exceed quota on a regular basis, says a recent CSO Insights study.
Even so, targeting top prospects is often easier said than done, especially in a marketplace where buyers' needs and responsibilities are constantly shifting.
One strategy: Perform an audit of sales from the past year to create a "prospect profile" based on common SIC info, titles, region and buying history, etc.
Use that info to determine which prospects have the best chance of becoming buyers and focus your time and resources accordingly.
Even so, targeting top prospects is often easier said than done, especially in a marketplace where buyers' needs and responsibilities are constantly shifting.
One strategy: Perform an audit of sales from the past year to create a "prospect profile" based on common SIC info, titles, region and buying history, etc.
Use that info to determine which prospects have the best chance of becoming buyers and focus your time and resources accordingly.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
For Marketers, Christmas Started Last Month
For Marketers, Christmas Started Last Month
Now that Halloween is done, Madison Avenue is embarking on the mad dash to Dec. 25.
The sluggish economy is raising the stakes for the Christmas shopping season. Some retailers and marketers, worried that uncertainty among shoppers might increase as the weeks go by, hope to pull demand forward by moving up the start of their pitches.
For example, Abercrombie & Fitch sent e-mails to customers on Oct. 24 that carried this subject line: "We're feeling naughty and sneaking Christmas in early!"
"Let's keep this on the down-low," the e-mail began. "You can get the hottest new styles to cozy up to the fire and get under the mistletoe now, before they hit stores or our Web site!"
And Best Buy, which last year started its Christmas campaign on Nov. 11, introduced its first holiday ads for 2010 on Monday.
"In our category, consumer electronics, people are getting out there earlier," said Drew Panayiotou, senior vice president for United States marketing at Best Buy. One reason is increased comparison shopping, he added, and another is a "robust pipeline of new products" like e-readers, tablets and 3-D TV sets.
To "emotionally engage consumers" who will be more deliberate about where they shop, Mr. Panayiotou said, Best Buy will run two holiday campaigns at once. One, created by Crispin Porter & Bogusky, part of MDC Partners, introduces an animated character, Kenneth the Blue Elf, styled after the retailer's blue-shirted employees.
The other campaign, created by the Best Buy internal agency, Yellow Tag Productions, features actual employees helping customers select, as one worker says in a commercial, "everything you need for a great Christmas morning."
Already, companies like Sears introduced "Black Friday" ads and deals last week.
Now, Kohl's Department Stores is starting its holiday campaign with radio commercials today. Although "the timing is consistent with previous years," said Julie Gardner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, "there's going to be more ways to save and more offers" like early-bird sales.
"The consumer at large is still very cautious about spending and very purposeful about how to plan gift-giving," Ms. Gardner said. "The holiday is about celebration and family and giving, but saving is just as much a hallmark."
That is reflected in a theme of the 2010 campaign, "Give, save and be merry!" Ads are created by DeVito/Verdi; McCann Erickson Worldwide, part of the McCann Worldgroup unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies; and an internal Kohl's team.
There has long been a joke that Christmas shopping is a competitive sport, but it is also becoming true for Christmas retailing.
New commercials for J. C. Penney compare a promotion called "JCPca$h" that offers 20 percent "on the spot savings" with promotions at other stores, which require shoppers to spend their discounts another time -- a dig at the popular Kohl's Cash promotion that offers 20 percent off future purchases.
The Penney promotion is "a competitive advantage over other retailers that make customers return to get their discount," Michael J. Boylson, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Penney, wrote in an e-mail.
When asked if, like some political ads, Penney's ads have gone negative, Ms. Gardner laughed. "Honestly, we just focus on our own plan," she replied. "We have a strong strategy in place."
Some retailers are playing up the traditional rather than the promotional aspects of Christmas shopping. For instance, Barneys New York plans to bring to life its theme for 2010, "Have a foodie holiday," with windows at its flagship store on Madison Avenue that pay tribute to chefs like Bobby Flay and Rachael Ray.
"Our customers are more interested in the icons of the foodie culture than Lindsay Lohan or Kim Kardashian," said Simon Doonan, creative director at Barneys New York, owned by Istithmar World. The holiday campaign is co-sponsored by Illycaffè coffee and two Scripps Networks Interactive cable channels, Food Network and Cooking Channel.
The windows are to be unveiled on Nov. 16, Mr. Doonan said, in keeping with his preference to not introduce them until mid-November.
"My calendar for holiday has been the same for 25 years," he added. The profusion of Christmas campaigns runs the risk of wearing out shoppers who may at some point tire of all the Santas and candy canes.
But "we found anecdotally, and through some research, that the ability to catch consumers' attention is much higher if you have a thematic" tack, said Tom Steffanci, president at W. J. Deutsch & Sons, which imports Yellow Tail wine from Australia.
So for the holiday season, Yellow Tail will supplement its regular campaign with themed commercials and print ads that depict wine bottles arranged to form turkeys and snowflakes.
There will be seasonal puns, too, Mr. Steffanci said, like "Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow."
A "playful, fun" approach will help holiday ads stand out, he added. The campaign is created by the Burns Group.
Of course, when it comes to Christmas, one beverage truly stands out: Coca-Cola, which has been running campaigns with holiday themes since the 1930s.
The Coca-Cola Company will begin its 2010 campaign this month, varying the introductory date by market. In some of the more than 90 countries in which it will advertise, the campaign starts this week. In the United States, the first commercial, called "Snow Globe," which features a new song, "Shake Up Christmas," is to run on Nov. 21. The spot is created by the McCann Erickson Madrid office.
Never mind those concerned about ads that make it seem that the holiday arrives too soon. Coca-Cola worries about it ending too early.
"Our challenge is to keep Christmas going," said Shay Drohan, senior vice president for sparkling brands at Coca-Cola, so "it goes the whole way through the first week in January" and takes in New Year's Eve, school holidays and Twelfth Night.
(Source: The New York Times, 10/31/10)
Now that Halloween is done, Madison Avenue is embarking on the mad dash to Dec. 25.
The sluggish economy is raising the stakes for the Christmas shopping season. Some retailers and marketers, worried that uncertainty among shoppers might increase as the weeks go by, hope to pull demand forward by moving up the start of their pitches.
For example, Abercrombie & Fitch sent e-mails to customers on Oct. 24 that carried this subject line: "We're feeling naughty and sneaking Christmas in early!"
"Let's keep this on the down-low," the e-mail began. "You can get the hottest new styles to cozy up to the fire and get under the mistletoe now, before they hit stores or our Web site!"
And Best Buy, which last year started its Christmas campaign on Nov. 11, introduced its first holiday ads for 2010 on Monday.
"In our category, consumer electronics, people are getting out there earlier," said Drew Panayiotou, senior vice president for United States marketing at Best Buy. One reason is increased comparison shopping, he added, and another is a "robust pipeline of new products" like e-readers, tablets and 3-D TV sets.
To "emotionally engage consumers" who will be more deliberate about where they shop, Mr. Panayiotou said, Best Buy will run two holiday campaigns at once. One, created by Crispin Porter & Bogusky, part of MDC Partners, introduces an animated character, Kenneth the Blue Elf, styled after the retailer's blue-shirted employees.
The other campaign, created by the Best Buy internal agency, Yellow Tag Productions, features actual employees helping customers select, as one worker says in a commercial, "everything you need for a great Christmas morning."
Already, companies like Sears introduced "Black Friday" ads and deals last week.
Now, Kohl's Department Stores is starting its holiday campaign with radio commercials today. Although "the timing is consistent with previous years," said Julie Gardner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, "there's going to be more ways to save and more offers" like early-bird sales.
"The consumer at large is still very cautious about spending and very purposeful about how to plan gift-giving," Ms. Gardner said. "The holiday is about celebration and family and giving, but saving is just as much a hallmark."
That is reflected in a theme of the 2010 campaign, "Give, save and be merry!" Ads are created by DeVito/Verdi; McCann Erickson Worldwide, part of the McCann Worldgroup unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies; and an internal Kohl's team.
There has long been a joke that Christmas shopping is a competitive sport, but it is also becoming true for Christmas retailing.
New commercials for J. C. Penney compare a promotion called "JCPca$h" that offers 20 percent "on the spot savings" with promotions at other stores, which require shoppers to spend their discounts another time -- a dig at the popular Kohl's Cash promotion that offers 20 percent off future purchases.
The Penney promotion is "a competitive advantage over other retailers that make customers return to get their discount," Michael J. Boylson, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Penney, wrote in an e-mail.
When asked if, like some political ads, Penney's ads have gone negative, Ms. Gardner laughed. "Honestly, we just focus on our own plan," she replied. "We have a strong strategy in place."
Some retailers are playing up the traditional rather than the promotional aspects of Christmas shopping. For instance, Barneys New York plans to bring to life its theme for 2010, "Have a foodie holiday," with windows at its flagship store on Madison Avenue that pay tribute to chefs like Bobby Flay and Rachael Ray.
"Our customers are more interested in the icons of the foodie culture than Lindsay Lohan or Kim Kardashian," said Simon Doonan, creative director at Barneys New York, owned by Istithmar World. The holiday campaign is co-sponsored by Illycaffè coffee and two Scripps Networks Interactive cable channels, Food Network and Cooking Channel.
The windows are to be unveiled on Nov. 16, Mr. Doonan said, in keeping with his preference to not introduce them until mid-November.
"My calendar for holiday has been the same for 25 years," he added. The profusion of Christmas campaigns runs the risk of wearing out shoppers who may at some point tire of all the Santas and candy canes.
But "we found anecdotally, and through some research, that the ability to catch consumers' attention is much higher if you have a thematic" tack, said Tom Steffanci, president at W. J. Deutsch & Sons, which imports Yellow Tail wine from Australia.
So for the holiday season, Yellow Tail will supplement its regular campaign with themed commercials and print ads that depict wine bottles arranged to form turkeys and snowflakes.
There will be seasonal puns, too, Mr. Steffanci said, like "Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow."
A "playful, fun" approach will help holiday ads stand out, he added. The campaign is created by the Burns Group.
Of course, when it comes to Christmas, one beverage truly stands out: Coca-Cola, which has been running campaigns with holiday themes since the 1930s.
The Coca-Cola Company will begin its 2010 campaign this month, varying the introductory date by market. In some of the more than 90 countries in which it will advertise, the campaign starts this week. In the United States, the first commercial, called "Snow Globe," which features a new song, "Shake Up Christmas," is to run on Nov. 21. The spot is created by the McCann Erickson Madrid office.
Never mind those concerned about ads that make it seem that the holiday arrives too soon. Coca-Cola worries about it ending too early.
"Our challenge is to keep Christmas going," said Shay Drohan, senior vice president for sparkling brands at Coca-Cola, so "it goes the whole way through the first week in January" and takes in New Year's Eve, school holidays and Twelfth Night.
(Source: The New York Times, 10/31/10)
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