Make Higher Student Achievement Chief Objective for Teachers

Research consistently demonstrates that there are very important differences among teachers, but teacher skills are not captured by the most commonly used measurements -- teacher qualifications, degrees, years of experience and the like, says Eric Hanushek, the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
If we can't identify the best teachers by comparing their credentials, how do we define a good teacher?

• The best way -- indeed the only objective way currently available -- is to observe his or her classroom performance and specifically what students learn.
• From this new perspective, a good teacher is one who consistently evokes large gains in student learning, while a poor teacher is one who consistently gets small gains in student learning.

The magnitude of the differences in effectiveness among teachers is impressive.

• Looking at the range of quality for teachers within a single large urban district, teachers near the top of the quality distribution elicited an entire year's worth of additional learning out of their students (during a single academic year) compared to those near the bottom.
• Looking at just the variations in performance from differences in teacher quality within a typical school, the statistical analyses indicate that moving from an average quality teacher to one ranked among the top 15 percent of all teachers can be expected to move the average student up more than 8 percentile rankings during the course of a school year.
• In other words, an average student who got one of these good teachers would move from the middle of the achievement distribution (the 50th percentile) to the 58th percentile.

Like all human beings, teachers respond to the incentives that are placed in front of them -- and the current incentive systems used in public education do not make higher student achievement the chief objective.  An obvious solution is to focus performance incentives for teachers and other school personnel on student achievement.
The ultimate goal of the incentive systems must be to attract, encourage and reward high-performing teachers while pushing low-performing teachers toward either improving their efforts or leaving the profession altogether, says Hanushek.

Source: Eric Hanushek, "Why Is It So Hard To Make Teachers Better?" Defining Ideas, January 30, 2011.

Study: Gens X, Y Rely On Research, Less On Loyalty

Here's some advice to brands putting the onus on loyalty to drive sales: "Be afraid...be very afraid." AMP Agency, a Boston-based branding firm, has just completed a study of consumers, "Inside the Buy," that suggests that actually very few consumers between the ages of 25 and 49 are moved to purchase by habit, or sentimental considerations for a brand.

The study, based on a Fall 2010 poll of 865 Gen X and Y consumers, looks at what happens in the "consideration phase" of the purchase path, where the Web and what AMP found to be a "new/modern path" to purchase hold sway. The quantitative and qualitative study also addressed a changing view of brand loyalty. The firm found that just 3% of consumers say they are loyal to a particular brand and never buy anything else.

The study, which looks at five product categories -- baby products, consumer electronics, food and beverage, health and beauty, and fashion -- finds that the very idea of loyalty has changed for 97% of consumers. "New consumer behavior is redefining what we view as 'contemporary loyalty'," said Allison Marsh, VP, Consumer Insights at AMP Agency. "With more information, consumers have seized control and are more open to the wide choices in the marketplace."

Forty-three percent of respondents polled by the study said they do some type of research before they buy. By product category, 64% of people AMP surveyed said they do research before buying electronics; 44% said they do research when buying baby products; 31% do so for health and beauty; and about a quarter said they do "some type of research" before making a decision in both the fashion and food and beverage categories.

According to the "Inside the Buy" study, men spend more time doing pre-purchase research in areas pertaining to personal style and appearance. Forty-six percent of male respondents said they always research fashion purchases, while only 32% of females said as much. For the health and beauty category, 37% of male respondents said they always research products, while a quarter of female respondents said they did so.

Ninety-four percent of consumers said online research positively influenced their decision to make a purchase, and nearly four in ten said they bought a product because of the research they found. Paradoxically, given the fire hose of content the Web disgorges, 30% of those polled said they cannot find enough of the information they are looking for online, and only 4% said they were overwhelmed by the amount of research available to them in a particular category.

About half of consumers go to a brand's Web site for pre-purchase research, while 46% said they go to a retailer's Web site initially. Forty percent said they visit third-party review sites, and 38% said they go to social media Web sites. Almost three-quarters of respondents said their first choice is general consumer reviews, which is about twice the importance they put on expert reviews on product durability and functionality. In fact, half of respondents said online consumer reviews most influenced their purchase. Forty-one percent said feedback from a friend was important, and 37% were influenced by the number of positive reviews they read online.

"By identifying the steps involved in the consideration process, we found that consumers are being strongly influenced by information and opinions shared online," said Marsh.

(Source: Marketing Daily, 02/07/11)

Retailers on Quest to Rekindle the Personal Touch of a Bygone Era

In days of yore, retailers knew their customers. Sales clerks sent invitations to store events, called when items of interest arrived and had Rolodexes crammed with notes about shoppers' favorite brands and styles. That style of shopping -- an intimate experience, not an anonymous one -- has long been thought dead, driven to extinction by the invasion of the big-box retailer. But now retailers are hoping to recapture some of the old magic.

They're doing so by updating and expanding loyalty programs, which once rewarded shoppers only for frequent purchasing, and by offering locally relevant marketing and merchandising. "We've got a highly educated consumer who is probably more demanding than she's been in the past," said Martine Reardon, VP-marketing at Macy's. "She wants to go to a retailer that understands her, is really relevant to the lifestyle she's living, and really does pay attention."

My Macy's, now in its third year, seeks to be more relevant to consumers by stocking shelves with items popular in local markets -- Elvis Christmas ornaments in Memphis, Tenn., and electric pizzelle presses used to make the Italian cookie in Parma, Ohio, for example.

The program also extends to marketing. Events celebrating the Kentucky Derby have been held in advance of the race at Louisville, Ky.-area stores. And big wins for local sports teams are recognized with ads in the hometown newspaper. This month, Macy's Star Beach Party program will launch in Chicago, targeting college students from 10 area campuses including Columbia College, Northwestern and Loyola. The program pairs texting and pop-up events to lure students shopping for spring break fashions and, eventually, interview suits, the retailer hopes. The program was conceived by a regional executive who saw an untapped audience of 65,000 college students, a Macy's spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, Food Lion has launched My Food Lion, inspired, in part, by My Macy's, said Cathy Green, president of the Food Lion family of banners, during a recent National Retail Federation conference. The program allows customers to create a profile personalized with relevant specials and recipes.

Worth noting: My Macy's and My Food Lion are separate from those retailers' loyalty programs, Macy's Star Rewards and Food Lion's MVP Card. The former focuses on understanding the customer and delivering desirable products and information, Ms. Reardon said. The latter is meant to reward customers for frequent shopping.

Retailers are also getting savvier about how they use customer information. PetSmart uses its database of email addresses to send out targeted emails with editorial content, as well as coupons. A recent note to reptile owners who typically buy crickets extolled the virtues of worms, included a link to information on reptiles and provided a $2 coupon for any live worm purchase. "Crickets are an important part of a reptile's diet -- but did you know that worms are an even better source of energy?" the email said. "Come on in and ask a store associate to help you design a diet that's just right for your reptile."

Likewise, Sears Holdings has overhauled its loyalty program in the past two years, morphing it into Shop Your Way. The program, which rolled out nationwide in November 2009, now counts more than 50 million members. Shoppers earn 10 points for every $1 spent in store or online and get access to bonus offers and prizes, as well as perks, such as the ability to return items without receipts. The program is cost-effective and gives Kmart and Sears the opportunity to build a robust database of consumers.

"The spectacular growth of Sears' Shop Your Way program is testimony to the ongoing power of a very simple, classic idea: rewarding loyalty based on customer behavior," said Lawrence Kimmel, CEO of the Direct Marketing Association.

More robust databases and better targeted communications will go a long way toward helping retailers recapture the magic of retailing days past. But it's not easy or simple. In the fall, Macy's sent out a mailing with upward of 30,000 different versions. Using information gleaned from its database, the retailer varied the page count and the items promoted. The catalogs varied in size from 32 pages to 76 pages, featuring additional pages of shoes for footwear fanatics or children's clothing for moms.

"What we tried to do was really customize (catalogs) to what the customer is really looking for and her past behavior shows she might want," Ms. Reardon said. "I still have circles under my eyes from it. It was pretty resource intensive. But we learned a lot, and we are going to do similar things in the future."

(Source: Advertising Age, 02/14/11)

2011 auto sales per dealer may reach pre-recession levels, report says

DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- U.S. auto sales per dealership may return to levels reached before the recession after General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC closed locations.

Sales per dealer may rise to about 745 new vehicles this year, according to auto-dealership consultant Urban Science. The National Automotive Dealership Association forecasts total U.S. sales in 2011 may rise 11 percent to 12.9 million, which would be about 23 percent below the annual average from 2000 to 2007.

The number of U.S. auto dealerships fell 4.4 percent last year to 17,659, Detroit-based Urban Science said today in its annual Automotive Franchise Activity Report. The rate of closings slowed from 8 percent in 2009, according to the report.

“The domestic consolidations worked and have allowed the remaining dealers an opportunity see their numbers rebound faster,” John Frith, vice president of Urban Science, said in a statement.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, and Chrysler eliminated more than 2,200 dealers as part of their bankruptcy reorganizations in 2009. The shutting of about one-fourth of the companies’ dealerships drew criticism by the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which said in a report last year that the “dramatic and accelerated” closings may not have been necessary and added to unemployment.

More closings expected

GM reorganized with $49.5 billion in government aid, while Chrysler received

$12.5 billion in assistance for its reorganization that year from the government’s TARP program, which also aided banks.

Of the 822 dealerships that closed last year, almost all were either GM and Chrysler stores in arbitration following the automakers’ bankruptcies, or retailers of Ford Motor Co.’s discontinued Mercury brand, Frith said.

About 53 percent of Mercury franchises closed by the end of last year, and Ford plans to shut the remaining 819 outlets, Frith said today.

Ford also plans to reduce the number of dealerships selling its Lincoln luxury brand in the biggest U.S. metropolitan markets by 25 percent to 325 outlets, the automaker said this month at the NADA convention in San Francisco.

Ford ended last year with 3,131 franchises selling its namesake brand, surpassing GM’s top-selling Chevrolet brand, which had 3,084, for the first time, Frith said.

New brand entries

While new entries by brands such as China’s BYD Co. and India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. are “certainly coming,” they’re unlikely this year, Frith said.

“I would be very surprised if they don’t have a presence here in the next 10 years,” he said. “Timing is a guess at this point. There’s a lot of hurdles for a brand to enter the U.S. with certification and setting up dealer networks.”

Automakers such as Shenzhen-based BYD or Mahindra, based in Mumbai, may enter the U.S. market by purchasing other brands, similar to the way China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. bought the Volvo Cars unit from Ford last year, Frith said.

The U.S. auto industry averaged a 16.8 million annual selling rate from 2000 to 2007, according to Autodata Corp. The U.S. is the world’s second-largest auto market, trailing China in each of the past two years.

Determining What Customers Expect

Knowing your client's expectations gives you a tremendous advantage over your competition.

Most salespeople will not ask what those expectations are; consequently, they cannot perform the way the client wants them to. In addition, most will rely on their company to "exceed" the client's expectations. It is impossible for a company to exceed the client's expectations because the company simply has too many clients with too many different expectations to individualize the sales process.

Consequently, you are the only one capable of doing it. It is your job to turn the purchasing experience into the one your client wants, not your company's. You must become the client's advocate in the process.

Knowledge really is power. By taking the simple step to ask your client what their expectations are, you gain the power to give them the experience that will give you the basis for gaining referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. In addition, if you discover your client has unrealistic expectations, you can deal with them at the beginning of the sales process rather than finding out later, after they have evolved into a real problem.

Do yourself a huge favor -- ask. Not only will it improve your relationship with your client, you'll see the effort returned in the form of more sales.

Study: Women Show Strong Personal Renewal

Women may not be able to control the larger economic scenario, but they can improve how they feel about themselves and their lives.

That's the basic thinking behind a pronounced personal renewal or "me-covery" post-recessionary trend among American women, according to a new national survey conducted by specialist marketing firm Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness and Time Inc.'s Health brand.

The new emphasis on taking control and responsibility for personal well-being and happiness and reevaluating old choices represents a major shift in women's attitudinal and behavioral patterns within a markedly short time frame.

In 2009, a similar national survey of adult (18+) American women by Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness focusing on the economy's influence on wellness issues found that their primary wellness goals were "holding it together" and "surviving the day."

The attitude/behavior shifts have important implications for numerous product/service categories and brands, including food and beverages, restaurants and personal care and beauty, according to the research sponsors.

For one: Women are "re-investing in their health and wellness," points out Health publisher Dave Watt.

While 92% of the 800 women surveyed (representative of U.S. adult females as a whole) still feel negatively affected by the economy and 10% feel more affected than in 2009, 64% say that they are committed to making a positive change and taking better care of themselves by eating right, staying physically fit, "looking good to feel good" and having fun.

Given female consumers' more positive overall attitude and focus on self-empowerment, physical and emotional health and making "real changes" in their lives, "marketers should reexamine the ways that they are talking to and engaging with women," stresses Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness chief strategy officer Johanna Skilling.

The indicators point to longevity for this lifestyle shift among American women, adds Ned Russell, managing director for the marketing firm.

The major take-aways for marketers:

• "Taking responsibility" has made health and wellness women's #1 priority. This includes taking steps to prevent health problems and making a commitment to manageable health/fitness goals.
• "Reevaluating choices" reflects renewed confidence and includes increased emphasis on value-driven purchases. Value is defined as offering benefits worth the money, meaning that price alone is not the dominant purchasing factor.
• "Welcoming the right kind of support" means that women are seeking sources of inspiration and motivation, as well as meaningful rewards that mesh with their new lifestyle priorities.

Specific survey findings confirm upswings in purchases of health-related and beauty products, as well as shifts in the retail formats in which women are purchasing these products:

• 54% of adult female respondents report buying more healthy food overall, and 47% say that they're buying organic foods more often, despite these foods' higher prices.
• 74% of those most affected by the economy report that they are buying less fast food than in 2009 (up from 41% indicating fast-food cutbacks in the 2009 survey).
• 48% report being committed to working out more on their own and gaining inspiration and motivation through online music downloads, workout videos and interactive gaming systems. More than one-third (37%) report working out at the gym more often.
• 86% report engaging in more online health research (up 47 points from 2009) and 79% say that they're now seeing their doctors regularly (up 21 points).
• 64% are buying prescription medication (up 16 points from 2009) and 48% are buying more vitamins (up 27 points). Also, 16% are buying more over-the-counter remedies and 14% are using alternative/homeopathic remedies.
• About half are buying more hair care (47%), skin care (45%) and oral care products (51%), and nearly half say that "value for money" and "product quality" are the key brand characteristics influencing their purchases in these categories.
• 52% say they are "committed to having more fun," 35% report that they are currently considering a vacation, and 24% report using products to enhance their sex lives (up 17 points since 2009).
• 70% now say that they buy skin care/beauty products primarily in drug stores, grocery stores and mass retailers -- up 25 points from 2009. Just 6% report they are buying more luxury/high-end cosmetics than in past years.

(Source: Marketing Daily, 02/02/11)

Auto Sales Sizzle, Forecasts Rise

Busy Showrooms, 17 Percent Rise in January Transactions Spark Optimism

So many retail customers are pouring into dealer showrooms that several carmakers and analysts have boosted their 2011 sales forecasts.

TrueCar.com says January's retail SAAR was 10.2 million, up from 8.3 million a year earlier. And that retail burst lifted January's overall selling rate to its highest level since cash for clunkers 18 months ago: a seasonally adjusted 12.6 million units.

"Consumers are driving much of the gain," said Don Johnson, General Motors' U.S. sales boss.

Light-vehicle sales in January jumped 17 percent from a year earlier to 819,938 units.

Among the top seven automakers, according to industry sources, combined fleet sales declined by 12 percent and retail sales rose 28 percent.

"Retail sales were much stronger than fleet," said J.P. Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel in a note to investors. "Fleet sales were down, primarily driven by weaker daily-rental sales."

Light trucks outsold cars for the fourth straight month. And General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. fired the first shots in what some analysts fear could become a new incentives war.

January's overall SAAR of 12.6 million was fractionally higher than December's and above the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 12.4 million. Last year U.S. sales were 11.6 million, up 11 percent over 2009.

The retail gains encouraged automakers and analysts.

"The recovery is being fueled by real, natural demand and by consumers who aren't just buying what they need but also starting to buy because they want to," said TrueCar analyst Jesse Toprak. "The most promising thing is the retail growth."

GM's Johnson credited retail for the automaker's 22 percent January sales increase.

GM and Ford last month each added half a million units to the upper range of their 2011 sales forecasts -- both to 13.3 million units. IHS Automotive boosted its forecast to 13.1 million from 12.8 million.

On Jan. 27, J.D. Power and Associates raised its forecast to 12.9 million from 12.8 million. So far, TrueCar's Toprak has not changed his 12.7 million forecast. But he's reviewing it and said: "There is more upside than downside this year."

Several automakers are sticking with 2011 projections made at the start of the year but say they are leaning toward the upper end of their ranges after January's results.

Except for Mazda's 9 percent decline, all automakers boosted sales in January. Hyundai-Kia Automotive, Chrysler Group and GM outperformed the market. Hyundai-Kia gained 24 percent, Chrysler rose 23 percent, and GM rode an incentive surge to its 22 percent sales increase.

Three groups increased volume but lost market share. Nissan North America's sales rose 15 percent, American Honda Motor Co. was up 13 percent, and Ford Motor Co. rose 9 percent.

Ford-brand sales were up 22 percent, but Ford said its lower overall figure reflected a planned 27 percent decline in sales to daily rental companies, as well as last year's elimination of Mercury and sale of Volvo.

George Pipas, Ford's chief sales analyst, said he expects retail sales to provide more growth than fleet this year, especially in the first half.

At Ford, fleet declined to 30 percent of total January sales, from 37 percent a year earlier. The daily rental mix was down to 12 percent of the total, from 18 percent last January. Pipas expects sales to commercial fleets to increase this year for Ford.

Toyota Motor Sales' 17 percent gain matched the industry's growth. But for Toyota, which has emphasized its retail strength for a year, January's growth was driven by fleet sales. A 7,000-unit Corolla fleet delivery made the small sedan the best-selling car in the country in January, Toyota said, and increased the fleet mix for the Toyota brand.

"Our January fleet was 12.6 percent of the mix, compared to 8.5 percent for (all of) 2010," said Toyota brand General Manager Bob Carter. But he insisted Toyota intends to limit fleet to 2010 levels over the year ahead.

Sales of full-sized pickups sizzled in January -- up 29 percent to 94,320. Every model posted gains of at least 22 percent except the Nissan Titan, which was down 4 percent to 1,431.

Sales of pickups, vans, SUVs and crossovers rose 29 percent to 413,276, and cars gained 7 percent to 406,662. A year ago, cars led light trucks by almost 60,000 units.

Subaru of America, the only brand to increase U.S. volume three straight years starting in 2008, started the New Year with a 21 percent sales gain.

(Source: Automotive News, 02/07/11)