The Edsel - A Commercial Failure

America's most famous automotive flop is the Edsel which was parented by the Ford Motor Company on Sept. 4, 1957. The car fell short of consumers inflated expectations. In the end, even a giveaway of 1,000 ponies — intended to get children to bring parents to showrooms — was a failure.
Despite several features that were not necessarily innovations — a vertical grille, self-adjusting brakes, Teletouch transmission buttons on the steering wheel and a floating speedometer that glowed when a preset speed was reached — the Edsel was panned by the public. Among other things, it was rediculed for having a grille that looked like a toilet seat. Time magazine popularized the wisecrack that it looked like an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon. HaHa...that's funny.
There are a number of factors for the Edsel's failure:
The quality of early Edsels was poor the workers were unaccustomed to the different parts and processes. Some parts ran out; incomplete cars went to dealerships.
The car came out as a recession was starting.

Green Marketing

Everywhere your turn, there’s talk about the environment and how businesses need to be socially responsible to minimize their impact on the environment. Finally, the earth we take so much from is going to be getting some payback.
In the United States today, we are currently in the Age of Green Consumerism, where the consumer is expected to bear almost the full weight of making the right environmental decisions, from using the right recycled toilet paper and replacing light bulbs to driving the right car. But where is the quality assurance of the information that the consumer is to use to make those decisions? First, consider the development of innovations. At the beginning of innovation cycles, products are always more expensive to produce and can be considerably more energy intensive. But as production grows, the kinks come out of the system, scale efficiencies are realized, and the innovation realizes its potential. According to this way of thinking,hybrids will, as they get popular, achieve real energy returns on the energy invested, and reduce dependence on oil.

Relationship demarketing - The wrong customers are wrong

It is often said that the customer is always right, but most businesses know this to be a trite saying. Only the right customers are always right, and that is because these customers fit the company and the company wants to keep them. The right customers are satisfied. They derive value from what the company does and are aligned with the firm's processes and communications. They provide referrals and positive word-of-mouth. They make money for the company. They are the company's future.
On the other hand, customers who are not profitable now and who probably never will be, and who are perpetually and demonstrably unhappy, are the company's past. They are anchors to improvements in future performance.

This Holiday Season, Shop by Personality

Have the men been getting the raw deal when it comes to holiday gift giving? Retailers are now categorizing men to give buyers a better idea of what that special man in their life might just want. Now you can shop by personality, and no more of the Mr. Fix-It gifts. You know not all men can use a hammer without smashing a finger. So you have gifts for the "devoted Dad", the "Guy's Guy", the "Geek", the "Achiever", the "Adventurer", "Mr. Field & Stream", the "Country Clubber", "Metro Man", and so many more personalities.....you know yours.
Click here for some gift Ideas.

Holiday Advertising

The Holidays are upon us once again and it's not uncommon to have a business that relies heavily on certain seasons for increased sales volume. How worried are retailers that a crisis in consumer confidence could cast a pall on Christmas shopping? For most retailers, and other industries such as travel, the December holiday season is a significant time for sales.Timing and preparedness are keys to handling seasonal activities. Often off-season planning is as time-consuming as the actual selling is during the busy season. As soon as one season concludes, some of your staff should be working on the next season. Be careful, however, not to be too hasty in launching seasonal campaigns. Trying to sell people Christmas decorations in late August will be lost on most people who are still in a summer state of mind. Whereas, advertising and selling decorations a week before christmas will put you at a great loss. Consumers are known to decorate way ahead of the actual date of that specific holiday. Plan wisely.

Ouch!!!!!!!

The 4 P's of Motorola

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