| |
| |
|
Marketing Resource Center |
|
|
|
Michael Jackson, Classic Marketing Blunders And Your Wallet!
You couldn't help but be captivated by the unbelievably cute kid with the amazingly controlled falsetto voice and electric dance moves. He was only 10 years old, when he exploded onto the music scene, along with his brothers as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, but he had the stage presence of a twenty year veteran. Before or since, I haven't seen a child that talented, that gifted, that dynamic, that charismatic! I'm talking about Michael Jackson, of course. The whole world fell in love with Michael Jackson! In the early seventies, Michael along with his brothers, the Jackson 5, were the hottest musical act on the planet! As an adult, he still had the magic that so captivated us when he was a child. And once again, he became the hottest musical act on the planet! In fact, if Michael hadn't broken "a cardinal rule,", there's little question, he'd be considered the greatest entertainer of all time. So what "cardinal rule" did Michael Jackson break? He tried to reinvent the wheel. He took that handsome and familiar face that was loved by millions of people all around the world--and he destroyed it, along with his incredible career at the same time. Businesses do the same thing every single day. They destroy what's familiar and successful. Instead of taking the path of least resistance, they try to reinvent the wheel--usually with disasterous results! Here's a classic example of what I'm talking about: For over a century now, Coca-Cola has been the number one soft drink company in the world. They have vast financial resources and some of the greatest marketing minds available at their disposal. Despite all of that, Coca-Cola failed miserably when it introduced New Coke to the public back in 1985. Why? What happened? Well, there have been many theories floated over the years, as to why New Coke fizzled out. Like everyone else, I have my own theory. A very simple theory... People didn't like New Coke. It's as simple as that. Despite all the research that was done, and despite the thousands of taste tests conducted; the buying public just didn't like the taste of New Coke. And absolutely nothing Coca-Cola said or did could change that one simple fact. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a very costly lesson for Coca-Cola. They lost millions of customers to their bitter rival and number two soft drink giant, Pepsi. They also took a bath financially. Yes, Coca-Cola is still the number one soft drink. But the gap has been narrowed significantly. Here's another example: Burger King wanted desperately to be "French Fries King." For years, the No. 2 hamburger chain beat out McDonald's in taste tests of hamburgers, but the Golden Arches kept a lock on having the number one french fries. So, Burger King spent several years formulating a new french fry, a potato stick coated--unlike its predecessor--with a layer of starch designed to help retain heat and add crunch. Armed with a $70 million marketing war chest, the company rolled out its biggest product launch ever in 1998. So, what happened? Burger King's new french fries turned out to be a whopper of a flop! "Sales of fries are significantly down," stated a 1999 internal memo. "Double digit percent of consumers avoid Burger King because of our french fries." Ouch! Fortunately, Coca-Cola and Burger King were able to survive near catastrophic miscalculations, because they had billions of dollars behind them. But other companies that badly miscalculate that don't have those kind of financial resources, generally end up going out of business. That's basically why so many dot-com companies are dropping like flies--and will continue to do so. Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, take the path of least resistance. Focus on what people are actually buying, and promote the daylights out of it, applying sound, proven advertising and marketing techniques. In closing, you'll incur fewer risks and your wallet will be a lot fatter, if you just sell what people are buying! About The Author Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net Visit his website at: http://www.lets-make-money.net
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Growing Your Brand Assets Okay. Raise your hand if you think brand management is just for BIG companies (like Target, McDonalds or Ford. Direct Mail Strategy - Brand Identity Guru 1. Know your purpose: What do you want your direct mailer to accomplish? Do you want to be remembered? Do you want to educate prospects about benefits? Recently, Brand Identity Guru was hired to expand a clients direct mail efforts, so we created a direct mail piece to showcase our clients related capabilities. Budget Marketing: Managing Your Marketing Money Wisely! There's a saying that half of all marketing efforts are wasted, but it's impossible to tell which half!I know from hard won experience how easy it is to waste money on marketing.When I first set up my own business in 1998, I spent tens of thousands of dollars employing the best graphic designer and printing a great glossy brochure. Receiving a Brochure Printing Quote Brochures are a great way to get your message across. While having a brochure can be extremely useful, it is sometimes hard to know whether it is affordable. How To Get To The Top of The Marketing Food Chain Are you tired of living off handouts from big-name marketers, earning meager affiliate commissions?If you truly want to live and breathe the rarefied air of the super-marketers, what you need is not a change in method, but a change in attitude and mindset.You need to start thinking like a top gun and create your own identity instead of feeding off the efforts of others. Flesh Eating Spiders And Other Marketing Horrors After a friend was bitten by a spider, I decided to do some research to find out more about the spider.I came across a website that decided to create a marketing message that focused on fear based selling and over the top lies. You Cannot - Not Market Everything you do - or don't do sends a message and marketing is about sending messages. You can market well or you can market poorly, but you cannot - not market!What message are you sending with your dress, stationery, phone message and printed materials? Is it the message you intend to send? Your prospects don't listen only to the message you want to send - they observe and interpret your unintended messages as well. A Complaint? It's a Compliment! - 7 Tips for Dealing with Complaints at Trade Shows A Complaint? It's a Compliment!What made you mad last week?In the past week, how many times were you upset by something? What action did you take? Complain to the neighbors, make a snide remark to a co-worker, post it on a list or email a group? Did you just gossip or did you try to make it into a positive experience? They say we complain to ten people for every one compliment about a product or service.Did you call the manager of the company, write the company president, email a suggestion for improvement? Probably not. Quick Postcard Design Tips TIP #1: Avoid the "Too Much Information" Syndrome I've seen many a marketing postcard that just has too much information on it. Too many words set in tiny type is an all too common problem. Marketing Ideas Without Action Will Get You Nowhere! Marketing Ideas Without Action Get You NowhereYou want to grow your small business, but how do you do that? Many of the small businesses I work with are not really sure what works best, or how, or where to get started.We're all familiar with the term Marketing, but what in the heck is it really supposed to do for us?* Build brand awareness* Build name recognition* Increase market share* Get more clients* Generate referrals* Create more repeat businessMaybe you've tried some things in the past like brochures, yellow pages advertising, Chamber of Commerce networking but were disappointed with the results so you stopped doing them. Want to Increase Your Business? First You Need to Understand where You are at! Are you having trouble understanding basic situational marekting concepts? Then this article is for you.Alex Margarit shows you a simple step by step way on how to put together a basic situational analysis. Non-Aggressive Marketing Ideas for Enterpreneurs Do you cringe at the thought of trying to promote your business ? Does it feel like "selling yourself" or egotism? Many individuals are not comfortable with marketing dimension of running a business.This leads to an inner frustation for many and inner conflicts. How to Make Profits With a Commission Mailing Business There are many mailorder publications that will list your nameunder this directory.. 4 Steps To Increase Your Job Sign Marketing It's no secret that using a job site sign can be an effective way to market your company's services to neighborhood homeowners. But most job sign marketing isn't done as effectively as it could be. Packaging Made Frozen TV Dinners Possible I was saddened to hear of the passing of one of the food industry pioneers Gerry Thomas, One of our unsung heroes credited with invented a "package" the frozen TV dinner that literally changed the way we eat. Never mind that it was considered by nutritionists as a step backwards, his invention still made a major shift in the food and food services industries. Unique Marketing Ideas That Generate Cash! First of all - keep in touch with your customers! One of the best ways to do this is with a newsletter. Today it's easier than ever to have a newsletter - use email. People Arent Interested in You or Your Company Does your Web site talk about your company? Yes, I know, it's your company Web site! But the last thing it should talk about is your company.Yes, I'm sure you're all cool, interesting people, with fantastic skills, but trust me, that's not what you need to lead with on your Web site - or mailing or brochure. Read Your Markets Mind - 3 Great Market Research Resources Starting a new online business, developing a new product,launching a new marketing campaign, buying advertisingcan all depend on how well you are able to research yourmarket.All business is based on demand. Mission Statement Impossible Dant dant da da dant dant da da. Dant dant da da dant dant da da. B2B Marketing Tips - Create an Interactive Online Experience for Clients Business to business communications on the web are as stale as a piece of week old toast.As a marketing director you want to give your company the biggest bang for it's marketing buck.
|
| home | site map | Advertising Articles |
| © 2006 |
Comment by George C. Leef, Director of Research