When was the last time you analysed your reasons for purchasing a product? I don’t mean the purely fundamental or functional reason for buying something but the implicit reason for choosing one product over another. Why do we choose branded products over no-name items of ostensibly similar quality?
Explore our historical blog articles for nuggets of wisdom (and random musings) from our crew.
In a world where once snails ruled supreme, it now seems that catalogues are king of the letter box. So how do you avoid getting lost in the pile of junk that gets wedged in your box on an almost daily basis?
You all saw the adverts, heard the controversy, probably talked about it at a barbecue with a few mates and might have even tried one just for fun. The Hungry Jacks stacker burger sure had people talking – health nuts all over Australia literally went nuts – it was promoting a heart attack in a packet, with fries and coke on the side. There’s the old adage: ‘any publicity is good publicity’, which I don’t believe in at all, however in this case, Hungry Jacks sure hit a winner. Why?
So greed is good? All evidence to the contrary! If you want an answer just take a look at the stock market high jinks, the world finances spin that would challenge a ‘Whirlpool’ washing machine. As one of marketing’s geriatrics I’ve seen most of it before so it worries me less than it might have. What’s different this time is that people are genuinely looking at things differently. Our consumer research senses a new mood, something we haven’t seen before and it’s not just an Australian thing.
Target is the quintessential department store – around since the 60’s with one of the most iconic logos in the world. The problem with being a massive department store competing with many others trying to tap into a growing market, is that price becomes the only differential. Target, up until the late 90’s and early 00’s, attracted a very different type of customer. With the other department store retailers such as Myer and David Jones muscling them out of the higher positioned category, where was Target’s niche? Where did they belong?
Okay folks, I am going to tell it how it is. Business confidence is down, consumer confidence is down, the sharemarket closed today at a four year low, things are starting to look a little hairy. Without being overly dramatic the business landscape, for the time being, has changed considerably, consumers are tightening the purse strings and are more picky than ever with where they spend their money. And as consumer spending habits start to change businesses invariably start realising just how important consumer loyalty is to their survival.
If you’re looking to Green your organisation and reduce or offset your carbon footprint, be sure you do your homework. Making false ‘Green’ claims is a topical issue of late, with many manufacturers over-utilising ‘Green’ terminology or utilising ‘Green’ symbology in an attempt to get the Customer’s attention. The ACCC has recently come down hard on organisations making false or misleading ‘Green’ claims. So when do you know if you’re crossing the all important legal line?