Blog Author Mellissah Smith - Page 103

How many times have you gone onto a website to buy something, only to find that the experience is too frustrating to continue?

In my case, too many. When will e-tailers learn? If I look at buying a flight online, I have to say that the experience is simple. I put in my details, my flight gets booked and they send a confirmation to my email account. Simple.

There are a lot of retailers out there hurting - real bad! With a global financial crisis, it seems that retailers have been hardest hit and on top of that, the added burden of new marketing techniques seem to be almost impossible to keep up with. It also doesn't help that online sales of retail products seem to be all the go and quite often consumers can get the same product, cheaper from Asia or the US, just by buying online.

However, there is some positive news. With the Retailers Association pushing consumers to go back to buying from  local shops and Xmas just weeks away, retail should be on the 'up'.

Best selling author and relationship counsellor John Gray is on to something, or at least the 7 million people who bought his book think so. The self-help book that proclaims that 'men are from mars, and women are from venus' has an analogy that by many accounts seems to run true.

If you think about the relationships you have in life and the difference between female and male relationships, it's easy to ascertain why there is often a miscommunication or misunderstanding based on the gender of the person you are communicating with.

There is something to be said about doing the right thing. I know that many Australian and overseas patrons of Qantas might not be thinking too positively about Qantas today, especially if they are stranded with no flight home. But if you can take a step back and look from a different perspective on the issues at hand, I am sure you will have a new-found respect for Alan Joyce and the Boards role in standing up for what is right. You may say that Alan Joyce's pay rise is excessive, but is it? I for one do not make the sort of return for Marketing Eye that Alan Joyce has made for Qantas - so to me it is comparative. If I ran a company of that size, with the pressure that he has to put up with day-in, day-out, let me assure you, a $5 million pay packet would not be enough. The leaders who run substantial public-listed companies are under such harsh scrutiny that I for one, could not handle. Look at the newspapers each day and see the headlines that are completely attacking Alan Joyce. "Joyce Should Be Sacked" is enough to keep me paralyzed in bed for a month, if I were in his shoes. This man is an absolute inspiration. He is the epitome of strong, solid leadership with fair values. I have read feverishly the content related to what Qantas employees are wanting as remuneration. Are they serious? It is not market rate, nor is it reasonable. Having been on a flight where at the time I was in the Chairmans Lounge, and could not for the life of me use points to be upgraded to first class, yet a Qantas air hostess and her 3 friends seemed to have no problem at all taking the seats that could have been for a loyal customer who at the time travelled at least 4 flights per week with the airline. Is that fair? Well, from all accounts, this is something that Qantas employees want on a regular basis. Stuff the loyal customers who ensure that they have a job. They mean nothing - apparently. Another thing to consider is what has happened to other airlines around the globe. They are in huge financial strife. Do we really want an Australian icon like Qantas to follow down the same path? And last but not least... for those who have invested their superannuation and hard earned savings in buying shares for Qantas... they too need a return. It's not all one way. If they don't get dividends for taking the gamble and supporting Qantas - then no-one should have a job. Just my Sunday thoughts.

Most small businesses ignore guerilla marketing as part of their marketing mix. Why? Because most think that it's just what the big companies do.

Well, that is true most of the time, but not because it costs alot of money to do. It's mainly because their creative agencies or someone with a spot of 'genius' has come up with a guerilla marketing idea that has great potential.

Have you seen the Facebook Tattoo guerilla marketing exercise that was sponsored by  Rotterdam tattoo artist Dex Moelker and his company? The pictures above, but there is a much better video floating on YouTube with more hits than you can hope for.

When this piece of guerilla marketing was being passed around, we should have realised that it wasn't for real. Let's face it... the average person firstly would not be stupid enough to tattoo 152 of their friends on their arm (because they might be friends today, but tomorrow, it's quite possible they may block you because of something you said, did or didn't do). The dead giveaway was the optimised key words on YouTube. Now, even I would not think to do that (but one of my digital marketers definately would!).

The story spread like wildfire and media outlets around the world reported the bizarre story. It's biggest impact though would have been through social media. Too bizarre to be real? You betcha! It was just a transfer - not a tattoo and a brilliant piece of guerilla marketing.

(BRW, the Marketing Issue, Oct 20-26, 2011)

It needn’t take a huge budget to market a business. All it takes is time and little forethought. Report: Georgina Dent

Many years ago a manager commented off the cut that Marketing Eye Chief executive Mellissah Smith “worked in sales”. Smith was irritated by the description until she decided he’d made a valid point. “I was quite annoyed about him saying marketing was the same as sales but they actually do go hand in hand,” she says. “Marketing creates the forum for sales to occur.”