Marketing?

Bowser

Bowser

Namaste
Valued Senior Member
I've recently had an opportunity to work with a large retailer and am now finding an interest in marketing. I can't go into specifics, but the experience has generated questions in my mind as to how they create a profit when all things are considered. In my quest for answers, I have found a couple interesting sources on the subject, both of which are free...

https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Le...UTF8&qid=1480123013&sr=1-1&keywords=marketing

I thought the video about Amazon's business model to be very interesting...

I am interested to hear from anyone who has experience in marketing or anything related to it.
 
joepistole said:
Marketing generates sales. You cannot have profits if you don't have sales.
Click to expand...
I've been watching videos about past successes: Henry Ford, Coca Cola, and Amazon. It would seem that marketing isn't enough, you actually need a product that people want.
 
Bowser said:
I've been watching videos about past successes: Henry Ford, Coca Cola, and Amazon. It would seem that marketing isn't enough, you actually need a product that people want.
Click to expand...
Google pet rocks. Marketing is about convincing people they want your products.
 
Last edited:
Bowser said:
I am interested to hear from anyone who has experience in marketing or anything related to it.
Click to expand...

I owned a small real estate office.

It was not a franchise so I was the man when did the marketing, listed houses, sold houses, rented and managed properties, managed the staff, did the books and cleaned the office and took out the trash.

My marketing was to be honest and reliable and that made me stand out over the rest.

I did find when doing flyers the key was to use the word "free".

No matter what way you approached a flyer "free market appraisel" made the phone ring.

When advertising a house the statistics were not important but there were certain words you would use to generate enquirey.... "old world charmer" "character home" "individual styling"... Stuff like that.

Heading the add so it stood out in pages of other adds.The best I came up with was" opportunity knocks once... So listen". Seven calls were folk who rang to say they thought it was a great add.

Once I placed a block add in negative. It really stood out.
And it was something no one could follow because it would be obvious they were copying.
Being independent I would do things that the competition (all franchises) could not follow.
When they had special promotions designed in head office I would top them with something that took the micky out of the drift of their campaign .

You must remember the add should not be designed to sell the property. The add is to make the phone ring and the phone is only to be used to make or break an appointment because you can not sell until you are belly to berry with the customer.

I would sell the first house I showed a buyer because I showed them what they wanted or asclose as I could offer, whereas others would show five or more housez to soffen them up but I figured not to waste time with BS.
I never thought about the money so I never looked at a customer as though they were my next meal.

Selling is an art form, there are steps and methods but I never used my power for evil and enjoyed the trust of my clients.

I recall one lady wanted two units for investement.
I found her the best two (in my view ) and called her up to inspect.
She said "there is no point in me lookinh at them I trust your judgement more than mine just go ahead"
She first saw them the day after she settled.
She was so happy and of course so was I.

Bowser if you have something in mind and want to run it by me I would be happy to comment to give you direction.
Alex
 
Xelasnave.1947 said:
Bowser if you have something in mind and want to run it by me I would be happy to comment to give you direction.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your insights and your offer. Thank you.

My wheels are spinning, but I haven't any money-making ideas. It's more an interest motivated by experiences at work. I did a short assignment with a clothing company recently. Their gig was to design the patterns for garments and then have them produced overseas, then sent here for retail. They had a status board that measured gross sales for the current year--very impressive for the size of the operation. Amazon is also a very admirable company. I'm a loyal customer for no better reason than knowing I can always find what I'm looking for when I go to their site. If I'm not certain whether I can find a specific product elsewhere, or if I have reason to believe I can pay less for that same product, I will have a look on Amazon.

Years ago, back in the 90's, I was asking people how they felt about purchasing online. Most said they still preferred brick and mortar. I believe that attitude has changed considerably since.

I'm taking on learning more about marketing because I believe it's good to have some insight into the practice, should I ever want to take a shot at starting my own business. I mean, we do live in a capitalist market. Maybe I should think like one.

Once again, thanks for your experience. I appreciate it.
 
joepistole said:
Google pet rocks. Marketing is about convincing people they want your products.
Click to expand...
Pet Rocks... I remember them well. In fact, the idea came to mind this evening. Yeah, go figure. I think the guy made like four million from rocks and paint. There's also the guy who sells fake wish bones. Who would think there a market for such a thing? Yet apparently there is. You might be right, maybe you can sell anything if you know how to market it.
 
Last edited:
Marketing is interesting. Amazon is a good example I agree. You can experience some of the concepts yourself just by selling a few items on Ebay.

It you have a popular product it's easier to sell than a less popular product (so sell popular products). Ad copy and pics matter a great deal. Answer the potential customers questions with better pictures and ad copy and you (rather than your competition) will be more sales.

Pay attention to keywords (search words) in your title. If you are selling a guitar and you don't mention the brand or the type in your title many people will never see your add if they are searching for "Fender" and "Electric" and you simply list your as "Guitar for sale" even if you list the specifics in the body of the ad.

Sometimes good copy and pictures and a slightly higher price is more effective than an average price for someone search for a particularly good version of your product.

If you think like the customer and try to make his/her life easier it's hard to go wrong. Trying to pull something over on your potential customer will bite you in the end.
 
Bowser said:
If I'm not certain whether I can find a specific product elsewhere, or if I have reason to believe I can pay less for that same product, I will have a look on Amazon.
Click to expand...
I have often thought of a service where you buy things on the net forfolk who are apprehensive or buying on the net.

For example I am old and dont like the idea because I percieve difficulty in sortting out a problem if something goes wrong.

Of course millions buy on the net but I suspect there may be a market built upon folk like me.

The service would offer security and what folk like me like is a real person I can talk to and who does everything I can't be bothered to do.

For example I want to by some small motors but I can not be bothered buying on the net.

I know there would not be many folk like me but I suspect there would be enough to build a business.

The big advantage it should not require much calital because you in effect are acting as an agent.

Also since my legs went south simple maintenance is a hassle I could see a maintenance business would be easy to build because it turns on honesty and reliability which is in effect what you are selling.

Getting old I would just rather pay someone to manage the trades people.

If you think youmay have a business one day think about this.
Before I bought my business I ran a spread sheet on each busuness in the area using approximate figures and you start to realise really what it takes.
In business I understood my oppositions outgoings better than they did.
They needed 2.6approx sales more than me a month to break even so I knew if they were only one ahead at my break even I knew they were losing money.
A d I think they smugly thought they were doing better than me.
I saw four different agencies out of town in the time I was in business because I knew their business better than them.
Try say a local coffee shop or similar you can guess their approx rent etc.. Its fun and may even have you focus on a future business.
I cant go to a shopping center without thinking thru their turnover and outgoings.
Its just a thing with me.
But you soon realise so many shops are slowly going broke eating away their home equity until one day the bank calls them in and we see the closing down signs go out.
If you want to buy a business you can keep an eye on their progress, the smile on the face of the owners and staff or lack thereof.
Good luck.
Alex
 
Last edited:
If you can work for the business or a similar business before you buy or start a business yourself so much the better. Even if they don't pay you much in wages it's still worth it. Better to learn on someone else's dime.
 
Xelasnave.1947 said:
If you want to buy a business you can keep an eye on their progress, the smile on the face of the owners and staff or lack thereof.
Good luck.
Alex
Click to expand...
As I said, I haven't any plans to start one, but the idea does interest me. I simply have no passion for anything specific. I do find it fascinating to watch what appear to be success stories. One of my older brothers has a successful business. Talking with him over Thanksgiving dinner, I learned he now has a five hour work week, most of his business being conducted over the computer and phone, This after suffering failure in another business endeavor years back.

There are those horror stories about the 24/7 commitment required to keep a business running. I personally don't have that much drive, so it may never be an option for me. Nonetheless, I do find it interesting.
 
Bowser said:
There are those horror stories about the 24/7 commitment required to keep a business running. I personally don't have that much drive, so it may never be an option for me. Nonetheless, I do find it interesting.
Click to expand...
24/7 is probably the best way to look at it.
Studying businesses will probably drive home that fact.
My greatest satisfaction was to live like a hermit, growing food living simply and learning stuff that interested me.
Success in my view has little to do with money.
If it did I would say I am a failure but I think my life has been an absolute success ess because I am always happy and content. I count my blessings but never get to the end of the list.
Alex
 
Seattle said:
If you can work for the business or a similar business before you buy or start a business yourself so much the better. Even if they don't pay you much in wages it's still worth it. Better to learn on someone else's dime.
Click to expand...
It depends on the function you are performing, too. I've worked for many companies but have always been on the production end. I know a lot about producing a product and doing so in an efficient manner, but managing the supply side and marketing of the business is something completely alien to me. I once had an opportunity to move into purchasing, but I worked closely with the previous purchasing agent, and I had no desire to fill her vacancy after she retired. The pressure was tremendous.

If I were to try something, it would be to farm out the work to others and try to pull a profit from their efforts.
 
Xelasnave.1947 said:
Having a job and making money on the side from a hobby is cool. Try gold prospecting.
Fresh air etc.
Alex
Click to expand...
Not many placer opportunities in my area. Would need to move to the high desert to make that happen. I tried investing in the stock market as a hobby, and I had a measure of success, but my instincts proved terrible in the long run.
 
Bowser said:
I tried investing in the stock market as a hobby, and I had a measure of success, but my instincts proved terrible in the long run.
Click to expand...
To much like gambling if you are looking for more than a hedge against inflation.
Write a best selling book...about how to write a best selling book.
Alex
 
I just finished a very good book regarding the importance of Marketing. Fascinating stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top