Russ Page
Exploring the Art & Science of Marketing
Blank Decks
Nov 17th
A good friend of mine just launched his first endeavor into the world of eCommerce. He’s selling skateboards. To be specific, he is selling blank decks, blank wheels, griptape, bearings and hardware.
And, if you need some great Web design, he does that too.
Housing boom softening?
Nov 17th
“Building permits, seen as a measure of how home builders view the market, sank to an annual rate of 2.07 million from 2.22 million in September, the biggest drop in six years. “
via [ CNNMoney ]
Other Reads
Brokernomics
RSS Feeds of Fooey
Nov 17th
Seth Godin – RSS Three months later.
How many people really use RSS? I have tried it. I don’t like it. I like the interaction of going to the actual website. It’s more human. I don’t think it will catch on with the masses. So, is there a tactic that will actually get people to use it more? As of August, Forrester Research said only 2 percent of U.S. households were using RSS feeds. – Percentage of RSS use.
Now here’s the caveat — that doesn’t include all the people who may be using RSS (for example, through My Yahoo!) and don’t realize it. Young consumers between the ages of 12-21 were more likely to be using RSS — 5% of online young consumers say they use RSS.
.
Sorry Seth. I’m still not signing up. I like to see the bright orange colors and your bald head everytime I visit the Seth Godin Blog. It’s not just about the easy access, its about the experience.
Brokernomics
Nov 16th
“A rise in housing prices in an area has no significant impact on the average wage of the brokers in that market. It’s the oldest line in the economics book: No barriers to entry mean no big profits.”
Slate Magazine Article – Bubble-lusions – why most real estate agents aren’t getting rich
authored by – Austan Goolsbee of the University of Chicago
Other Reads?
Housing Boom Softening
Support Blogger’s Rights
Nov 16th
EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) has launched a blogger’s rights campaign.
“EFF has won fights to require the cops to get a warrant before reading your email, to knock out parts of the PATRIOT Act, to kill frivolous copyright and trademark suits aimed at silencing criticism and innumerable other critical pieces of the struggle to keep the Internet free and open.”
via [ BoingBoing ]
Sometimes. Somtimes mind you, I think some bloggers use their influence in a poor manner. But, for the most part, they have changed the way information is disseminated . . . in a good way.
Innovation of old Italy
Nov 15th
I agree with Seth Godin that this is a pretty fun way of advertising, but I have seen it before, and not all of these folks look that excited about standing on a street corner holding a sign that says buy from me. But why do it if it doesn’t tie into the message you already tell about your product? Because it’s fun or because it’s immediate?
Remember the Little Caeasars folks? Pizza! Pizza! ring a bell? Well, long ago (well only a few years back) Little Caesars completely changed the way pizzas were purchased when they started selling them by the two’s. Matched with a Caesar looking cartoon character that only said the words Pizza! Pizza!, the idea caught on very well, especially since two pizzas were often cheaper than one from other pizza joints. For a few years there, Little Caesars seemed to fade until it came up with a new idea – the $5 Hot ‘n Ready pizza. Again, they changed the way people bought pizza and not how it was made. Basically, you can walk into a Little Caesars at any time of the day and get a cheese or pepperoni pizza for $5 – a large pizza. Pizza Hut tried the “fast food” approach to Pizza. It didn’t work? Why? People didn’t want fast food. They wanted Pizza. They still want pizza.
Little Caesars does it right. It’s hot now, and it’s ready now. But, it isn’t fast food. It’s pizza ready now. It’s immediate. And their army of guys and girls standing on the corner holding signs and dancing remind you that its hot, right now.
Don’t buy music.
Nov 14th
I will still likely buy music in disc form, but I am finding more and more that there are enough great bands in the world that offer free tracks on their website that paying for music online is almost silly.
Listen up:
Fresh tunes. Incredibly Good. Incredibly Free.
Wanna hear other great tunes? Check out the SomethingLocal Podcast.
Bacon’s is Horrible. Horrible. Horrible.
Nov 14th
I whish someone in the marketing department at Bacon’s Media Source could give me a real answer as to why they cut off part of their service to long time customers and now make them pay extra for it. Basically, they concocted a scheme to charge more money for an old service while removing much of what we paid for to begin with. Think about it. Say they have 500 customers at $3 a piece.
They take away $1 of the perceived value of that purchase, and then still charge $3 for less than what we originally wanted.
Wala! Revenue is still $1500, but many of those customers will pay an extra $1 for the old service, which we STOLE from them. If just 150 customers sign up, we have increased revenues by 10 percent and angered the rest of them. Good idea!
I contacted their service department to ask them why, and I was told something like the following:
Hi Mr. Page, we received your email about no longer receiving the analyst service through Bacon’s. That service is still available at an additional cost. I don’t know why the decision was made . . . well, the decision was made in conjunction with the marketing department.
Nice marketing.
Customer Love score: 0/5.
