Yesterday afternoon – completely out of the blue – I got a call from Lands’ End. It’s been awhile since I bought anything from them; I think the last item was a set of sheets I bought last fall.

A very nice lady thanked me for being a Lands’ End customer and offered me free shipping on any order I placed in July. My response, “Gee, I’m really on a tight budget right now so I won’t be making any purchases before the end of the month.”

What was the missed opportunity? If she had been given the authority to make a second offer, I probably would have bought another set of sheets and maybe some towels (my favorite Lands’ End products).

What would have done it? If she had said, “Yes, I know, folks are feeling the pinch right now, would it help if I could give you 15% off one item if you ordered before the end of July?”

I would probably have gone online and placed an order right then.

All it takes is a company that gives its telemarketers the ability to respond to customers’ comments quickly and tailor an offer to fit the situation.

Sorry, Lands’ End. No sale.

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When advertisers – the buyers of ads – and consumers – the targets of ads – disagree on the effectiveness of advertisements, one would think that the advertisers would listen! After all millions of dollars are spent every year on ads of all sorts, online and off; and if they don’t resonate with the target audience they’re just so much junk.

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.”

attributed to John Wanamaker,
founder of Wanamaker’s department store

Looks to me like consumers are beginning to let us know! Harris Interactive conducted a poll late last month of 2,000+ consumers and 1,000+ advertisers from agencies or corporations  to find out how far apart these groups are.

It’s pretty clear there’s quite a gap between the thinking of those who pay for advertising and those to whom it is targeted. When asked, “How effective do you think each of these characteristics of advertising are,” consumers are telling advertisers exactly how to reach them.  Consumers think the following characteristics are very or somewhat effective:

• 74% say ads that are entertaining
• 73% say ads that are informative
• 71% say ads that make me stop and think
• 70% say ads that are funny
• 68% say ads that give me new information

There is one time where 50% of consumers say a type of ad is very or somewhat effective: it is those that “have a product demonstration.” Bingo! Now we know exactly where 50% of advertising doesn’t work!

Time to listen to the customer and give them what they want.

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Listen to the “BSE Radio” segment about use of bio-derived renewable content to replace petroleum products in the manufacture of printing inks. George Fuchs, Manager – Environmental Affairs & Information Systems, and John Daugherty, Technical Manager, from the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM) join me on WhatTheyThink Going Green to discuss a new certification program for printing ink components.

Click “Play Now” to hear the audio. (Read the article)

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