Shopping is one of my favorite things to do! What can I say? I am a woman.
My family and I were in New York City for a Christmas vacation. Needless to say, I did a lot of shopping with my mom. However, there is one store during that shopping spree up north that bothers me.
If I go shopping, I usually shop at familiar places such as Express, Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic. These store names are well-known, and it is obvious that they are clothing stores. During our vacation, my mom suggested that we should stop by Steve & Barry’s. I looked at her all confused and wondered why should we go to that store?
Here’s my perspective: Steve and Barry’s equals boy names. I assumed that it must be either a clothing line for males or a sports store. We have this store in my hometown mall. The location of the store was in the corner between an ice rink and an electronics store. The location and the display of the name made me think it was a sports store. I asked my brother later in the week what Steve & Barry’s is. He replied that it is a sports store. It turned out that we both were wrong… Yet, the fact that we both reached this wrong assumption indicates Steve and Barry’s has a branding problem. The name is misleading.
My mom told me that it is a casual clothing store for both male and female, and it has no connection with sports. I was shocked. What’s next? A sports store named Bridget and Fifi’s? A restaurant named “The Athlete’s Foot”?
It is misleading to me, and I imagine it may be to other people. It helps if a store’s title does not misrepresent what products it is selling.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Wow, They do care!
Yay, I’m back on my blog!
I had an unforgettable moment from at least a month ago.
I should start by admitting that Chipotle is one of my favorite places to eat.
One day, I was driving to Chipotle in Waco, Texas, for lunch. An SUV hit my car on the way. Apparently a nice lady realized that she was in the wrong lane so she had to quickly change lanes in order to get to the right turning lane. Well, she did not see my car and side-swiped my beautiful Mitsubishi Eclipse. Luckily, I wasn’t going fast. I was pretty upset since my car already had been hit and fixed three times already and none of those accidents were my fault!
After we exchanged insurance, I decided to continue to my destination: yummy food. Three Chipotle employees were cleaning/taking a break outside of the building, and they saw me looking upset at my car. They asked me what was wrong, and I explained the whole situation to them. I calmed down some, and I went inside to order my food. I expected to pay for my food as customers should do; well, that didn’t happen. A nice lady at the cash register told me not to worry about it and hoped I would have a better day! ….wait?....my meal for free?... I was so thankful and shocked that they were being so nice! They let me have my chicken bowl with chips & salsa and a drink! It really did make my day better and forgot about my car accident!
Ever since that, I have told everyone about that experience! It is heart warming to see that a business cares about their customers. It is a great marketing tactic that influences word-of-mouth.
I had an unforgettable moment from at least a month ago.
I should start by admitting that Chipotle is one of my favorite places to eat.
One day, I was driving to Chipotle in Waco, Texas, for lunch. An SUV hit my car on the way. Apparently a nice lady realized that she was in the wrong lane so she had to quickly change lanes in order to get to the right turning lane. Well, she did not see my car and side-swiped my beautiful Mitsubishi Eclipse. Luckily, I wasn’t going fast. I was pretty upset since my car already had been hit and fixed three times already and none of those accidents were my fault!
After we exchanged insurance, I decided to continue to my destination: yummy food. Three Chipotle employees were cleaning/taking a break outside of the building, and they saw me looking upset at my car. They asked me what was wrong, and I explained the whole situation to them. I calmed down some, and I went inside to order my food. I expected to pay for my food as customers should do; well, that didn’t happen. A nice lady at the cash register told me not to worry about it and hoped I would have a better day! ….wait?....my meal for free?... I was so thankful and shocked that they were being so nice! They let me have my chicken bowl with chips & salsa and a drink! It really did make my day better and forgot about my car accident!
Ever since that, I have told everyone about that experience! It is heart warming to see that a business cares about their customers. It is a great marketing tactic that influences word-of-mouth.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Changing of an Image
I’m back on the blog! I just started my senior year at Baylor University with 18 hours worth of classes. It was crazy at first, but I enjoy it because most of my classes involve group projects. It will help me to learn how to work with co-workers in the future! Since everyone is back at school, I noticed that there were a few brand changes.
From all of the books I read during my internship (look at my blog posts with the book titles), I learned that image is very important for business. Businesses want to have a great image to give a reason for customers to come back. They want to have an image that will stay on the customers’ mind.
Baylor University is working on its image. Baylor is known for a beautiful campus with nice red brick buildings with white cement details, green grass, and gorgeous landscapes. When people are driving on I-35, which will take them up on the bridge, they will see the overview of Baylor’s campus. People will notice that Baylor is a beautiful campus, but there are distractions in front of the campus. The drivers will notice that two gas stations, an IHOP, and a little section of shops are blocking their view of the Baylor campus. Baylor has just bought this land, and they will tear down the buildings during the fall/winter of 2008. They will replace those buildings with green grass. It will improve the image of the Baylor campus: better, sharper, cleaner, and with more of an Ivy-League look.
McAllister’s Deli is another great example. I remember McAllister’s because it has Baylor shirts on the ceiling tiles. It was fun to eat there while looking at all of the colorful shirts that represent several Baylor organizations. This is the Waco brand, not the chain. Well, McAllister’s just did a renovation to the building over the summer. I have to say that the building looks great, but I was disappointed when I walked inside. The shirts are not on the ceiling anymore. I was wondering why they would take that brand away. I talked to several people, including my brother, and they were also disappointed about the shirts. It turned out that they did not take them away. They ended up hanging all of the shirts on the walls in the hallway to the bathroom. At least they are still there, but talk about a demotion!
Fixing an image can be a good or bad. It is better to improve it instead of completely changing it for the worse! It is better to keep current customers while gaining new customers.
From all of the books I read during my internship (look at my blog posts with the book titles), I learned that image is very important for business. Businesses want to have a great image to give a reason for customers to come back. They want to have an image that will stay on the customers’ mind.
Baylor University is working on its image. Baylor is known for a beautiful campus with nice red brick buildings with white cement details, green grass, and gorgeous landscapes. When people are driving on I-35, which will take them up on the bridge, they will see the overview of Baylor’s campus. People will notice that Baylor is a beautiful campus, but there are distractions in front of the campus. The drivers will notice that two gas stations, an IHOP, and a little section of shops are blocking their view of the Baylor campus. Baylor has just bought this land, and they will tear down the buildings during the fall/winter of 2008. They will replace those buildings with green grass. It will improve the image of the Baylor campus: better, sharper, cleaner, and with more of an Ivy-League look.
McAllister’s Deli is another great example. I remember McAllister’s because it has Baylor shirts on the ceiling tiles. It was fun to eat there while looking at all of the colorful shirts that represent several Baylor organizations. This is the Waco brand, not the chain. Well, McAllister’s just did a renovation to the building over the summer. I have to say that the building looks great, but I was disappointed when I walked inside. The shirts are not on the ceiling anymore. I was wondering why they would take that brand away. I talked to several people, including my brother, and they were also disappointed about the shirts. It turned out that they did not take them away. They ended up hanging all of the shirts on the walls in the hallway to the bathroom. At least they are still there, but talk about a demotion!
Fixing an image can be a good or bad. It is better to improve it instead of completely changing it for the worse! It is better to keep current customers while gaining new customers.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Rewarding Experience
The time has gone by really fast! I just finished my internship with The Marketing Spot, and it was a rewarding experience. It really opened my eyes to see the marketing perspective of businesses. Ever since my internship began, I see everything as a potential marketing experience (for examples, see my chipotle and flea market blog).
I can see how word-of-mouth advertising is important. I have been working at Pier 1 Imports for a year; it helps to have a job as a college student! My co-workers and I had to go to a meeting one night to talk about the customer experience. It was interesting to hear the fact that the customers are 7 times more likely to talk about a bad experience than a good experience.
That fact is so true. I went to a pharmacy on Valley Mills recently. I could have gone to a closer pharmacy in this chain, but I liked this one because it looks better inside. I went to print digital pictures from my camera, and I needed help with printing. However, a manager was extremely rude to me. I simply asked her if the photo machine was working, but she would not help me or anything. Of course, I got upset and told my friends about it. I did not go back to that store until a few months later. I figured that she would not be there anymore. I was dead wrong. She was there and SO RUDE to me again. Unbelievable! I did not know what I did wrong, but all I did was ask her a question. Of course, I made a comment to her that I am a customer and that she does not need to be rude. I do not plan to patronize that store again.
No one wants to have a bad experience. If they hear a negative report from someone, surely they would not go to that particular business. If you want to read more about it, read Managing the Customer Experience by Shaun Smith and Joe Wheeler.
I want to thank Jay Ehret for a great experience in my internship. I look forward to my steps ahead in the business world.
I can see how word-of-mouth advertising is important. I have been working at Pier 1 Imports for a year; it helps to have a job as a college student! My co-workers and I had to go to a meeting one night to talk about the customer experience. It was interesting to hear the fact that the customers are 7 times more likely to talk about a bad experience than a good experience.
That fact is so true. I went to a pharmacy on Valley Mills recently. I could have gone to a closer pharmacy in this chain, but I liked this one because it looks better inside. I went to print digital pictures from my camera, and I needed help with printing. However, a manager was extremely rude to me. I simply asked her if the photo machine was working, but she would not help me or anything. Of course, I got upset and told my friends about it. I did not go back to that store until a few months later. I figured that she would not be there anymore. I was dead wrong. She was there and SO RUDE to me again. Unbelievable! I did not know what I did wrong, but all I did was ask her a question. Of course, I made a comment to her that I am a customer and that she does not need to be rude. I do not plan to patronize that store again.
No one wants to have a bad experience. If they hear a negative report from someone, surely they would not go to that particular business. If you want to read more about it, read Managing the Customer Experience by Shaun Smith and Joe Wheeler.
I want to thank Jay Ehret for a great experience in my internship. I look forward to my steps ahead in the business world.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Did You Know?
Did you know that there are new rules for marketing and public relations? Well, there are some! My boss, Jay Ehret, from The Marketing Spot recommended for me to read The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott.
David Meerman Scott explained in his book about the new rules and how things have changed in the marketing and public relations world. The best way to get customers is by building relationships with them without direct-selling our product or business. For example, customers tend to search for answers on the website to solve their problems. To provide an answer is the beginning of what is hopefully a long-lasting and profitable relationship. Scott also talked about the importance of and gave advice for websites, blogs, podcasts, videos and search engines. My favorite part of this book is that Scott listed the web addresses in footnotes as references. It allows the readers to look online for more information fast and easy.
I believe that this book was a great lesson for me. I just started my blog about two months ago, and it has been interesting. It seems to have gone really slowly since I have yet to network with other bloggers. I was not sure where to go or what topics to write about. I was pretty discouraged. Scott gave great advice to use for blogging. After reading his book, I felt more confident with my blog.
Read this book when you can!
David Meerman Scott explained in his book about the new rules and how things have changed in the marketing and public relations world. The best way to get customers is by building relationships with them without direct-selling our product or business. For example, customers tend to search for answers on the website to solve their problems. To provide an answer is the beginning of what is hopefully a long-lasting and profitable relationship. Scott also talked about the importance of and gave advice for websites, blogs, podcasts, videos and search engines. My favorite part of this book is that Scott listed the web addresses in footnotes as references. It allows the readers to look online for more information fast and easy.
I believe that this book was a great lesson for me. I just started my blog about two months ago, and it has been interesting. It seems to have gone really slowly since I have yet to network with other bloggers. I was not sure where to go or what topics to write about. I was pretty discouraged. Scott gave great advice to use for blogging. After reading his book, I felt more confident with my blog.
Read this book when you can!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Face-to-face Drive-Thru
People may think marketing is all about advertising and surveys. Well, that is not always the case. Marketing is also building a relationship with customers. This is how businesses get loyal customers.My family and I were about to make an out-of-state trip to my grandparents’ house. We decided to stop by Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru in Arlington, Texas, to order lunch. Of course, a drive-thru is usually where a customer drives his/her car up to the speaker and orders a meal, but this time it was different. We did not order through a speaker, but through a person. I thought that was fantastic. It created a personal relationship between us and an employee. Obviously, Chick-fil-A is focusing on building relationships through a drive-thru. A speaker is such an impersonal device; the customer does not know what the person looks like on the other side of a speaker—it is just an impersonal and sometimes hard-to-understand voice. If an order is complicated, it is hard to explain to the speaker. It creates the bigger chance it will come out wrong. Instead, ordering to a person makes things easier and creates good will. However, not every Chick-fil-A does a face-to-face drive-thru. After we made our order, we drove up to wait in the line for our food. While waiting in line, we drove up to a sauce stand. An employee asked us if we need any sauces such as barbeque or ketchup, and how many do we need.
It was great to see how convenient and easy it was in the drive-thru. Bush’s Chicken in Waco, Texas is another great example of personal relationships. They do face-to-face drive-thru all the time. It was wonderful to get a personal connection from Chick-fil-A!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Facebook Addiction
Facebook is one of the biggest sensations these days. It is social network that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People have their own profile page where their Facebook friends can learn about them and communicate with them.
I have been a member of Facebook for almost 4 years. I am addicted to Facebook, and I love it. Why? I have found so many of my long-lost friends through this addictive network, and it allows me to keep in touch with my friends across the nation and world-wide. It is mind boggling to see how much Facebook has changed and grown so quickly. It was originally for college students only, but now it is for all ages.
During one of my semesters at
- How many times a day do you check your Facebook account?
- How long during each session?
Most people answered at least 10 times and 5-10 hours total per day. That is some 70 times and 35-70 hours per week! I had to admit that I am one of those people.
Why is it so addicting? My guess would be the usefulness of it. You can do so many things on it. People can download their pictures, videos, music, and notes. They can market their business and sell things that they want to sell. If there is a special event or a party, members can create and send invitations online. If they need to talk to someone, they can type in the wall posts, private messages, and online.
The point is: Facebook is becoming more useful for everyone in a personal life and a business life. The sky is the limit for good marketing applications using Facebook.
However, if you are not a member yet, BE AWARE OF THE ADDICTION!
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