Ken King | King Marketing http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/ en-us 2007-02-22T11:09:01-05:00 Launching first flyer survey at RAC Flyer Symposium http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2007/02/launching_first.html We are pleased to announce that we will be at tomorrow's RAC Flyer Symposium to start collection of data for our flyer research. The first study will start this week and will focus on the current practices of retailers in... Flyers kenking 2007-02-22T11:09:01-05:00 Topics for flyer research http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2007/02/topics_for_flye.html Some initial thoughts on direction for our research into retail flyers are recorded below. The specifics of each study will be refined in conjunction with industry peers in order to ensure that the information gathered will be as useful as... Flyers kenking 2007-02-16T11:27:13-05:00 Research on retail flyer publishing http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2007/02/research_on_ret.html As a retail marketing manager, I found it difficult to find information and advice about flyer advertising, despite the $20 billion spent on this form of advertising in North America. Anything I did not learn from watching colleagues, I had... Flyers kenking 2007-02-16T10:55:03-05:00 Why flyers deserve some love http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2007/01/why_flyers_dese.html Flyers kenking 2007-01-21T10:08:47-05:00 Focus on Flyers http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2007/01/focus_on_flyers.html Those who know me know that retail flyers, for whatever reason, fascinate me. That's why it's good to see others dedicating some time and attention to understanding the work that goes into creating flyers and recognizing those who do an... Flyers kenking 2007-01-20T10:46:01-05:00 Calling "bullshit" http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2006/10/calling_bullshi.html Communication directly between your customers is easier than ever now, and one of the main things they're going to do is call you on your bullshit. Seth Godin: Catherine sends us to Mouse Print, a website focused on the sleazy... Marketing kenking 2006-10-01T09:19:20-05:00 User tagging on delicious - hear the voice of your customer, for free http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2006/05/user_tagging_on.html It doesn't matter what business you think you're in, you're in the business your customers think you're in. And companies spend a fortune on focus groups, surveys and other feedback mechanisms to try to figure that out. Fred Wilson at... Marketing kenking 2006-05-05T13:36:29-05:00 Yes, it CAN be done, you just don't want to do it http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2006/04/yes_it_can_be_d.html can be done. My example this morning: it's surprisingly difficult to change one's email address on file with newsletter subscriptions. I tried with three companies this morning, with three very different results. In the first case, there was no obvious way to change my address. However, the signup form was very simple, consisting of email, name, company and title. It was easy enough to just set up a new account and cancel the old one, so I did so. Not ideal, but not too painful either. With the second company, things were a little more complicated because the registration included tying a company payment card to the account so setting up a new account would have required entering the card information along with my home address, and a bunch of other things. I decided to find out if there was a not-so obvious way of changing the email address. Their contact feedback form had "updating or removing my email address" as a category, which when selected gave the following warning:
The e-mail address for [website name deleted] accounts cannot be changed or updated. If you need to change your e-mail address, please feel free to create a new [website name deleted] account. If you have further questions, please submit your inquiry below.
The programming work that went into displaying that warning when I selected the message category could have been put to use creating a simple change of address form. Like the one offered by Apple. Their emails include a link leading to a simple form that let me accomplish the task in about 5 seconds.]]> Customer Service kenking 2006-04-12T09:24:44-05:00 A Dollar Today is Worth More Than a Dollar Tomorrow http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2006/04/a_dollar_today.html five things he learned in business school and I have to say that it had a big impact on me as well. The interesting thing is that the idea is naturally ingrained in people - here's a quick exercise you can do to draw this out in a friend:
  1. Offer your friend $100 a year from now.
  2. Then, offer them a smaller amount right now, say $90.
  3. They take it.
  4. Principle proved.
You may have to dicker a little to find the point at which they'll accept the offer, but that's just haggling over the discount rate - pretty much everyone will accept some smaller amount of money today rather than waiting. For bonus marks, vary the dollar amounts and time periods - you'll learn interesting things about risk tolerance.]]> Management kenking 2006-04-05T08:00:27-05:00 Wait 6-8 weeks because we don't give a damn http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2006/04/wait_68_weeks_b.html Grant McCracken's blog:
Music Week for the "culture and economics" world: "When you subscribe, online or by subscription card, you get the current issue in the mail about 3 days later, in a hand-addressed envelope.  No ‘please allow 6-8 weeks’: this isn’t a big corporate mag.  While they put together a top-rate, slick publication with great cover photos, it’s obvious even from the transaction of the subscription that there’s a room somewhere in Philly, filled with guys (sic) who love this music and want other people to love it, too."
]]> Marketing kenking 2006-04-05T06:43:22-05:00 All the stuff I would have liked to write about, Part II http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2006/03/all_the_stuff_i_1.html I came across the idea last year of using the occasion of the new year to clean the slate and publish all the notes contained in draft posts. In fact, there was so much stuff hanging around in draft form... Retail kenking 2006-03-17T09:33:40-05:00 Switched to FeedBurner http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2006/01/switched_to_fee.html While I was mucking about in the blog's templates setting up FeedBlitz, I decided to keep going and switch my RSS feed over to FeedBurner. Here's where I ask my readers to do some extra work: if it's not too... Miscellaneous kenking 2006-01-30T08:56:42-05:00 email subscription via FeedBlitz http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2006/01/email_subscript.html I finally around to adding a Feedblitz subscription to my blog, which will allow those who don't use an RSS reader (or who simply prefer to receive stuff by email) to receive site updates. The process was very easy with... Marketing kenking 2006-01-30T07:40:49-05:00 All the stuff I would have liked to write about, Part I http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2006/01/all_the_stuff_i.html I came across the idea last year of using the occasion of the new year to clean the slate and publish all the notes contained in draft posts. So here we go: Managers, Not MBAs This NYT article on George... Miscellaneous kenking 2006-01-26T20:52:28-05:00 Casting call for Canadian Web 2.0 entrepreneurs http://www.kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/kenking/archives/2005/11/casting_call_fo.html list of Canadian Web 2.0 companies - go to the article and add your favourites by commenting.]]> Entrepreneurship kenking 2005-11-22T09:50:19-05:00