BeTuitive: May 2007

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Keep Your Company On Target: Top 3 Lessons Learned from the Target Corporation

Posted on May 31, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.

The Target Corporation has a loyal customer base whose enthusiasm has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. From the pet name Tarzhay (a “French” pronunciation of Target) to the scores of shoppers professing their love for the red bull’s-eye, Target is a force to be reckoned with in the discount retail industry.

In her book On Target: How the World’s Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull’s-eye, author Laura Rowley expounds on Target’s business and marketing strategies. And although the book is retail-centric (and at times a bit promotional), I think it offers some valuable insight into what makes a business—any business—successful. The following are my top three lessons learned from the Target Corporation.

Lesson One: Take the best of both worlds

Die-hard Target shoppers will adamantly dispute the idea that Target is “just another discount store” like Walmart or Kmart. How has Target so effectively differentiated itself from its competitors? They did it by taking the best elements of a high-end department store--a clean well-lit sales floor, stylish products and friendly customer service--and tailoring those elements to fit a discount store.

“’Before I was a professor, I worked at a housewares distribution company which sold to Target,’ said Michael Levy, a professor of retailing at Babson College in Massachusetts and co-editor of the Journal of Retailing. ‘They always paid a lot of attention to detail. Their stores always looked a lot better than the discount store competition. Even though the shelves were stacked a little higher and the displays were not as slick as department stores, they looked more like department stores in those days than the sort of dark, dingy look of a discount store (On Target, p11).’”

Consider your chief competitors, and companies that provide high-end services in your industry. What are the most attractive elements of their offers, and how can you integrate those elements into your business in a realistic, manageable way? Take the best of both worlds and you’ll make your customers feel like they’ve hit the jackpot.

Lesson Two: Design is king

From the basics of product selection to larger decisions about its marketing campaigns, Target takes design very seriously.

Tupperware chairman and CEO Rick Goings: “I think they are looking for brands that really draw people into Target stores. If you compare them to some other retailers, they have a fairly narrow product line that they show in any category in Target, but it’s usually brands or product categories where there’s a panache to it, or a design element (On Target, p23).”

Following the iMac model of “show, don’t tell” Target ads and commercials are visually compelling, with very little text. The bulls-eye logo is so strongly branded that the Target name is usually not even included in advertisements.

“This is the ultimate emotional connection,” says Mark Gobe, founder of the branding and design firm Desgrippes Gobe Group, “when your message is so powerful and so unique that visual expressions can stand alone (On Target, p58).”

Lesson Three: Partner with people who are experts in their fields

The “do-it-yourself” method seems like a frugal choice for home owners, but it isn’t always the best financial decision for a business. So when Target decided to join the e-commerce market, it turned over its Web operations to Amazon.com.

“’I think [the Amazon deal] gives them an edge,’ said Cynthia Cohen of Strategic Mindshare. ‘You can create your own infrastructure for e-commerce, hire people, teach them—but that is expensive and time-consuming, versus going to somebody whose core competency is e-commerce. Amazon already has this knowledge—so [Target is] buying the knowledge—their dollars versus their time frame, their risk. This isn’t entirely risk-free, but Target is reducing risk by using knowledge from a company whose core competency is e-commerce (On Target, p76).’”

Whether you’re trying to break into e-commerce or start a custom publication, partnering with an expert can increase efficiency, reduce risk and optimize results while sparing your company the cost of internal time and resources.

Visit Laura Rowley.com

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May 31, 2007 in award winning blog, award winning design, blog publish, Blogs, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building Customer Community, Building Customer Intuition, business credibility, Business Marketing, Business relationships, Corporate Blogging, Customer Intuition, customer retention, E-Marketing, Email Marketing, email marketing solution, grow relationships, Marketing Communication, marketing solutions, nurturing relationships, online marketing, publish, Strategic Internet Marketing | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Obama Focuses Attention on Telemarketing and the FTC

Posted on May 23, 2007 by Kevin G.

It may not be the topic of global warming or the war in Iraq, but presidential hopeful, Senator Barack Obama, offered his concern on telemarketing to the elderly. The FTC and databases like Infousa.com are mentioned in his statement. Read the full article here.

May 23, 2007 in blog publish, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, Building Customer Intuition, Business editorial, Business relationships, Company publication, Corporate Blogging, create a newsletter, creating newsletter, Custom email, Custom publishing, Customizable publication, electronic newsletter, email marketing solution, email service, grow relationships | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Personalized Greetings

Posted on May 22, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.

When it comes to email, does "Dear Bob" personalization really work?

The short answer: It's a start, but customization is more than just a personalized greeting.

Read the whole article.

May 22, 2007 in Newsletter content, newsletter creation, Newsletter Marketing, newsletter publishing, Newsletter ROI, Newsletter solution, newsletter solutions, nurturing relationships, online marketing, online newsletter, online publishing, publications management, publish, publish company, publish online, publish writing, publishing solution, Strategic Internet Marketing, web publish, Weblogs, Writing a Newsletter, writing magazine, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

ACES in Bloom

Posted on May 21, 2007 by Vinnie Lacey.

It's not often that we get to pat ourselves on the back here at BeTuitive Publishing. But award season is in full swing, and we are proud to announce our first wins of 2007!

Miller Heiman and BeTuitive Publishing scored top honors at the 2007 ACE Awards, sponsored by the Reno-Tahoe chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA). AMA has been the leading source for information, knowledge sharing, and development in the marketing profession for over six decades, with over 38,000 members internationally.

The Miller Heiman Sales Performance Journal nabbed an Award of Excellence in the category of Comprehensive Marketing Campaign for BeTuitive and Miller Heiman. Miller Heiman also won awards in the categories of Special Events, Direct Mail Campaign, Web Marketing Campaign and Publicity/Public Relations Campaign.

Congratulations to our friends at Miller Heiman, pictured here with their shiny accolades:

Excellence is Contagious!

May 21, 2007 in award winning blog, award winning design, award winning magazine, award winning newsletter, Award winning publications, blog publish, Blogging Tools, Blogs, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, Building Customer Intuition, company magazine, company newsletter, Custom publication, Custom publications, electronic newsletter, Email blast, Email Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Reinforcement and Challenge: The Components of Strong Branding

Posted on May 16, 2007 by Kevin G.

I have been thinking a lot about branding lately and came up with a couple ideas about it. Branding is all about the relationship a consumer has to a company and its products. This relationship is enhanced through new experiences, better quality, and improved reputation.

Often a relationship is strengthened by reinforcing the positive qualities. This is found in reward points for a certain amount of purchases, excellent customer service around trusted products, or improved stores or website to better serve customers.

Brands are also strengthened when they challenge their consumers into thinking differently about their product, service or company. Apple did it with computers and Starbucks did it with coffee. By challenging the consumers, they learn to refocus their view of a brand in an effort to improve the relationship.

These two commercials for BMW seem to do just that. Watch both and see which is more effective for you and how you see BMW as a brand.

May 16, 2007 in award winning design, Blogging Tools, Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, bulk email marketing, business credibility, business magazine, Business relationships, CMO, Company publication, Corporate Blogging, Corporate newsletter, creating company newsletter, Creative emails, Custom publisher, Customer Intuition, Educating Clients, Educating Prospects, forbes magazine, grow relationships, magazine design, Strategic Internet Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Break-Up

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.

Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions is making a mini-movie about the disjunction between advertisers and consumers. It's called "The Break-Up" and it's replete with actual Hollywood actors, a movie poster, and a great tag line:

She is a consumer.

He is an advertiser.

All she wants is genuine affection.

All he gives is loyalty reduction.

The Break-up: A story of love gone wrong.

Coming Soon.

Learn more about the mini-movie at Bring the love back.

May 15, 2007 in Custom publications, Custom publisher, Custom publishing, Customer Intuition, customer magazine, customer retention, Customizable publication, direct email marketing, E-Marketing, e-newsletter, e-zine, Educating Clients, Educating Prospects, electronic magazine, electronic newsletter, Email blast, Email management, Email Marketing | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend

Posted on May 14, 2007 by Vinnie Lacey.

When was the last time you told a job interviewer you have trouble getting things done? Probably never. We all like to think productivity is our strong suite. In reality, getting things done is a common obstacle, with nuances for every job position and industry.

Not to fear. No, really...c'mon now...take your forehead off the keyboard and get those pencil erasers out of your ears.

There are a few things that anyone can do in today's time-crunched business world to turn unsightly "to do's" into gold star "all done's." Our friends over at Yahoo Finance share these "Five Steps to Being More Productive."

Now excuse me while I go clean out my inbox.

May 14, 2007 in audio publication, award winning blog, award winning design, award winning magazine, award winning newsletter, Award winning publications, Blog Outsourcing, blog publish, Blogging Tools, Blogs, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, Building Customer Intuition, bulk email marketing, business credibility, Business editorial, business magazine, Business Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Google Improves Web Analytics

Posted on May 09, 2007 by Kevin G.

So it appears that Google has updated there web analytics tools. After considering many of the suggestions from businesses, the tools are more intuitive, expansive and customizable. Enhancing your SEO just got a whole lot easier.

May 9, 2007 in Blogging Tools, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, custom newsletter, Custom publication, customer retention, E-Marketing, e-newsletter, e-zine, Educating Clients, Educating Prospects, grow relationships, mass email, nurturing relationships, opt-in email, Thought leadership newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Custom Publishing Growth

Posted on May 08, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.

A new study by the Custom Publishing Council found that companies are investing more in custom publishing than ever before, the magazine format is gaining in popularity, and the average company has 2.3 custom publishing titles.

Read the article

Brand Origins

Posted on May 02, 2007 by Kevin G.

Have you ever been curious about the origins of some of the most recognizable companies worldwide? I found a great site that explains the history of brands like Mercedes, NASA, Red Bull, or FedEx. Feed your curiosity.

May 2, 2007 in Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, business credibility, Business relationships, E-Marketing, Email Marketing, grow relationships, Interactive Marketing, newsletter, newsletter article, nurturing relationships, online marketing, Outsourcing publication, prospect newsletter, Strategic Internet Marketing, Thought leadership newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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