Archive for the 'Case Studies' Category

If you find it helpful to learn just HOW successful business people think, you’ll want to read this article on Costco’s business strategy. Some things I learned… *Their stores never carry more than 4000 items – but in bulk. A Wal-Mart carries 125,000. *They never price anything more than 14% above their cost. *Their profit [...]

Long before there was the “Website” where customers could visit your business on the web, there was the lowly toll free 800 number. 1800Flowers was part of a marketing movement that made selling products nationwide for a fair price easy … customers just had to respond to the advertisement (on TV, radio, or print) by [...]

In the wake of a disaster you might see – a TIDE “Loads of Hope” vehicle arrive. Obviously this helps promote “good will” for their brand and gives customers a sense they’re “helping” when they buy the brand, but it doesn’t dilute (no pun intended!) Tide’s identity by moving outside its field of familiarity. Here’s [...]

Here’s her website: DarynKagan.com Here’s her story, in part, from Breitbart In a competitive and youth-obsessed business, most everyone gets The Call sometime. For ex-CNN daytime anchor Daryn Kagan, it came in January 2006. She was brought into an office and told that CNN would not renew her contract when it expired at the end [...]

Check this out: Beer Sipping Clients Have Taxes Done In Bar I suppose that’s one way to make tax season less painful. But really, this is an ingenious way to market with very low overhead and to target a market. I wonder if the taverns charged anything… or if they just thought the novelty of [...]

Cricket Lee Takes On The Fashion Industry is about how one intrepid entrepreneur can have an impact on an entire messed up problem that resists change in an established industry. For entrepreneurs with a big ambition, Ms. Lee’s story holds lots of lessons. For one thing, raw persistence can open doors. Even without name recognition, [...]

Just in time for lunch in the Central Time Zone, we have this case of a marketing message gone awry because it’s offensive. The chain in question is Sheetz, a gasoline-convenience store operation with operations in South Central Pennsylvania and the surrounding region. Unfortunately offensive words are so commonplace (count the number of “F bombs” [...]

If you’re running a home business or any business, all you have to know about customer service is NOT to act like these companies! Note: You should read the whole report. Also, Sam Walton always said not to come to Wal Mart for service… but people keep wanting to pay nothing and be treated like [...]

Small work at home businesses don’t have this problem exactly, though I have heard of MLM distributors investigated by state Attorneys General for running “miraculous cure” ads… I think the product I especially remember was Germanium in Minnesota years ago. There were astounding claims printed by the distributor in the paper which provoked a swift [...]

It’s hard on consumers everywhere. When consumer budgets are breaking under economic strain, you may NOT be able to increase your prices on a product. But what if your costs are going up too? Business Week has an excellent article on how corporations cut cost without cutting quality. Wal Mart of course does this as [...]