Why Do Great Products Disappear Without Explanation?

I’ve got a very tough beard, and I hate to shave, so I’m always looking for products to make the chore of shaving less time consuming and arduous.  Karen first bought me this product, Gillette Multiglide Shaving Gel, over a year ago, and I’ve loved it.  Not only did it make the shaving easier, it [...]

Staples Responds in Moment of Truth, Office Depot Still in Limbo

[Update: It has now been an more than a year and a half, and Office Depot still hasn't responded to my email. I continue to order from Staples with great success.]
If you’re simply looking to find your order status on Staples.com, then this is what you need to do:
www.staples.com/orderstatus
Enter in order # XXXXXXXXX [...]

Great marketing makes me cringe…

The Wall Street Journal described a great marketing idea: send your loved ones (e.g., husbands) a specific wish list from your favorite store. The stores claim that women are tired of hoping their husbands will get them a great gift, so they are using these wish lists to help them give great gifts.
While [...]

No cold calling in the winter!

It’s time to forget about cold calling and move towards “warm calling©.” The marketing and advertising textbooks I am using still tell students to rely on referrals and cold calling to find new prospects. I completely agree with cultivating referrals from people you know and have worked with, but I can’t believe we [...]

Where in the World is This Notepad/Memo Pad? It’s at West Leather!

Update 12-1-07:
I have now given this monogrammed notepad as a thank-you gift to several guest speakers, all of whom have loved it.  I now declare it to be a hit!
Aneil
Update, 10:30 a.m.:
Nathan Bond, one of my Babcock Evening Students, found the site, ElizabethWestLeather. Thanks so much to all of you who read this [...]

Building trust with customers does impact CSR…

A U.K. study confirms that building trust with your customers is the best way to develop a reputation for being a company that cares about corporate social responsibility (CSR). This study outlines the steps to building trust, reminding us that it is not enough to be trustworthy, but we must continually make efforts to [...]

My reaction to Albion…

As Aneil mentioned, I graduated from Albion College in 1985 with dual degrees in Music and Economics & Management (the Professional Management program, as it was called back then). When U of M laughed at me for wanting to try two majors, Albion said, “why not.” I had a great undergraduate experience [...]

Orville Redenbacher is creepy

Ad Age is conducting a poll about whether or not Orville Redenbacher popcorn should be using a digitally reproduced Orville Redenbacher in their commercials. So far, the vote is 86% no, 14% yes. (Go here to see the commercial for yourself.)
I said:
The reproduction is not done well, so the image is rather [...]

Scoble is right…Microsoft’s Vista Laptop giveway makes a lot of sense

The Scobleizer writes today in support of Microsoft giving away free laptops to bloggers loaded with Windows Vista, as others vehemently disagree.
How is this not trustworthy on the part of Microsoft? It is actually foward-thinking on their part to understand their consumer well enough to know that opinion-leaders might not be able to afford [...]

Trust in car companies includes CSR…

A  global survey of automotive companies by TNS Automotive asked consumers to rank trustworthy companies. Toyota and Honda ranked first.
What is a nice surprise is that consumers are seeing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on the part of automotive firms as an important aspect of their trustworthiness. That is, do they treat their employees [...]