This video is a great example of a brand which understands their consumer and interacts with them to increase their brand image.
This campaign, illustrated through this TVC, presents how a brand (in this case the Argentinean beer Cervaza Andes) while being in a saturated and highly competitive market, such as the alcoholic beverage industry, can still grab consumers’ attention and offer them something unique, fresh and highly entertaining!
The ad has been highly successful since it aired in Europe in October 2009. It has gone viral and lead to increases in sales, brand awareness and a rapid rise in the brand’s Facebook Fan base.
Australian advertisers should take note of how powerful understanding your customer’s problems can be.
But does a clever and interactive campaign, like this one, lead to increased sales?
This week, the power of social media was well and truly illustrated.
On Saturday the 24th of September, a woman, Keara O'Neil, and her bridesmaids were shopping on Chapel St. in Melbourne for bridesmaid dresses. They entered the retailer Gasp – a store renowned for its over-the-top, glitzy, pageant-style formal wear which has a reputation for looking more street walker than runway walker. The women were greeted by an outgoing sales man named Chris. Keara chose a bright pink dress to try on. The sales assistant became very pushy repeatedly stating “she should get it” and after she repeatedly told him she “would think about it” with increasing frustration and attitude, he barged into the fitting room and whispered “with your figure I really think you should buy it”. Being self conscious of her size 12 frame, she became extremely upset. She stormed out of the store with her bridesmaids in tow as Chris called out “Have fun finding something at Supre” and “I knew you girls were a joke the minute you walked in”.
In his defence, Chris claimed that the Keara and her bridesmaids came into the store with the specific purpose to laugh at the out-there styles Gasp offers and were making loud critics of the clothes in-front of more serious customers who appeared hurt by Keara and the bridesmaids’ comments and this is what set him off.
In my experience, working in retail for over six years, I have encountered numerous situations where women have openly mocked the clothing in the store in which I was working, whether it was the styles they disliked or our lack of larger sizes. Yes, some women can become harsh and unnecessarily direct their frustrations towards the staff members, but I would never react to this and am always politely and try my best to assist them and diffuse their frustration. I understand that shopping can be an emotional and difficult experience for a lot of people. I think we’ve all found ourselves stressed out and exhausted at some stage when we desperately need something and nothing seems to work! I have had women brake down in tears when they’re having an “ugly day”, or have gained weight – many after having a baby. I have had women shopping to cope with their break-ups, divorces and even miscarriages and have found myself acting more like a shoulder to cry on and counsellor than stylist or sales assistant.
Bridesmaids, in particular, can be hard for some sales people to deal with. While you are provided with training for basic operations and sales techniques, you aren’t exactly told how to handle a pack of stressed out, time poor women, who’s spirits have been broken after the bride has said “your too pale for all the dress colours!” or “I wish you had boobs big enough to fill out this style like the others do” one too many times. The pack-animal dynamic tends to take over and I’ve seen bridesmaids turn on other female shoppers while in the change rooms because they are purchasing the dress they want. But it is my job to keep them happy and help them stay in high spirits, and to never to take my frustrations or bad day out on them.
Back to the story at hand, while many people have a story or four about a bad customer service experience, this story became worthy of the public’s interest after Keara O'Neil, sent an email discussing her experience to Gasp’s customer care team. The response she received (also available at the link above) has blown everyone away. She didn’t receive the apology she expected; instead a condescending rant that basically treated her like a morbidly obese, fashion inept and “undesirable” trouble maker. Instead of apologising for or discussing the sales person’s remarks, instead Chris was praised with “Chris whom served you is a qualified stylist whom has a sixth sense for fashion, and Chris’s only problem is that he is too good at what he does, and as I am sure you are aware, people whom are talented, generally do not tolerate having their time wasted, which is the reason you were provoked to leave the store” and “Chris is a retail superstar, who possess unparalleled ability, and I am sorry you feel upset by him, but he knew you were not going to buy anything before you even left your house” and concluded with “So if you would like to do us any favours, please do not waste our retail staff’s time, because as you have already seen, they will not tolerate it. I am sure there are plenty of shops that appease your taste, so I respectfully ask that you side step our store during future window shopping expeditions”. Upon receiving this disrespectful response, Keara decided the best revenge would be to simply make sure that the public were aware of Gasp’s treatment of her. She forwarded her email and Gasp’s response to the contacts in her address book and asked them to forward the email on. By, Wednesday the 28th of September the story had well and truly gone viral, becoming a major trending topic on Twitter Australia as well as appearing all over Facebook, Blogs, Forums and other forms of social media. By Thursday the 29th The Herald Sun, A Current Affair, Today Tonight and The Project, as well as other news outlets, were reporting on the issue. Yes, I think this is the definition of viral marketing, pulled off not by a brand or organisation but by a single consumer.
I think I can accurately presume that not one person has read this reply without an open jaw. To make matters worse Matthew Chidgey, the area manager of Gasp, has acted as a rep for Gasp and has gone onto A Current Affair, Today Tonight and The 7pm Project, and has not only defended all of Chris’ actions and the customer care team, but offered no apology to Keara. Any PR rep or retailer could tell you it is far better to just apologise and try to diffuse the situation so you can solve the issue and move forward.
A lesson has been learnt. Never underestimate the power of one consumer and PLEASE never assume you do not need the advice of a professional PR rep. In this increasingly communicative environment through social media, both good news and bad news can spread like wild fire and in my opinion, this case will not be the last.
On the flip side, I heard that this is perhaps a marketing ploy by Gasp who believe that any media coverage is good. It isn’t all that surprising considering the extensive world –wide coverage the brand has gained on the popular Perez Hilton blog site as well as tweets by Ruby Rose and Charlotte Dawson since the incident.
To back this up, about 4 years ago I spoke to a couple of former-Gasp employees who said they underwent vigorous training to become out-spoken, tough and forceful sales people. They were encouraged to barge into customer change rooms, to force customers out of the fitting rooms and on to the shop floor and to be very sales-focused and were offered a considerable commission scheme to back this up. One former-sales assistant told me that she was forced by her manager to tell customers who were size 12 and above that “this store isn’t for them” and to people who were perceived as being of lower-income or too young to afford the styles “I don’t think you can afford this store” as well as to discourage other customer types based purely on their appearance.It was their brand decision to be seen as arrogant and out-spoken and to reward favourable customer behaviour such as purchases with praise and customer criticism or “time wasting” with attitude and rude comments – much like the training of a dog.
The issues has gained lots of attention – some positive and most negative, with both customers and retail assistants expressing strong opinions both online as well as around the water-cooler and over skinny lattes. I can only hope that as a result, consumers will out poor customer service to the brand’s head office, as well as to the public, but more so, I hope that customers see this as encouragement to send praise to shop assistants and to contact a company’s head office when they have a positive experience in-store, as this story has clearly shown that good customer service is not always guaranteed, that your money is not always welcome in some stores and that in the minds of some sales people the customer isn’t always right. I do think Gasp sees this as an opportunity for some increased brand awareness on the back of a controversial marketing stunt, however I wonder at what cost? I can only assume at the price of the brands image and a whole lot of respect for the brand.
Have you had a bad, or for that matter a good, experience at Gasp? Where have you encountered good and bad customer service? And do you think that Gasp sees this as a controversial publicity stunt that will increase their brand’s awareness? Please leave you thought in the comments section below!
Sick of reading? Have a look at my YouTube video on the benefits of YouTube as a social media marketing tool for non-profits - please bare in mind that this is the first video I have ever created.
Brands are excited. Social media is an effective, cheap and easy way to communicate with our customers!!!! ….. Or is it?
It would be easy to assume that Facebook could be the solution to extensive amounts of time and money spent on marketing however, using Facebook to advertise is a lot more complicated than these companies realize..
You must remember that you are invading consumers “personal space”. People do not like to think of their Facebook page being owned Mark Zuckerberg and his team at Fabook HQ, they think of it as their own property. Their own piece of land in the online world. And the same reason why we ignore the paid advertisements that appear on the right hand side of the screen. Our experiences and perceptions tells us that these pop-ups and advertisements are all virus-causing, fake free iPod or penis enlarging advertisements. Placed there by mean nerds trying to get our attention and give us a virus. When in reality, they can be effectively targeted, cheap ways to provided us information about a brand or discounts on products and services.
There is another way to market you brand or product online. This is through the use of “Pages” that Facebook users can become a “fan” of or “like”. Yes, you can fill you page with images and information about your product for your customers to access, however you would be naive to think this is how Facebook works. Most Facebook users will see your “TimTam” page, think “I like Tim-Tams” and click “Like”. Thus making them selves seem carefree and exciting to the Facebook universe based the fact their own profile will now tell all their friends that they like Tim Tams. It is unlikely that this person will ever desire anymore more from the brands page again. Poor Tim Tam, and mre importantly poor Arnott’s.
Unless you offer them something of value, this is all you will ever be to them. A clever marketer will see this. They will find a way to give their customer value through information about new products and promotions while avoiding bombarding their “personal space” and all the while making them feel special. The increasingly popular Facebook Service of “Checking In” has meant that stores are now capitalizing on this element of social networking for marketing strategies – checking in by a socially prestigious (whether it be a celebrity or the queen bee of a school or the poplar one in the work place) generates brand awareness and positive brand perceptions. Brands are now offering promotions such as prizes and discounts to consumers who check in or become fans of pages which in turn gives the consumer value for visiting and seeking out the brand through Facebook. It encourages people to switch off the computer, leave the house and physically enter the store instead of choosing to shop online.
A Facebook Page I have been following is the Melbourne based boutique fashion retailer, Green With Envy. They use their page to do the obvious - such as to post images of new stock that is coming or has arrived as well as informing customers of sales and VIP nights. However, they have also hired a team responsible for their social networking sites. This team provides their customers with advice on how to wear certain styles and creates outfits for them to consider. It also asks for their input in what pieces from a designer’s new collection should the buyer purchase? And which style of shoe it their favorite? And thus gauging important information about what styles and quantities to order when making the important buying decisions – a task which can often be a risky guessing game referred to as “trend forecasting”. They even photograph their own sales floor team, visual merchandisers and buyers (looking stylish and decked out in the season’s latest products – all available in store). This not only utilizes the company’s employees as models, but builds respect and trust in the employees by showing them as real people who are aware of trends, are approachable and available to help style you when you need. They are aware that social media needs to be constant! It’s a 7 day a week and 24 hour a day responsibility. People want the brands on Facebook to be as readily available as their friends – which these days, seems to be all day every day!
Facebook can also lead to negative brand perception at times. People who are ignored by the brand will feel neglected and not cared for. A boring page may lead to the brand being seen as dull, old-fashioned and undesirable. Nestle experienced this when GreenPeace targeted them in their virally successful video,outing Nestle for using Palm Oil and thus sent the message that “if you eat Kit Kats, you may as well be killing and eating the chimpanzees and other wildlife that are being destroyed as a result of palm oil farming”. As a result, the Nestle and Kit Kat Facebook fan pages both experienced a rapid increase in people becoming their “fans”, however these people were only “liking” the page to express their anger, distrust and hatred for the brand. Nestle ignorantly did little to solve this problem. Some generic and dismissive responses were sent out but predominantly, consumers views were ignored – and as a result Kit Kat sales dropped remarkable. In contrast, Cadbury chocolate experienced a similar issue when they too began using palm oil in their products. However, they hired a team who interacted with consumers who had expressed their disliking of the decision. Cadbury explained their reason for using the ingredient in order to remain competitive and due to recipe constraints and agreed to label the ingredient so they would not appear dishonest and told consumers that their opinion was important to them and that they were investigating options that they could take to avoid using palm oil products in their manufacturing process.
Marketers need to remember that consumers always want value! Whether it is in the form of information that they will have before others, styling advice, entertainment, discounts, prizes or competitions or even just something to bring up the next time they are having coffee with a friend.
If a brand decides to use social networking to market themselves, it will not be easy, free or quick to do. It will require an employee or team to take responsibility for the page; responding to consumers and remaining respectful and aware that they are representing the brand in the eyes of the consumer. While remaining aware that your page will not only give your fans a place to offer praise, but also a place for your critics to voice themselves.
Remember, you are entering their personal space, so be respectful. Don’t bombard them with annoying advertisements but instead useful, interesting information as well as encouraging two-way communication for this is what Facebook is all about!
Viral marketing uses pre-existing social media to spread a piece of advertising or marketing material. It usually sets out to generate brand awareness or other marketing objectives such as to increase sales or consumers viewing a website. While viral marketing can occur through word of mouth, it is the internet and the increasing interaction through social networking that allows viral marketing to occur so effectively.
This innovative video allows views to interact with the marketing media and as a result has revolutionized the world of advertising and how advertisers think about generating two way interaction between consumers and a brand or product.
The interactive video was created by Buzzman, a French ad agency, on behalf of their client Tipp-Ex (a common brand of correction fluid) which is owned by BIC. In the video (which is shot in an amateur, home video style), while camping in a forest, a hunter discovers a bear. The hunter pulls out a gun to defend himself and is about to pull the trigger when he asks the viewer to help him make the decision. He reaches outside of the screen to a near by advertisement for Tip-Ex on the webpage sidebar and whites-out the word “shoots” and asks the viewer to type a new word. Many typed responses lead to other hilarious YouTube videos in which the hunter interacts with the bear in the way the viewer has written.
Obviously, extensive time was spent interacting with IT guys and YouTube to see if creating this piece of media was even possible. And then countless man hours would have been spent generating different words viewers would likely type (even slang and swear words were covered) and then filming the scenarios in humorous ways.
The video unsurprisingly became a viral sensation. According to BIC’s official website, in less than 5 days the video was viewed more than 4 million times in over 200 countries – currently the original version has over 17 million views and counting.
In addition, individuals reportedly spent on average 6 minutes interacting with the campaign as they made more than 15 keyword requests per visit.
This advertisement, while seeming successful, has been criticized for having no call to action. There are no links to drive website traffic to an information or sales page – other than the often ignored advertisement slot on the sidebar of the YouTube page. The brand Tipp-Ex is not included in the video title or mention by the actors in the clip. Many have argued that too much emphasis has been placed on the number of views the video has received and not on the more practical measures of success such as sales volume and increases in revenue.
In a product category such as corrective fluid, brand awareness can be difficult to generate. Tipp-Ex and other correction fluide brands have fallen into brand wasteland along with shower heads, cutlery and other often vital products sold through brands with little or no brand awareness. White-out has been the main success story in the correction fluid category in Australia as it has transformed from being the brand name of the product to the name of the product category – most people will say “pass me the white out” rather than “pass me the corrective fluid”.Thus, in my opinion Tipp-Ex was clever to seek an unconventional way to increase the awareness of their brand.
A large segment of their market would been teenagers and young adults as high-school and university students and well as young professions tend to be the most dependent on corrective fluid during their studies and work.
This form of media works because it doesn’t force a brand down your throat – which is a desirable trait for Gen Y’s who are growing tired of being constantly bombarded by advertisements to the point that they have began avoiding and ignoring them. Research is finding that viewers, predominantly Gen Y’s, are in the habit of ignoring areas where advertisements are usually placed on websites and close pop-ups instantly or block them altogether. This advertisement draws the viewers attention to the otherwise ignored Tipp-Ex advertisement on the upper right hand side of the YouTube webpage. The individuality of the advertisement has lead to consumers seeking out the creator or purpose of the ad rather than switching off to and otherwise brand. And in general wanting to talk about it with and show it to others – the Holy Grail for viral marketing.
In hindsight, Tipp-Ex may have benefited from including a few more links and references to their brand name however in my opinion this may have led to the media being seen as another money-hungry brand trying to annoy you through advertisements.
Does this form of advertising appeal to you? Will this style of marketing become common in the future or are most brand still stuck in traditional mind-sets and are avoiding creative styles of marketing in fear they will be a waste of money and time? How do you feel about the brand Tipp-Ex after viewing the video? Or did the brand seem irrelevant and you couldn’t even recall it if you wanted to?
Maya Villiger, of Australia’s Russh Magazine in reference to fashion blogs recently wrote that “more than a zeitgeist, street style has become a movement; you can barely open a weekend newspaper supplement without learning of yet another must-follow blog”. Indeed, the demand to capture fashion of the ordinary, by the ordinary has begun to rival high-fashion.
Why buy expensive glossys, such as Vogue and Harper’s, when you can get instant fashion online – I recently stated “the only benefit magazines have over the internet is you can read them in the bathtub without fear of electrocution and you can cut and paste your favorite bits” to which my friend replied “have you never heard of the “Copy” and “Paste” function on your computer?”.The Australian magazine industry was hit exceptionally hard this year, with coverage of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week appearing instantly on hundreds of blogs and discussed in countless articles in a matter of days, while Vogue, Harper’s and Shop Til You Drop (which are printed monthly) published their coverage a month later – by which point those who cared had already had their fix online.
However, with Street Style photographers and fashion bloggers turning their passion for fashion into dollar signs, is there room in the market for more? Style Stalker, an Australian blog run by two young women, used their blog to launch a successful international fashion label by the same name, selling both online and wholesaling globally. Tommy Ton, who launched the blog, Jak and Jil, in 2008, achieves over 1.5 million hits a month!
The success of fashion blogs stems from two desires; 1. To be apart of the fashion industry working behind the scenes and attending fashion shows ‘dressed to the nines’. 2. To see how to interpret fashion in realistic and wearable ways. And I guess a third stemming from our own narcissistic desire to be photographed and seen by the masses and to compare ourselves to others – hence why the entrances of fashion shows these days are looking more and more like a family eating fish and chips on the beach while the young women hover like hungry seagulls trying to get their picture taken.
CandiceLake of the blog Style Magnolia described the change in demand perfectly when she said; “When I was doing the shows seven years ago as a model, there were never photographers outside the shows waiting to shoot us. Now, it is like a month-long paparazzi pit. Personal style bloggers are everywhere, models have once again become famous and the editors are now celebrities”. Consumers appear to have developed an insatiable desire to see how bloggers/editors/models are interpreting fashion – supported by the bombardment of reality television and photographs of young actresses and singers in their day-to-day life away from the red carpet.
Yet is there any room for more? I myself have been considering starting a fashion blog, if for no other reason than to show my point of view, share my knowledge, practice my writing and give my fashion-eye a workout. But what will I offer the saturated market place? What areas (if any) are open for fashion blog new-comers, or has the next big thing already began?
Over the years, celebrities have become increasingly prominent as spokespeople for a variety of brands. They embody the brand and act as the trusting face of the company. Every celebrity worth their salt (even those who aren’t) are being paid large sums to star in ad campaigns or to simply use or be seen with a company’s products – Kim Kardashian has reportedly been pocketing $10,000 per twitter post about a brand or product and has her name (and face) on everything from diet drinks to the fast-food chain Carls Jr.
However, with trust in advertising paling in comparison to peer reviews and advice from friends – according to Box Hill Tafe 78% of consumers trust peer recommendation, and only 14% trust advertising (Lead Creation, July 3 2011) - are companies wasting their money on celebrity spokespeople?
There is a saturation in the eMarketing world of fashion bloggers and fashion commentators, however my recent experiences from Rosemount Australian Fashion Week illustrated that in the fashion world of 2011, fashion bloggers are the new magazine editors. Tommy Tom, from fashion blog Jak and Jil, as well as other blog royalty, sat front row, next to the editors of fashion bibles such as Grazia and Vogue Australia. The place for guests to be was not sitting front row at the show, but rather arriving to the before-party or leaving after the show, as more photographers were outside the venue than facing the runway. These photographers were not interested in what the designers had created, but what the attendees were wearing as it was this clothing that the market wanted; accessible, real-life fashion, not high-fashion editorials which if copied would have you looking more call-girl that “it girl” or more chicken-like than chic. And fashion industry members are happy to oblige to have their photo taken as it may lead to the prestige of being publicly credited for their look on a fashion blog or in a street-style magazine spread.
Stemming from the success of fashion blogs, such as The Satorialist, which focus on Street Style and the fashion sense of people attending fashion shows rather than the shows themselves, advertisers are using “normal people” to sell their clothes. Last year, some friends of mine (who while being slim and attractive, were by no means models) were hired by Melbourne Central to model some of the centre’s stores clothing to be featured in the quarterly Melbourne Central magazine. However, instead of being used in a traditional modeling shoot, they were dressed in street wear and photographed in locations all over Melbourne CBD and the images were featured in the Melbourne Central magazine in a “Street Style” section which provided prices and brand names of the clothing worn and describing the models by first name, age and profession. While this form of advertising was by no means deceitful, as most consumers could put two and two together and realise that the advertisement was clearly orchestrated by Melbourne Central and featured Melbourne Central store products, it could be seen as misleading to consumers as it implied that the models were-self styled or had purchased the products. Either way, the spread was seen as successful as the advertisement’s message of “what to where, where to get it and how to wear it” appeared to be from consumer to consumer rather that the brand to consumer, which is often perceived untrustworthy.
A few years ago (around 2007), a new advertising medium was created by teenage girls in the US - these girls had no idea how commercially effective and financially prosperous their creation would become. The concept is called “Haul Videos” and involves a video recording, posted to the Internet, usually on YouTube, which displays items recently purchased, including product details and even the price. They mostly feature young girls discussing clothing, accessories or cosmetics and the majority are unsponsored, however most video bloggers regularly post haul videos to obtain the respect and prestige of being an “expert”. As it is unlikely that someone will feel dislike towards a purchase they themselves have made, they are usually very positive in nature – and hence a marketers dream! Over 250,000 haul videos have been shared online – the most famous haul video bloggers being sisters Elle and Blair Fowler. The sisters started their video blogging on YouTube Channels Juicystar07 and AllThatGlitters21 and now have their own sponsored website – elleandblair.com. Collectively the two girls videos have had over 300 million views and they have made hundreds of thousands of dollars through sponsorship deals (possibly even more); not bad for two girls aged 23 and 18! A successful Australian adaptation of Haul blogging has been the site Melelle.com. The site is run by two women in their early twenties who regularly post photographs (usually taken on a camera phone, often of their own reflection in a mirror) and describe where they bought their outfit from and why they have styled it as they did or the occasion it was for. While they have not gained mass-following or large sponsorship deals as of yet, their simple yet effective method has already obtained the attention of a number of marketers and Australian based labels.
It is important to note that while it is legal for bloggers to accept free merchandise or payments in return for advertising a brand or product, they must fully and clearly disclose that they were paid by a sponsor – nevertheless, in this recently emerging and rapidly changing area of eMarketing, it is difficult to monitor undisclosed sponsors.
It appears that marketers have managed to infiltrate even our most trusted online sources. When we read blogs, online posts and Yahoo answers we should we be wary that we may be reading a post from a clever marketer? Or have marketers finally realized how consumers want to receive information and this new frontier of peer advertising is what we have always wanted?
And with these new developments, are models and celebrities losing their ability to sell products? Or are $10,000 tweets only the beginning?
Check out:
Famous Haul Video Bloggers Elle and Blair’s sites (personally they give me a head ache but the teen masses seem to love them!)
In Australia recently, there has been a lot of media coverage regarding the possible “end of the retail industry”. This issue is not restricted to Australia, in fact this was the exact title of an article featured on the front page of a prominent financial magazine I stumbled across while waiting at Singapore airport recently which described the similar retail crisis occurring in Asia – the region that is often regarded as the most potentially prosperous and untapped target market.
Reports in newspapers and on TV are constantly stating that sales are down, spending is out and saving and paying off the mortgage and credit card is now in as a result of the economic climate since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
However, I doubt that all accountability to the decline in retail sales can be attributed to economic instability and the dreaded GFC. Australia’s dollar is currently around $1.10 against the USD coupled with the genius that is the internet teamed with international postage and courier services resulting in worldwide online shopping.
Natasha Bita of The Australian (April 2-3, 2011) recently reported that Australians have saved over $1.3 million per day by purchasing online and avoiding paying GST on their purchases!
The geographical gap between retailers seems to be shrinking. Gone are the days of seeing “no international shipping” appearing at the checkout of most American or European based online stores. Susi Banks of the Australian (July 4, 2011) commented that as a result of the growth in internet use and social media, trends have become global. She noted that Australia is on trend with what is happening in the UK and Europe and as a result wanting access to international season products – now, not next season! Recessionistas (Recession + fashionista) rejoiced when Topshop and Asos.com (both UK based online stores) began shipping worldwide – including to Australia - providing fashion forward, quality clothing and accessories for bargain prices shipped right to their front door (or work place!).
It’s not just the access to brands unavailable in Australia that has prompted the success of the online shopping world; you can buy identical products to those available in Australia, for a fraction of the price! Cut out the costs incurred by traditional retailers such as importation costs, sales staff, shop rent etc. and you have your product at 10%-60% off plus $19.95 FedEx shipping fee on you door step in 3 business days! Rebel sport sales assistants have mentioned to me that there has been a significant number of customers being fitted for sports shoes and other items and asking for the item code or style name so they can purchase the identical item online for a fraction of the in-store price. Sales assistants from various sunglass stockists have also noted a lot of customers trying on styles only to openly admit they will be making their purchase online and not in-store – where they’d spent large amounts of their (and the sales assistant’s) time trying on various styles. My own father has been purchasing his Harley-Davidson clothing, boots and even parts for his bike online from the American store for 30% cheaper – and if he can do it with ease anyone, any age will have no problem!
An example I recently experienced, occurred at a recent work meeting. Each season, we attend a professional make-up lesson at the up-priced cosmetic chain Mecca to learn how to do our make up to best reflect the newest season’s collection. One product we were strongly recommended was Dr. Dennis Gross’ Alpha Beta Daily Peel – however at $130 for 30 days supply of the “must have product” my stomach was churning as the dollar signs added up. Luckily, a fellow staff member saw my distress and mentioned that I can buy the identical product online at strawberrynet.com for $60 with free postage. With a sigh of relief I spent minimally on the night and instead jumped online and purchased the product which arrived 3 business days later and included a free gift with purchase! I’ve instantly decided to make all of my purchases from the StrawberryNet from now on, not only for the savings but for the convenience of at home delivery and the advantage of avoiding pushy sales staff who some how always manage to pressure me into buying something I didn’t really need or want.
However, I’ve been thinking….. What about the helpful sales staff at Mecca who spent over two hours teaching us techniques and helping us individually with products, tips and colours in the hopes of us purchasing their products? I never would have discovered many of the products I purchased online without the sales staff’s advice. Is it the company’s fault for not pricing as competitively as their online counterparts? Or is it poor behaviour on my behalf to not spend more money in appreciation of their great service and recommendations? Am I in part responsible for the slow death of the retail industry I have worked in for the past six years?
And how else will online shopping change our world? Will more retailers follow the practices of some ski shops and charge customer up to $50 as a “fitting fee” to try on ski boots? Will landlords eventually lower the cost of their shop’s rent as a result of the rent-free option the internet provides? Will our children live in a world where all purchases are made without face-to-face interaction and will retail assistants join the ranks of extinct jobs such as elevator and switchboard operators?
Please feel free to comment with you thoughts or answers to these questions.
Check out StrawberryNet for cheap cosmetics with free shipping at www.strawberrynet.com
I'm Katey, I'm 22 and in the final semester of a Bachelor of Psychology, Marketing and Management degree, at Monash University, in Australia.
This blog supplements my study of and interest in eMarketing. Here, I'll discuss my thoughts on and understanding of the digital world of marketing, incorporating my knowledge from my studies, work experiences and insights as a consumer.
This is my first blog, so please be kind and patient - I'm relying on "learning by doing" and hoping my blogging will get better with time!
I have a keen interest in the marketing and advertising world. I like to take note of what works and what doesn't work in the realm of marketing and more importantly, why? - it's often a difficult question. Sometimes even unanswerable. So please feel free to leave your opinions or your own answers in the comments sections of my posts.
A little more about me is that while I have been completing VCE and my degree, I have also been working casually in the fashion retail industry for six years now, gaining invaluable industry experience. While I have worked mainly as a sales assistant, I have also had experience in managing, visual merchandising, events co-ordination, customer database management and minor marketing roles. For two years now, I've worked as a casual retail assistant for the Australian fashion label, Zimmermann where I am currently employed. Zimmermann is a high-end, internationally recognised, Australian fashion label.
I mean no offence to my high school education or to Monash University, but I have learnt far more from my positions in the retail industry than from any formal education. Nothing compares to the knowledge and skills developed from interaction with customers, managers, fellow staff and the opportunity to put policies and procedures into practice provided by on the job training and experiences. My involvement in the retail industry has greatly influenced the way I look at the business world, and in particular the marketing industry - which you will probably notice in my future posts - I tend to think predominantly in terms of the fashion / retail industry. My interest in and study of psychology also tends to lead me to think about marketing in terms of buyer behaviour, consumer perceptions and organisational psychology.
I hope my posts can help you to think about eMarketing and the way in which our world is changing.
