ZAPPOS

Web shopping has become so popular over the last several years.  You can buy almost anything without leaving your house now.  It is very convenient, but there are some things that I hesitate to purchase on-line.  For the most part, hings that need to be "tried on" are probably better to be purchased in a brick and mortar store rather than on-line.  If you get something that doesn't fit, then you run the risk and hassle of having to return it.  Zappos.com takes that risk away because they offer free returns.  I think it is a smart move for them, as well as the importance placed on customer service.


Have A Great Day!

Kristy

Kleenex

When it comes to good branding, one company that comes to mind is Kleenex.  
The name is so synonomous with tissues that sometimes all tissues are referred to as Kleenex, no matter the actual brand that is being used.  It's almost as if the product is a Kleenex, rather than the brand of the product. 

Have A Good Day!

Kristy Alexander

Commercials

Commercials can be pretty boring, especially if it is for something as mundane as insurance.  There are a couple insurance companies that I think have been pretty creative with their commercials. Geiko and State Farm.  I think, if they can pull off an entertaining commercial, they have really pulled something off.

Geiko....

State Farm....

Have A Great Day!

Kristy Alexander

K Mart

I live in town and drive down Hwy 31 everyday.  Many times, I pass K Mart and feel bad at the lack of cars in the parking lot.  I hate to see a business that's been there for so long not do well.  I especially feel bad for the employees. 

As everyone probably knows by now, the Cullman KMart is closing. Because of this, they are having a sale and the once-empty parking lot is now filled with cars. I graduated High School with one of the employees there and see some of the comments being made on Facebook about the situation.  Sometimes they talk about how crazy busy it is.  They are even hiring and training new employees to help close the store down. 

One of the comments I saw had to do with wishing the people had given the store business before now.  In on sense, I agree.  I feel bad that the store is only getting business because it is closing.  Shouldn't we have supported this business before now?  I mean, everyone could tell it was only a matter of time before this happened, right? 

On the other hand, is it our job to make sure the business stays open?  OR....Is it their job to give us a reason to buy from there? 

I occasionally shop at K Mart.  I like going there sometimes because they have different things than Walmart. BUT....does the good outweigh the bad?  

In my opinion, the pros are that it has cute clothes, toys, home decor, and kitchen-ware.
The cons are that some of those things tend to be overpriced and the grocery section doesn't even hold a candle to Walmart, as far as the size and selection goes. 

So, why should I shop there? 

I think, if what you are doing isn't working, then you need lo reevaluate the situation.  They already have everything in place- the store, the employees, etc.  Bring in different brands and lines of merchandise that will appeal to the people, offer something that no one else does, and hire a good marketing team.  I get tired of Wal Mart sometimes.  I would love to have more choices. 

With that being said,  I do hope the employees are able to find a job replacement quickly.  Maybe the company will close and reconfigure.  I have heard of companies closing and reopening under a different name.  There may already be plans in place that I know nothing about.  These are purely thoughts from my point of view. 

Have a great day!

Kristy

SIX FLAGS

This weekend I had the pleasure of going to six flags.  It is the first time I have been in almost twenty years.  I went several times as a young person with my youth group and just never made it back in all these years.  Now my daughter is old enough to be in the youth group and they go every September.  My son is almost thirteen, so I thought he would like to go, as well, so I ended up getting season passes for all of us.

It turns out that is a way better deal to get season passes than to just get a one day ticket. A one day ticket costs around $46, give or take, depending on which day you go and which ticket you choose.  When I went to the website, I found that they were having a back to school special.  The price of the season tickets were marked down to $53.99, but you have to order four or more to get the deal.  I only needed three, so I asked some friends if they wanted to take advantage of the offer, and they did, so it worked out perfectly!  There was tax and a small fee added to it, which brought the total price per ticket to approximately $60.  It lasts the rest of this year and all of next year.  Not a bad deal!  I kept thinking, how are they making any money like that until I got there. 

Once you get inside, you can ride the rollers coasters and other rides as many times as you want, but they have strategically placed other money making opportunities all throughout the park.  First of all, food.  You are not allowed to bring your own food inside the park.  They have restaurants and food stands all over the place and, of course, everything is overpriced.  Another thing is photo booths.  I somehow let my son talk me into paying $6 for one of those photo strips!  Now they have lockers at some of the roller coasters that you have to pay to put your personal items in, since they are not allowed on the rides.  There are carnival games for the kids to play. Then then there are the gift shops with all the really cool souvenirs.

To sum it all up, they get you in with the cheap tickets, but entice you with all the goodies that you've just got to have!

Have a great day!

Kristy Alexander

I have been a Dave Ramsey fan for a very long time.  If you are not already familiar with him, he is a radio talk show host based out of the Nashville,Tennessee area.  He gives great financial advice. He has helped many people realize their dream of being debt free.  He has written several books and offers many services through his radio show and website.  He offers many classes and hosts several live events each year.  His stories are very inspirational and I enjoy learning from listening to his advice as callers call in with their unique situations.

On top of his daily radio program, you can find his show in the form of an iTunes podcast and now he offers live streaming of his shows on YouTube.  He also has a free app where you can watch archived shows plus many other features. I have joined several webinars his company has hosted on leadership and business. I could go on and on because he and his team offer so many products and services.

As I was listening to one of his recent shows, he was talking about a live event, Smart Money,  that he does with his daughter, Rachel Cruze. It actually happened this weekend in Dallas, Texas.  It was a sold out event.  Recently he offered live streaming for a discounted price of the live ticket cost to one of his other events, but this weekend, since YouTube now has a live streaming feature, he decided to offer it free for this event.  He openly talked about the fact that he was only offering it free because it was a sold out event and the fact that they would be promoting his daughter's new book, "Love Your Life, Not Theirs."  (Plus, if you order in advance, you get some extra free stuff!)

I think Dave Ramsey is a great business man himself and has built an amazing team that does a fantastic job at communicating, teaching, and marketing. They are very present in social media and very easily accessible.

This post really does not do the point that I am trying to make justice with this one example I have given, but it would take too much time to really express what a great job I think he has done in building his company, surrounding himself with hardworking people, leading them, and teaching them to be leaders themselves.  I am very impressed with what I have seen and heard about his company and the way he runs it.  It is the type of company and environment that I would love to work in.

One segment he features on his radio program is the Millionaire Hour where he interviews people that are millionaires.  This clip is a family out of Huntsville, AL.  Watch their story:

Have A Great Day!

Kristy Alexander

Businesses Marketing to Employees

I saw an article this week that I thought was interesting from a business and marketing standpoint.  The article was stating that a company called Deloitte was now offering up to 16 weeks of vacation time for their employees.

Deloitte is a consulting firm with 80 locations here in the United States. Locations here in Alabama include one in Huntsville and one in Birmingham.

 The article has more information about the topic.  I am including the link here:Huffington Post.
The website itself boasts the same fact on its homepage, as well. Check it out here.

I am not going to get into the details of the article itself, but I thought the concept applied to marketing in the sense that companies are not only marketing to consumers of their products or services, but they are also marketing to their employees, as well.  They are trying to convince us that they are the best place to work based on their pay rate and benefits package.

When starting companies of our own, we need to consider the quality of the product or service we are offering to our customers, as well as what we are offering to the people we bring on board to help us reach our goals. 

Have a great day!

Kristy Alexander