Why the big, thick spectacle cleansing cloth on the left cost a lot less than the small thin one on the right
Some years ago I wrote copy for INSEAD’s School of Executive Education.
This experience taught me many things, three of which were that Business School Professors often get other people to write their appallingly dull books; that most seemed to be incredibly conceited; and that hardly any knew much about marketing beyond outdated theory.
One course I worked on was about Mergers and Acquisitions. This taught me that most destroy value rather than create it, being driven by vanity, not logic. For every Sir Martin Sorrell there are two Fred Goodwins.
I bought the big cloth on the left from Boots Opticians. It came from another firm, Dollond and Aitcheson, that they had just taken over. I paid just over £1.
The one on the right is what they sell now. Ignore my crap picture; it is smaller and thinner and cost £3.
Some short-sighted, smart-arsed, bean-counter has worked out that people don’t buy these things very often, but when they do they need them, so they can rip you off. This has an interesting side-effect. I hate Boots.
Toyota built the world biggest car firm by offering better cars. Then some American managers got involved and in no time at all quality was degraded to make more money and screw-ups occurred.
You get the idea? You can spend as much as you like on marketing; you can appoint Global Quality Control Officers till they come out of your ears; you can spend as much time as you like spouting bollocks about “engagement” and “brand values” at meetings. It’s all money down the drain.
Just try to deliver something better, won’t you?
Think you’re in a parallel universe. Toyota may be bad at American PR, but there’s zero wrong with the quality of their products, and never has been since they adopted Dr Demings 14 rules back in the 1950s.
In over 35 years of driving, I’m yet to see a single Toyota or Honda broken down on the hard shoulder of any Motorway. I see Citroens there every week. I think you’ve picked the wrong target Drayton.
Perhaps you should check your universe. Ian. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009%E2%80%932011_Toyota_vehicle_recalls
Drayton is correct. Toyota may not be as bad as some car brands, but their quality has suffered in recent years. Honda and Hyundai (the Korean brand) are usually tops in the quality department these days.
Some years ago, Boots’s market research discovered that people will pay more for things they care about, than what they don’t. Surprisingly Boots started advertising themselves as caring; and gradually increased the prices of things that Boots, per its advertising, decided people should care about.
The snag with that way of thinking is that most people also care about how much something costs which is why they tend to shop around in the hope of finding the same thing, or as near as damnedest, cheaper.
Where the caring theme works best, in my opinion, is on those of us that stop to think just how much time can be wasted shopping around.
How to kill your brand: J K Rowling has just done the same thing with her latest book – unless I am very much mistaken.
If all she cared about was Harry Potter and nothing else, maybe.
But maybe she’s got enough money to allow her to do whatever she wants.
A friend of mine became very wealthy. And he then thought he could do whatever he wanted. He is now an alcoholic and his marriage is in tatters.
It’s not about the cloth, or the car (I’m sure we could argue that one for ages) it’s about the attitude. The millions Boots spend on promoting their opticians is mind blowing compared to the ‘extra’ cost of the cloth.
The competition for clients, both retained and new, in this market is fierce and extremely costly. Whilst shopping around is becoming more the norm it’s essential to offer good value. Boots don’t tend to be the cheapest and their market is more towards those who are looking for outcome over cost. Delight them and keep them coming back, even better if they tell a friend. Not piss them off and make them feel that they got a worse deal than before….that’ll sure make them shop around.
Toyota suffers from the same disease as every other company. They are at the mercy of their suppliers. With the exception of the “sticking accelerators,” the failures have been component parts. Someone decided to “cheapen” a process/part, to make more money, and will probably lose Toyota business.
I thoroughly agree about “sell a better solution.” I pay comcast (AKAn xfinity) for cable level speed, and get (usually) DSL speed. I also used to watch them pushing “Business Class Internet Service.” Apparently, they forgot that the business people probably had xfinity service at home. If I pay for cable speeds at home, and get DSL quality, why would I them pay for “Business service?” I’ll go to someone that supplies what I pay for.