The Terminix Gaurantee

I just received my second mailing in three weeks from Terminix. For under $25 per month they guarantee to protect my home from termites. The card details all the terrible things termites might do to my home. But they guarantee they can protect me.

Terminix should ask for a similar guarantee from their list provider. Their mailing to me is not much of an endorsement of their marketing prowess. I live on the 14th floor of a high rise, made from concrete and steel. We're in a zip code where I'd be surprised if there were more than 10 structures made from wood. The buildings are either concrete high rises or steel high rises. Only a few wood buildings remain.

Not much for termites to munch on.

Apple: Doing it right pays off

Apple is absolutely one of the best marketing companies in the country. They understand their market; they design products their market will love; they promote them brilliantly, distribute them carefully and price them accordingly.

And while a good part of the rest of the world is wondering where the next sale is coming from -- Apple reported a 9% growth in revenue. Not too shabby. But, as they say, there's more.

AT&T reported a net increase of 1.2 million wireless customers driven by iPhone sales.

When you really understand the gut of your market, you can really drive growth -- even for your distribution.

Great marketing.

The end of tea leaves?

Michael Fassnacht wrote an interesting article in Ad Age today, "The Death of Consumer Segmentation," his basic premise being that the traditional segmentation methods of geo- and demographic segmentation don't work.

What a shock.

They didn't work in the past; why should they work now?

For way too long marketers have attempted to understand purchase behavior based on surveys. If most of the people who purchase our product wear blue shirts, then we should market to people wearing blue shirts.

Or the better marketers tried to make sense of the numbers, sitting quietly in their armchairs, way up in their ivory castles, far removed from the consumer asking, "Why do people in blue shirts purchase more of our product?"

And a few even smarter, asked consumers, perhaps in focus groups, "Hey, you in the blue shirt, why did you buy our product?"

But none of this resulted in more effective marketing. Lots of numbers, lots of ideas, but not much better.

A very few have an even better idea, let's really get to know our consumer, not as an abstract set of numbers and abstract ideas, but as people, real people with needs, wants, aspirations, successes and failures. Really know them.

Then we might find segments that differ. And some might be worth more than others. But by knowing them intimately we will understand why they purchase, we'll be better able to help them purchase and they will be better satisfied with their purchase.

How could you ever expect to understand this by reading tables, charts and tea leaves?

Not to hammer on the airlines too hard, but...

So, in my last post I suggested that a CRM tool for most airlines was a waste given that the tool is only as good as the craftsman. And airline personnel tend not to really care about customers. Why give these people a sophisticated tool like CRM when they have a tough time saying, "Hello?"

Today I came across Tim Parry's blog on Chief Marketer -- chiefmarketer.com -- entitled, "American Airlines Sucks, and I'm Not the Only One Who Says That." His problem started, "When the customer service luddites don't have the common courtesy to help my elderly mother and I at a kiosk ... as we're running late to catch a flight, that's a customer service issue. When the customer service guy laughs at my mother as she tries to figure the kiosk out, that's even worse. And then we're told we can't get onto our flight because we're now too late for a boarding pass, it's a big issue."

Do the senior managers at American really think they'll improve customer service by implementing a CRM system?

Not a chance. The tools aren't the problem; it's the people and their culture.


And this also points to another of my main themes -- this blog drew 17 comments this past week. One complaint inspires 17 others to air their grievences. Which can only convince the readers that American is the last airline they should consider.

The internet revolution continues to roll.