KnowThis Blog Postings

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Published on October 07, 2011

Posted by Paul Christ

Recommerce (Trendwatching)

As we discuss in our Planning with the Product Life Cycle tutorial, marketers face a highly active market in the Growth stage of the PLC.  During this phase many companies are introducing new products and the promotional "noise" occurring is extremely intense.

With so much promotional activity taking place marketers often must look beyond advertising and find other promotions that will capture customers' attention.  One key way of doing this is to utilize sales promotions, such as coupons and "on-sale" promotional pricing.

Another type of sales promotion that is available, but tends to be underutilized, is the trade-in.  This promotion, where customers exchange a current product they own for a price reduction on a new product, is seeing more usage across many industries.

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Published on September 26, 2011

Posted by Paul Christ

How a Start-Up Landed Shelf Space at Wal-Mart – Wall Street Journal

The most frustrating decision facing all consumer products marketers is the one they have the least control over – distribution.  Unlike decisions related to product, pricing and promotion, meeting distribution objectives often means the marketer is at the mercy of retailers’ decision to stock a marketer’s product.  This problem is especially challenging for marketers selling products in retail stores where they must battle many other companies that are also trying to convince retail store buyers to sell their products.

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Published on September 16, 2011

Posted by Paul Christ

On Campus, It’s One Big Commercial (New York Times)

It is probably not a huge surprise for many college students to learn that campuses are hotbeds for marketers.  Aside from books and basic school supplies, each year college students spend billions of dollars on fashion, food, furnishings, and much more.

For marketers, one of the key attractions of colleges is the access these venues offer to a large number of customers within a geographically concentrated area.  The potential of this market has caught the attention of a surprisingly large number of companies who see tremendous opportunity.