You can’t purchase anything at Staples, Best Buy or Office Depot without being offered an extended warranty.  As a consumer, I would never buy one, nor would any sane person.  The fine print always makes it difficult to redeem the warranty, and of course, insurance of most kinds are a losing proposition.

But what is the most amazing thing is that brands allow their products to be positioned as faulty at the time of purchase.  I was buying a monitor at a Staples for a trade show last week.  It wasn’t a critical purchase, to the point that I considered using the monitor and just giving it to one of our staff instead of bringing it back to Seattle, so aside from my bias there was definitely no interest in buying an extended warranty.  But the conversation went like this:

“I’ll take this 32 inch one”

SALESPERSON:  “Ok, great.  Would you like an extended warranty for only $23.99?”

“No, I’m good.  Thanks though.:

SALESPERSON: “Are you sure?  Those monitors have a habit of breaking down and this will save you a ton of trouble with that”

ME:  “No, really, I’m good.  I know you guys have incentives to sell warranties, but it’s just something I need for the short term”

SALESPERSON: “Look, I have to tell you, it’s not about my incentive.  These models have been giving us a lot of trouble.  You should really look at buying the warranty”

ME:  “So you’re saying I’m buying a product from you that probably isn’t going to work?”

SALESPERSON: “I’m just saying you should buy the warranty”.

Do the retail experience “wizards” at these places not understand the utter lunacy of this strategy? Imagine landing the client of your dreams, and right after they sign your agreement, you produce another “insurance” doc for 10% of the price, because “lately we haven’t been performing very well”.

It’s pure lunacy:  You get people to the point of purchase, where they are experiencing the highest level of dopamine in the purchase process:  “I have my product and I am about to enjoy it” — and some guy tells you you’re making a big mistake for the sake of a $1 commission.

Here’s the point:  When you get to the point of making a sale, let your customers enjoy it.  Fear and uncertainty can drive demand for products — but don’t let that take away from your core business.

 

 

 

 

If you’re already a content marketer, you may be set here, but there’s still some ideas to be gleaned from getting your content out there and just getting going on getting your company’s message out there.  If nothing else, check out slide 50 for some new ideas to consider.  Thank you to Chris Bennett of 97th Floor for the the preso!

 

With 242 million people in China expected to shop online in 2013, spending an estimated US$265 billion, China’s e-commerce industry is a force no-one can afford to ignore. Jack Ma, the head of Alibaba Group, China’s largest e-commerce company, discusses how the sector has been generating grassroots economic opportunities and changing lives in China and beyond, and what the future of e-commerce will be like.

It used to be the other way around — Disney created to character and everyone else flocked to license the latest princess to sell fast food.  But with the pace of production accelerating, Hollywood is looking to find pre-established brands to produce their wares.

 

I haven’t heard of the author, but his list strikes me as one we can all use for more than just financial fraud.

How can the rest of us avoid con artists?

With this question in mind, I offer the “Top Ten Ways to Spot Financial Fraud.” The list won’t make Letterman. But the purpose isn’t to be funny. It’s to help you identify the bad guys through “touch and feel” rather than in-depth knowledge of the capital markets.

Full post:  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norb-vonnegut/top-ten-ways-to-spot-fina_b_196994.html

The Alpha Dogs usually get all the love — in business and in life.  Susan Cain’s book – The Power Of Introverts – Powerfully illustrates otherwise.

Who runs your meetings and gets the most airtime?  We all know the best thinking shouldn’t equate to the most outgoing communicators yet the bias is all too common.  The meat of the talk is from 5:00 to 14:00.  (19:00 total)

When you have short term needs of more sales, more customers, personnel — you name it, it’s hard for even large organizations to think strategically.  Here’s a great deck for Tony Lloyd, Director of Strategy for Buffalo Wild Wings (this deck isn’t as light as the commercials!)  for thinking through how to set up your strategic plan.