Appropriate Ideas During Difficult Growth

When the recession gets to a point that the worlds largest retailer has begun to feel the effects consumer and business buying patterns have certainly been modified.  The increasing belief that the “curve” of this current downturn will not be the typical V shaped but instead a protracted slow recovery only increases the likelihood customers with continue to change behavior. For the first time in 2009 consumers slowed their purchasing and the continued tailspin in the economy is not going to help.

Businesses meanwhile are faced with mounting cuts to staff and in some industries the perception that money spent is money wasted.  The slew of banks cancelling major trade events last fall dealt a serious blow to the promotional industry.  In the medical industry health organizations are significantly reducing the amount and frequency of gifts given to doctors.  That leaves low profile gifts at the top of the chain such as the Nylon Drawstring Backpack which boasts basic functionality while remaining within a sensible budget.  For a few dollars any bank, school or organization can give away a decorated item that customers will use and keep for months or years.  For a slight bit more the Fashion Drawstring Backpack ads some color block type styling that is the rage right now in the corporate apparel industry.  Neither gift would be considered extreme and we heard of one client today that was planning on handing these out as part of a flu prevention kit at their next meeting.  Rather than spending money on branded sanitizers their plan was to buy in bulk at the local Costco and stuff those into the imprinted bags along with wipes.  For under three dollars they will be presenting clients and potential clients with something that shows they care about their well being and their money.

We talked yesterday about catching the chill on the rebound in reference to summertime products. One of the sad trends we continue to see so far is that manufacturers choices in product names continues to stink.  In a rush to release low cost products to fit the current economic situation vendors have rushed out the door products that have names that have no relation to the product or that are so common they will be lost in the forest of competition.  In naming your products is serious business we used the case of Life on Mars that had an all-star lineup of actors and actresses but still failed.  The show likely failed as the name alluded to a sci-fi type storyline when in reality probably five minutes of the entire season (ironically at the end of the last episode) had anything to do with sci-fi.  On that same token we see vendors release coolers are names of sports teams, apparel makers putting out shirts under names so common any potential customer will have no idea of the brand identity they may want to buy.  In the article we previous mentioned there are products with the words “free” in them which is akin to putting “cheap” in the name as it immediately lowers the customers perceptions of quality significantly.

Our useful link of the day is an explanation behind the previous major outbreak of a bug similar to this one back in 1918 from the CDC.