123 eGuides

1 Minute Advice: What GE's Light Bulb Sale Says About Brands Today

Say tissue and you think "Kleenex"... copy and you think "Xerox"... light bulb and you think "GE." That's the power of brand positioning in the consumer's mind.

But "light bulb" is no longer synonymous with GE (General Electric), because two months ago, the company announced the sale of its storied lighting business. According to The New York Times, "For nearly 130 years, G.E. Lighting was at the forefront of every major lighting innovation, from the dawn of incandescent bulbs to the first energy-saving fluorescent bulb, introduced in 1974, according to the company. But the business began to dwindle with the proliferation of LEDs, which need to be replaced less frequently because they are longer-lasting and more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent lights."

Paul Israel, director and general editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University told The Times, “From the standpoint of people who associate the light bulb as the symbol of modern invention and innovation, there’s a kind of sadness to the fact that G.E., which for many years was at the forefront of that industry, has moved away from it."

What lesson can be gleaned from GE's financial move? Brands need to stay current and vibrant and keep up with changing times. Even when it means leaving behind a lasting brand legacy, difficult decisions must be made. Still, as Mr. Israel suggests, it is sad to see a brand being forced to sell off a product for which it has been known for generations.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

For the month of July only, all eGuides are on sale for half price. Further details about this sale are available here.

1 Minute Advice: 6 Changes in Consumer Behavior

According to consulting firm McKinsey, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed consumer behavior in at least six important ways:

1. Shopping: Catching up to the great digital migration to expand digital borders
2. E-services: New 'service platforms' to help consumers take care of business
3. Home: Finding a spot in the new 'command central' for all activities
4. Community: Localizing the experiences
5. Trust: Creating a space for health and affordability
6. Purpose: Holding brands to higher standards.

McKinsey say marketers need to "modernize and reimagine their playbooks" if they are to "succeed in COVID-19-altered markets."

Read more about each of the above six consumer behavior changes here: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/reimagining-marketing-in-the-next-normal?

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

For the month of July only, all eGuides are on sale for half price. Further details about this sale are available here.

 

1 Minute Advice: COVID-19 Causes Big Shifts for Marketers

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting the way marketers communicate as well as their marketing plans in significant ways. MarketingProfs reports on recent research conducted by LinkedIn and Vision Critical with 452 U.S. marketers. Here are some key findings:

• 56 percent of respondents say they have increased their usage of social media content
• 53 percent of respondents have increased their thought leadership
• 47 percent of respondents indicate their content has become more emotional in nature
• 67 percent of respondents have increased their use of webinars
• 43 percent of respondents have targeted audiences whose needs changed because of COVID-19.

Check out more results here.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

For the month of July only, all eGuides are on sale for half price. Further details about this sale are available here.

1 Minute Advice: Consumers Like Brand Surveys

If you've ever wondered whether or not surveys are an effective way to engage consumers, this is encouraging data. Marketing Charts reports that 85 percent of consumers share their opinions with brands through taking surveys. This makes the survey the most popular form of consumer feedback. The same percentage (85 percent) of consumers believes that brands do pay attention to consumer feedback.

It should be noted, however, that 72 percent of consumers believe they should receive some kind of reward for sharing their opinion via a survey. While surveys are far and away the most popular feedback mechanism, consumers also share opinions via posting online reviews (36 percent), contacting customer support (30 percent) and posting on social media (22 percent). Nearly 40 percent of Millennials use social media on a weekly basis to provide feedback to brands.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

For the month of July only, all eGuides are on sale for half price. Further details about this sale are available here.

July Sale: All eGuides Half Off!

We're celebrating July by cutting the prices on all eGuides in half! From July 1 through July 31 only, you can purchase any eGuide at half price. This special promotion is only available on Smashwords.com, where you can select your choice of eBook format, including Kindle (mobi), EPUB and PDF.

To take advantage of this half-price sale, just click on the eGuide titles below that interest you. When you check out, simply use the code SSW50 to get the eGuide of your choice at half price -- just $1.50 each. Order today!

Low Cost / No Cost Marketing 123
3 Steps to Effective Marketing with Little or No Money

B2B Marketing 123
A 3 Step Approach for Marketing to Businesses

Branding 123
Building a Breakthrough Brand in 3 Proven Steps
Second Edition

Product Launch 123
Launch a Product or Service in 3 Proven Steps

Sales Leads 123
Generating, Qualifying, and Converting Sales Leads in 3 Proven Steps

On Your Own 123
Launch a 1-Person Business in 3 Proven Steps