What Happens When You Listen

Great blog post about eTail and customer service @ the fantastic DMNews blog.

We all read blog posts and countless articles every day that preach principles like: 'Don't worry about your competition', 'Make customer service a priority', or the grand-daddy- 'Don't compete on price!' It makes a better point coming from a business that has applied these principles to grow their revenues almost 400 fold* in 6 years. Zappos.com- welcome to the place where money meets mouth.

Check it out.


Thanks to [Wooster Collective] and [Topher] for the image.
*Thanks to the comment for the correction

They’re Not Crayons, They’re Entertainment Sticks

What do crayons and cats have in common? They both entertain kids, and Crayola has to compete with them along with 39,000,000 other things that keep kids busy. Think about it-Crayola isn’t in the crayon business, they’re in the children entertainment business- and it looks like they are getting sick of leaving money on the table.

A USA Today article chronicles the new massive undertaking of doubling Crayola’s business.

[Hallmark Cards, last month announced the name will be changed to Crayola on Jan. 1.

The name change is symbolic of an image revamp going on at one of the nation's best-known icons. Crayola is all done being a stodgy, buck-a-pack crayon company with tunnel vision and red-white-and-blue conservative values.

The company is working overtime this holiday to reinvent itself as a flashy maker of $20 gifts, from a "no-mess" spin-art machine to a mess-proof spray-painter that's emerging as one of its best-selling new products in decades. The company, which also owns the Silly Putty brand, is no longer a holiday advertising no-show, either. This year, it's tripling its holiday marketing budget, says Steven Ferry, a senior manager.]

At the outset it seems like Crayola is steering away from it’s Jim Collins-Hedgehog-type concept. But take a closer look. Maybe they’re just not focusing on the niche concept of crayons and markers, but viewing their core competence as entertaining children, where art is simply their medium.

[via MediaPost]

High School, Inc.

The Detroit Metrotimes reports of Compuware running a program called Hustle & TechKnow, a corporate educational academy aimed to educate Detroit high school dropout teens. The program completes their high school education as well as serving as a trade school for corporate life- teaching etiquette, computer skills, and how to function in the business world.

There are many topics in the article that merit discussion and praise. I think the marketing is exemplary because you can’t teach them anything until you get them in the door. Ever tried to convince a dropout to go back to school? It’s tough.

Miller met Principal Ida Byrd-Hill at the laundry while the financial-consultant-turned-educator recruited for the school. Byrd-Hill looked at gas stations, party stores and clubs for teens who had failed at several attempts at high school and needed one last chance at a diploma.

"We found them," Byrd-Hill says. "We passed out a flier that looked like a party invitation."

The school's brightly colored promotional material shows jets, cars and jewelry. "Learn corporate survival techniques," it boasts, "Trillions of dollars are exchanged daily." "Financial Success, built on knowledge" appears in a school crest. The message is not subtle: "Join the hustle," the flier says.