Spotted this huge, monstrous outdoor billboard plastered across People’s Park Complex. If this doesn’t catch your attention, I suppose nothing will. Great work by the Traffic Police which gets the message across and yet isn’t too gory or gruesome.
An Effective Ad
Service versus Sales
Used car salesman (courtesy of Chaka Raysor)
I am always puzzled why companies spend a lot more energy and focus on trying to sell rather than pleasing their customers. If you don’t already know, customer retention is a far more profitable strategy than customer acquisition. That, plus the fact that word of mouth is taking off more than ever in this ad-saturated age of increasingly powerful social networks. Here are some sobering statistics which tells you why you should pamper your existing customers rather than court new ones:
- A typical dissatisfied customer will tell 6-10 people about the problem. A typical satisfied customer will tell 1-2 people.
- It costs 6 times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an old one.
- Of those customers who quit, 68% do so because of an attitude of indifference by the company or a specific individual.
- About 7 of 10 complaining customers will do business with you again if you resolve the complaint in their favor.
- If you resolve a complaint on the spot, 95% of customers will do business with you again.
(Source: Customer Are Always)
Studies have also shown that a Customer’s Lifetime Value (CLV) can be far greater than that of a single transaction. In fact, 70% of a telco’s revenue comes from 30% of its customers: those who stay for years and purchase increasing levels of service. There is a nifty way to calculate CLV here.
Now shouldn’t you start paying more attention to those customers who made you who you are?
Autumn in Singapore?
One of the things which I love about Jewel Box at Mount Faber (where you can take the cable car) is its decor. There are probably few leisure attractions in Singapore which pay as much attention or fervour to creating thematic zones as the Jewel Box. This is probably one of the reasons why they have been voted so frequently as one of the top attractions in Singapore.
While there recently to catch a cable car ride, I managed to shoot some photos of its golden brown splendour.
Perched high atop Mount Faber, the Jewel Box is a restaurant, cable car station, and pristine function venue all rolled into one. Here, you can see golden yellow and red leaves decking its facade.
These 8 Marketing Truths Will Make You Wiser About Women
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made… It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Indeed, ladies of all ages are not just the fairer gender. They are also growing in their influence on the world’s economy – even in traditionally masculine businesses like construction, Information Technology, manufacturing and engineering.
Loving My Country
Today is Singapore’s 42nd birthday. This year, the national day celebrations will be at the floating platform of the Marina Bay area – a first in Singapore. Culture lovers can pop by any of the NHB museums as they will be open to the public for free. There will also be lots of other celebrations and parties going on in the many households here I am sure.
What does National Day mean to you? Is it just another public holiday or does it stir something deep within you?
For me, I find that national day is a good time to quieten one’s heart a little and celebrate the things which makes life worth living here in Singapore. We have fabulous food, an efficient public transport system, relatively clean streets, high levels of security, and a soaring employment rate. If you think you have it bad, just look at the environmental disasters, acts of terrorism, abject poverty, stark hunger, political turmoil and rampant inflation happening around us.
Of course, our country isn’t perfect. There are still lots that we can do to make it better. However, maybe just for this one day in the year, let us look at the positives rather than the negatives shall we?
Wanted Ads
Spotted the above poster advertisement at a bus stop recently on my way home. A few years ago, such an advertising concept using headlines that screamed “WANTED”, “MISSING” or “REWARD” would probably have caught one’s attention. I remembered that SPH used this style of advertising way back in 2000 in a fund raiser called The Straits Times Million Dollar Duck Race. That involved putting up WANTED style ads with the cute rubber ducky featured.
Some of us may also be familiar with Starhub’s “Ringing Dog” campaign a few years ago. Then a cute pooch with a handphone in its tummy “went missing” and was featured on TV commercials, newspaper advertisements and posters. That ad was raved by some critics in marketing circles and managed to generate quite a stir.
I wonder though if Adtag’s poster above would generate as much interest. There is certainly a lot more clutter now, and the above concept is getting a little tired from years of misuse. Having said that, I like the interactivity that SMS offers (plus its free), as well as the use of humour that the ad above employs.
Eating in Libraries
While visiting Suntec City about two months ago, I stumbled upon this wood-panelled “library” which appear to hail from Victorian times. Furnished with dark wooden panelling, swinging “chandeliers”, railings and volumes of scholarly “tomes”, it seemed to be the perfect place for a quiet read.
Except that it was as noisy as a hawker centre (heck it is one!) and the only thing intellectual is the science that went into laksa gravy. Here are some photos of my culinary discovery in an experiential food court themed like a library.
This group of people doesn’t look like they are going to settle down with a quiet book in their hands. Notice the boxes of IT equipment being carried – newly gotten gains from the PC Show.
Believe It Or Not!
Got this tag from Jacklyn Ker about meaningful lyrics from a song and decided to choose this upbeat ditty from Joey Scarbury. I don’t know if you guys are familiar with this song which came from a very old television series (Greatest America Hero) featuring Ralph Hinkley as an un-superhero who ends up crashing into trees and buildings while saving the world.
Kind of like George of the Jungle or Super Grover.
Death of Blogging?
Are blogs destined for the grave? (courtesy of Greg Ortega)
Are blogs heading the way of the Dodo? Or would they be here for the long haul?
Here is an extension of Steve Rubel’s thoughts on whether our obsession with newer and more summarised all-in-one platforms may lead to the demise of the beloved blog. As usual, he gave a no-holds-barred analysis of the situation coupled with his usual whimsical touch.
Youth or Nanny Marketing?
As I was taking the bus to work this morning, I spotted this poster announcing a special promotion for students.
Bright coloured with black shadowy figures (inspired no less by Apple’s famous iPod ads), they were clearly targeted at teens taking public buses. It had all the supposed ingredients of a youth marketing campaign, namely:
1) Cool handphones for prizes (though not exactly the latest models)