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Fat Murray
posted by Bruce Freeman on Sep 1, 2009 | Comments (30) | Permalink | Trackback URL
Fat Murray
Fifty percent of a new product is the product, and fifty percent is marketing the product.
Ronnie Fliss of Montville, NJ an information technology professional lost her job after 911. She thought that with her skill she would get a job in a reasonable amount of time. A year later -no job. A friend suggested she look into baking gourmet dog biscuits. Ronnie has a basset hound named Murray. She started Fat Murray’s Doggy Treats, a company which bakes and markets healthy, fresh baked treats for dogs to pet stores, health food stores and on the web. Now, she regularly services 35 stores and takes Murray, her “Sales Manager” , and Barney, his kid brother who steals the show, and any stray dog treats, along on her sales calls. Many of the customers love to pet Murray and Barney. Murray is a more effective sales manager than a guy in a dark blue suit. The Basset Team of Murray and Barney is a terrific example of a marketing device that works because it’s an integral part of the business. No one forgets two large basset hounds when they come bouncing into a store.
Who can forget “Smokey the Bear” and “McGruff, the Anti Crime Dog” .
A marketing device doesn’t have to be an animal or a child to be effective; it can also be a cartoon character or a real person. Ronald McDonald is a great example. The benefit of a device is immediate identification and recognition of your business service. These days, that could mean a lot in terms of new customers and sales.
Moral: The moral of the story has been stated -using effective marketing devices to bolster your image. But today I’d like to add a comment about our current economic times. We have just bailed out our financial and auto industries (and G-d knows who else) to the tune of 800 billion dollars We’ve sent a great deal of our manufacturing overseas. But you can put your economic fears aside as I can assure you we make the best gourmet dog biscuits right here in America.
I’m Professor Bruce. Thank you for listening.
FILED IN: Business Ethics, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, New Thinking, Marketing, Public Relations
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But you can put your economic fears aside as I can assure you we make the best gourmet dog biscuits right here in America.
Effective marketing devices is crucial to a products success. For example, look at the Geico gecko. Nobody forgets him.
Putting together an effective marketing strategy and deciding what target market you would like to chose is crucial to building your product’s image. In choosing your marketing device, such as an animal, a puppet, a cartoon character, model, or an actor/actress, you have to also decide which one is the best fit for the target market you choose.
Consumers are not only looking at the product itself, but they are also paying close attention to the marketing of the product, such as the advertising.
You are not only selling the product of a particular company or business, but you are also selling the company’s image as well.
Professor Freeman, I agree that having a marketing device is very helpful. The first thing people see when buying a product is what’s on the product. I work in a supermarket and I noticed that people make purchases by how and what is on the product. It’s good marketing and hopefully increases your sales. Also if you believe in something you have to give it a try no matter what people around you tell you. If you don’t it may eat away at you for not trying in years to come.
It is very important to know how to sell yourself. Putting forth a good and accurate image of who you are is important in business and in life. Marketing allows people to generate interest in what you are trying to do.
It is very important on knowing how to market an item that you would like to sell to your costumers. Ronnie is a person who didn’t give up at all after she lost her job. She created dog biscuits from her dog and now it has become a big time business. Just like in the radio show, Stay Focused, you need to stay focus after you lose any job and continue to strive to be the best.
When you say that fifty percent of a product is the product itself and the other fifty is marketing you couldn’t be more correct. But in order to be truly successful you need to know how to not only market but also how to make the customer want to buy it. Because fifty percent of marketing is recognition, and the other fifty is actual customer business. Ronald McDonald gives McDonald’s instant recognition but does it convince the customer to eat McDonald’s over Burger King? No one forgets two large basset hounds when they come bouncing into a store but is that going to make the owner of the store buy the doggy treats? This is just something to consider. Because marketing is great and is half of the battle, but you need to make sure that your product is wanted, and liked by your targeted consumer.
I agree with fifty percent is marketing the product. The most important part of selling a product is making it appeal to your targeted customers. Without marketing your product you wouldn’t be able to reach your potential customers. Its also critical to have something for your customers to remember your product by, such as an animal or some sort of character.
I think it was great how Ronnie stayed optimistic about finding a job and when she did not she ventured into this new business that she started without knowing how well she would do. It is truly amazing that her business is doing so well and that part of her marketing is bringing Murray with her to make sales. How could someone say no to the face of a basset hound? They can’t and that’s why she is smart enough to take Murray along with her.
Prof is right about one thing and that is 50 percent is marketing the product. By showing up with her dogs. it shows customers that this person knows about animals and it is a very smart strategy on her part. People will always have things that draw them to a product. Beer commercials use these beautiful women, which in turn will make men want to buy and drink that beer. Fast food commercials make it seem like that is the best burger that you will ever eat. By bringing her dog to these places she is showing that she cares about animals and that she knows about the product and inst scared to test it on her own animal.
I believe that aperson can sell anything as long as they can prove it works. If you are going to sell doggy treats and can prove that dogs want to eat healthy will open owner eyes who treat their animals like family members to want to try. As shopper we need to oipen our minds to new ideasand use all of our resources to find success
there is no doubt that marketing is very important device for selling any product. the big franchises always advertise and always search for new markets. Mcdonald’s,pepsi, and coca cola spending millions of dollars for advertising and t.v. commercials every year just to keep their name big and strong and keep their customers thinking about their products all the time.
Marketing is what holds businesses together. I actually think its more 75% marketing and 25% product professor bruce. If a product doesnt catch your eye by marketing, you usually dont buy it.
Marketing your product is important because you sell it faster to customers. Opening a business is good to because you are making your own profit. When you make your own profit it will help the business grow.
Marketing is key to a business, with a smart and innovative idea, you can really do wonders with your business. In this case, Ronnie and her dog Murray, made a great team and excelled in making healthy baked goods for pets. I defiantly agree that using effective marketing devices to bolster your image will only enhance your business.
Ronnie took a negative and turned it into a positive and became an entrepreneur by necessity. I agree with Professor Bruce it is definitely a good marketing tactic to have a symbol or person that is unique and recognizable. This is a good motivational story for anyone that wants to start their own business but isn’t sure if it will work. You have to try it out first or you’ll never know whether or not it could have worked. Taking risks is what life is all about.
It is very inspiring story for a potential young entrepreneur such as myself. marketing is the key to success in any domain of life, including business.
I agree with this episode. Sometimes it takes more than having a good product to get it to sell. Having some type of gimmick is a good way to get people’s attention. With so many different products out there you almost need a gimmick in order to compete. Even if your product isn’t great, if you know how to market well you can still get it to sell.
Yup…. marketing is all about getting people to believe they need your product, or service. I say this because if you ever stop to watch those cable shopping networks you’ll see some of the most rediculous things for sale but its the advertisment that gets you to buy. In these hard times i should stop looking for a job and buy a cat and make some healthy cat snacks….. lol
This article tells the truth. Marketing is one of the most important aspects of business. With the right marketing scheme you can sell anything. Also the key to marketing is uniqueness, if your ad is unique people will be more inclined to remember your product.
A marketing device is very important to a business. Having a face to a product makes the product stand out and makes it easier to spot out. What every will make you a household name will make will give you a chance and will lower your chance of failing.
I think cute niches win over larger crowds of people then any ad on tv. The best super bowl ads are one that make a person laugh. Murrary case he best spokesdog for the product. Id the product then chose the most unique idea to represent the product. Nine out of ten time people are going to remember that product. Any product i have i want people to think of it in terms of creativity and best quality possible. That is what Murray and Ronnie had in the presentation.
I agree with you professor Bruce, I think that marketing, and marketing effectively is key in any successful is the key in any successful business. Once you market a product with good advertisement, it will catch the eye of a lot of consumers, and clients will never forget your product, ad thats talking from experience
Working in retail I full heartedly believe in 50% is marketing. I work in a Hallmark store and will have product sitting on our shelves for months and then corporations will air one commercial and the product we labeled “dead merchandise” is all of a sudden flying off the shelves.
I really liked the dog as a prop for her business strategy. Thats a great idea for anyone who is starting a business. Not saying that you should use a dog but having something that will ensure that the client remembers you is a great idea.
When it comes to introducing a new product to a specific target market. you really have to try to get the consumer attention by promoting well. You have to consider many things like the price, and quantity. but if done correctly there should definitely be a rise in your revenue.
Marketing is very important in selling a product and trying to get people to relate to your message is very important in marketing. At the movies no one will buy into a story that they can not relate to and this is probably true in the business world as well. No one will buy into a product that doesn’t try to connect to its customers in some way. If a company wants to be succeful they will probably have to work on marketing their product so that the people who will be potential customers can identify with their message.
professor this is a great success story that i am sure can be very helpful to some entreprenuers to get there businesses off the ground. A lot of people just do not know how great marketing can effect the success of a product even if the product is good or bad. coming up with unique marketing techniques can brind in rapid success in your product and service.
A good marketing strategy is essential to the success of the business professor Bruce. prime example is the Nike swoosh. Everyone who see that immediately associates that with the sneakers
I just wanted to say that I know a person who has lost her job on 9/11 and could not find a job for a couple of years (!) Some people can make money one way or another, that is by starting a business and working for themselves. However some people are not good entrepreneurs and prefer to work for a company. However, it is a good idea to do something in the meantime to make money, even if the salary is not as high as it was expected to be.
What do you think?
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