Lesson #4: Make The Most Of Potential Marketing Moments
Lesson #4: Make The Most Of Potential Marketing Moments
Gillette felt he had created the perfect product. Not only was it disposable, forcing customers to keep buying it, but its target market was almost half the population. With that in mind, Gillette refused to ever miss the opportunity to market his product, since he knew that wherever he went, the potential was there.
No matter what the situation, Gillette always looked at it in terms of how he could use it to his advantage. Before World War I, Gillette’s involvement in the day-to-day operations of his company was waning, but he made sure to keep himself abreast of the company’s affairs. When the War hit, Gillette returned to his company to make a vital suggestion: he proposed that the company give a Gillette razor to every soldier in the service.
Company executives loved the idea and decided to take it one step further: they wanted to sell their razors to the government at cost and let them distribute it as they pleased. They designed a special metal-cased shaving kit for every American soldier, with ads touting that “every man in khaki ought to have one.’
The U.S. government took Gillette up on its offer and ordered 3.5 million razors and 36 million razor blades for all of its soldiers. As a result, Gillette had to hire more than 500 new employees, who worked around the clock to get the order filled.
But Gillette’s suggestion was not just about being a one-time promotional scheme. By supplying American troops with his razors, he was securing his future. He had created a huge base of customers who had grown accustomed to the Gillette razor, and who would keep coming back for blade refills long after the war was over.
World War I proved to be a huge boon for Gillette and his company. He had seen an opportunity and seized it before anyone else could. As a result, he built a loyal base of customers who appreciated the Gillette razor.
In the decade after the war, Gillette saw his strategy work as sales continued to rise. But he did not stop there. He embarked on a period that has since been called the company’s “give-away” years. Making a profit on the razors was no longer his top priority. He decided to give them away with anything and everything he could think of – Wrigley’s gum, pocket knives, canned meat, and more.
In the end, Gillette’s strategy of marketing and selling more blades worked. In the six years after his original patents expired, he sold four times as many blades as before. Although later Gillette CEOs would criticize the move and the company’s founder for trying to achieve growth at any cost, Gillette demonstrated his willingness to seize the marketing moment.
Lesson 4 Make The Most Of Potential Marketing Moments
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“There is no other article for individual use so universally known or widely distributed,” Gillette once said. “In my travels, I have found it in the most northern town in Norway and in the heart of the Sahara Desert.”
Gillette felt he had created the perfect product. Not only was it disposable, forcing customers to keep buying it, but its target market was almost half the population. With that in mind, Gillette refused to ever miss the opportunity to market his product, since he knew that wherever he went, the potential was there.
No matter what the situation, Gillette always looked at it in terms of how he could use it to his advantage. Before World War I, Gillette’s involvement in the day-to-day operations of his company was waning, but he made sure to keep himself abreast of the company’s affairs. When the War hit, Gillette returned to his company to make a vital suggestion: he proposed that the company give a Gillette razor to every soldier in the service.
Company executives loved the idea and decided to take it one step further: they wanted to sell their razors to the government at cost and let them distribute it as they pleased. They designed a special metal-cased shaving kit for every American soldier, with ads touting that “every man in khaki ought to have one.’
The U.S. government took Gillette up on its offer and ordered 3.5 million razors and 36 million razor blades for all of its soldiers. As a result, Gillette had to hire more than 500 new employees, who worked around the clock to get the order filled.
But Gillette’s suggestion was not just about being a one-time promotional scheme. By supplying American troops with his razors, he was securing his future. He had created a huge base of customers who had grown accustomed to the Gillette razor, and who would keep coming back for blade refills long after the war was over.
World War I proved to be a huge boon for Gillette and his company. He had seen an opportunity and seized it before anyone else could. As a result, he built a loyal base of customers who appreciated the Gillette razor.
In the decade after the war, Gillette saw his strategy work as sales continued to rise. But he did not stop there. He embarked on a period that has since been called the company’s “give-away” years. Making a profit on the razors was no longer his top priority. He decided to give them away with anything and everything he could think of – Wrigley’s gum, pocket knives, canned meat, and more.
In the end, Gillette’s strategy of marketing and selling more blades worked. In the six years after his original patents expired, he sold four times as many blades as before. Although later Gillette CEOs would criticize the move and the company’s founder for trying to achieve growth at any cost, Gillette demonstrated his willingness to seize the marketing moment.
Lesson 4 Make The Most Of Potential Marketing Moments
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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