How does Advertising and Promotion Influence You?

[Carlos Alvarez]

What I mean Jim is when you get a policy for say $500 deductible and $500,000 liability that's what you get. That's regulated by the state here.

But that's like saying that Harbor Freight is required by law to provide you with a jointer when you pay for a jointer. So they must be exactly the same as the Powermatic jointer, right?

[Andrew Joiner]

But that's like saying that Harbor Freight is required by law to provide you with a jointer when you pay for a jointer. So they must be exactly the same as the Powermatic jointer, right?

I don't get your comparison. States regulate insurance for a reason. They don't regulate jointers. Do you have some examples of an insurance company that offers more or less coverage if the policy lists the same coverage amounts?

[Carlos Alvarez]

I don't get your comparison. States regulate insurance for a reason. They don't regulate jointers. Do you have some examples of an insurance company that offers more or less coverage if the policy lists the same coverage amounts?

My point is that the dollar level of coverage is only one facet of the decision. The feds regulate that a jointer must be a jointer (Magnusson-Moss warranty act and others), but the customer service, quality, and many other factors can and do vary. Buying insurance purely on $x for $y coverage is not smart. I've learned this through personal experience. Nobody regulated that company A had to be as awesome as they were, or that company B couldn suck as much as they did, during a claim.

[Andrew Joiner]

My point is that the dollar level of coverage is only one facet of the decision. The feds regulate that a jointer must be a jointer (Magnusson-Moss warranty act and others), but the customer service, quality, and many other factors can and do vary. Buying insurance purely on $x for $y coverage is not smart. I've learned this through personal experience. Nobody regulated that company A had to be as awesome as they were, or that company B couldn suck as much as they did, during a claim.

Ok I get it. I guess I'm lucky. I've had about 10 insurance companies. In my experience all claims have been treated about the same.

[Carlos Alvarez]

Ok I get it. I guess I'm lucky. I've had about 10 insurance companies. In my experience all claims have been treated about the same.

I've had good experiences (Progressive), amazingly great (American Family), and absolutely horrible (some name I can't remember, not a major one). I'd probably think Progressive was really good if not for the amazingly great service from American Family. They are a few hundred/year more for the combo house/car/umbrella compared to another company. Don't care. We shop them for sanity, but it would take more than a few hundred a year to make us change.

EDITED TO ADD: This year we had a letter from Progressive telling us our agreed value on the motorhome dropped due to depreciation, and a letter from American Family saying they were raising our home coverage to better meet our expectations in case of a total loss. Price stayed the same with both. Hmmm...

[Keith Outten]

Lets get back on topic please. This is not a thread about insurance.

[Lee DeRaud]

Just yesterday an ad came up on my facebook page. I am doing research on buying a new bicycle. The ad yesterday was for a bike brand that I was unaware of and "Look" to be just what I been interested in. I need to do some more research but glad I saw the ad and now have another choice.

I can live with that, what bothers me is getting bombarded by ads for something I just bought, usually from whoever I just bought it from.

[Carlos Alvarez]

They don't know you bought it, just that you were looking. The ad networks are not related to actual customer accounts at all.

The bicycle thing is exactly the example of why ads should be blocked. I don't want to see a junk bike you want me to buy while I'm researching what *I* want to buy.

[Lee DeRaud]

They don't know you bought it, just that you were looking. The ad networks are not related to actual customer accounts at all.

And the vendor I just purchased from pays them for doing that? That's the kind of thing that gives "inefficient" a bad name.

[Carlos Alvarez]

And the vendor I just purchased from pays them for doing that? That's the kind of thing that gives "inefficient" a bad name.

Yup, and yup. Again, reasons I'm totally anti-ad. You just paid the vendor to tell you to buy the thing you bought.

[Greg R Bradley]

Yes, everything that is put out there for you to see is put there by someone paying money to put it there. To me, that means their product is NOT something you want. If it was a good product, you would want to buy it on its own merits, NOT because they advertised it.
Same with anyone calling to sell me something. That means it is NOT something I want. If it was a great product, why would they have to pay money to try to convince me?
I buy a specific product for my business a few times a year. Now that they are calling me to try to get me to buy more, I tell them if they call me again and waste my time answering the phone that I will NEVER buy that product again. I wouldn't do that to my customers as I respect their time, why would I allow a vendor to do that to me.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, everything that is put out there for you to see is put there by someone paying money to put it there. To me, that means their product is NOT something you want. If it was a good product, you would want to buy it on its own merits, NOT because they advertised it.

There would be no products to buy without advertising...how would anyone know about something new which in turn generates demand and a willingness to fund production? Potential customers don't "just know" that something exists.

I don't disagree that "in your face" promotion is pretty off-putting, but marketing and advertising is at the heart of a business gaining success, even when they have the "best thing since sliced bread" as a product.

[Chuck Wintle]

I think advertising is a good thing because, as has been mentioned, how would the consumer know a new product exists unless he/she hears about it. IMHO though if all televisions sets were shut off it could be a good thing also. Our thoughts and actions are so manipulated by the mass media that independent thought becomes an extreme act of individual will power. The mass media can be a monster sometimes.

[Edwin Santos]

Yes, everything that is put out there for you to see is put there by someone paying money to put it there. To me, that means their product is NOT something you want. If it was a good product, you would want to buy it on its own merits, NOT because they advertised it.

Are you actually saying ANY product that is advertised in any way is automatically disqualified as far as you're concerned?

There seems to be a bias among some that all advertising and marketing is a negative, sinister endeavor where the predator is trying to get something over on the victim. Could it be that some (most) advertising is simply aimed at creating awareness that a product exists for those who would otherwise not know?
If an ad informs me that a product exists, and I then look into it further and decide to buy it, then yes, the ad influenced me.
Simple example - a year or two ago Lee Valley introduced a quick release version of the bench pup and I saw it in an ad. I ended up buying one, I love it, and were it not for that ad I wouldn't have known they released it.
To not advertise is the business equivalent of expecting a product or service to sell despite keeping it a secret.
Edwin

[Greg R Bradley]

Are you actually saying ANY product that is advertised in any way is automatically disqualified as far as you're concerned?

There seems to be a bias among some that all advertising and marketing is a negative, sinister endeavor where the predator is trying to get something over on the victim. Could it be that some (most) advertising is simply aimed at creating awareness that a product exists for those who would otherwise not know?
If an ad informs me that a product exists, and I then look into it further and decide to buy it, then yes, the ad influenced me.
Simple example - a year or two ago Lee Valley introduced a quick release version of the bench pup and I saw it in an ad. I ended up buying one, I love it, and were it not for that ad I wouldn't have known they released it.
To not advertise is the business equivalent of expecting a product or service to sell despite keeping it a secret.
Edwin

There would be no products to buy without advertising...how would anyone know about something new which in turn generates demand and a willingness to fund production? Potential customers don't "just know" that something exists.

I don't disagree that "in your face" promotion is pretty off-putting, but marketing and advertising is at the heart of a business gaining success, even when they have the "best thing since sliced bread" as a product.

Yes, I should have been more specific with my complaint being about what you call "in your face" promotion.

Example: As I type this a banner ad from Hammer offering a free catalog or newsletter appears above. That is what pays for this site and its there if I want to click on it. Can actually be useful information.

Contrast that to a website that I found looking for a specific product recently. I wanted some LED strips with drivers that attach magnetically to metal lights to add some light that wasn't going straight down. My first clue that they were "in your face" should have been when a box popped up that offered to chat with a salesperson and kept coming back when clicked off. Then it started moving around on the screen making it hard for me to get the info I wanted. I bought one sample of each likely unit. Then i received requests for a satisfaction survey. Then requests to leave reviews on google, etc. When I started doing my testing, I went back to their website to look at more info on the product I had purchased and others. This generated emails. Then PHONE CALL using the number I had left when I placed the order.