In response the Sam's Blog: Craigslist: Marketing for Dummies

Sam asked..."Do you have any personal favorite techniques for selling and item on Craigslist/Ebay? Do you think that big companies use similar or different techniques to sell their products?"

I personally have sold many items on Craigslist. I think that Craigslist has done a very good job of keeping their site simple enough for many people to use it. In doing this they have also been careful not to make the site seem too basic and unreliable. With this being the case I think this is a huge problem many big companies face. A lot of companies want their web site to be the best and easiest to use but in doing this they actually make things more complicated than they need to be. Also as they do this I think people become wary of their sites. Features that companies may think give them the upper hand over other companies many actually drive consumers away. For example web sites that offer to save credit card numbers or sites that keep you logged in for extended periods of time.

When buying items I always click the option to only show items with pictures. If an item does not have a picture I will not even give it the time of day. With this being the case when I sell items on Craigslist I always make sure to include a picture. I think this is my favorite technique to lure people in. I think visuals are a huge factor especially when it comes to selling items online. For example I was recently looking to buy a new cell phone and the phone company provided a 360 degree view of the phone as well as compared it to common items like an Ipod or a deck of cards.

I think there are many lessons to be learned from sites like Craigslist and Ebay. These sites are hugely popular amongst the "average joe" and with close investigation a lot of big companies can learn valuable lessons from them. With this being the case I think sites like Ebay and Craigslist will always prove to be a favorite method of buying and selling for people. A lot of people are in the market for the lowest price possible as quick as possible and big corporations are just unable to compete with this.

Do you only use sites like Craigslist and Ebay to purchase certain products? How can commercial companies take advantage of this to capitalize on a market that does not appeal to these sites?

In Response to Gretchen Harbourt's: Poor marketing to employees not customers by Friendly's...

Gretchen asked..." Do you think it is effective marketing to market inside the restaurant while customers and employees are already there? Do you think annoying people is an effective way to market a company?"

Although what is being played over the intercom throughout the store may be repetitive it is only repeated once an hour. I would safely say the majority of customers are rarely in a restaurant for more than an hour and a half or even an hour, and if they are then restaurant has bigger problems to worry about. I know when I am at a restaurant I am generally engaged in conversation and have little recollection leaving the restaurant of what was played over the intercom. With this being the case maybe this type of marketing is not effective in a restaurant. However, I do feel as if this is an effective way to market.

At the store I work at they used to play instrumental music which would be interrupted regularly to tell of events the store was hosting, or deals the store was having. This recently changed and the store now plays music like you would hear on a radio station while also playing information about the stores deals and events. I would agree that some ads are annoying but I would more strongly agree that they are effective. After hearing an ad several times over the intercom I almost began knowing it by heart. This intrigued me to find out more about the deals and also to find out more about the events the store was having. Although I found it repetitive I pushed me want to learn more and it also helped me to better answer questions when the ad played over the intercom and triggered customers curiosity.

I would say annoying people is not an effective way of marketing. But I would also make a strong argument that very few people are in stores long enough to be effected by the music. Odds are if they are in the store long enough to hear something twice or enough to become annoyed by it they are already in an annoying situation as is. Or they are spending so much time in the store because they thoroughly enjoy that store.

I never gave much through to in-store marketing and I think it is an interesting aspect of marketing. Have you ever found yourself buying something or returning to a store because of an advertisement you heard over the intercom? What are some stores you think this type of advertisement are most effective in?