Wonder Dog

Meet Coco the Wonder Dog.  This little Labradoodle pup will be the newest addition to our household as of December 28th.  At nine weeks, he is already a clown and-a-half, and except for the housetraining part, we can't wait to get him home.

Neither my husband nor I have had a dog in a very long time, and even then they were "outdoor" dogs.  This is going to be a whole new adventure for us.  We've dropped so much money on this mutt in the last few days that we feel like we're sending him off to college.  A crate for training/sleeping, dishes, toys, food, books, etc.  It was on our third trip to PetSmart that my husband and I looked at each other in disbelief.  Coco isn't even home, yet already "nothing is too good for our little guy."

It hit me this afternoon that in my interactions with pet store salespeople,  I am mostly likely to buy whatever it is they are hawking when they aren't talking about how a product will benefit me; rather how it is essential to the health and happiness of my pet.  I do want the very best, right?  I would be a negligent owner if I didn't.

Think about your product or service - are you selling from the wrong perspective?  Does your product or service really benefit the person purchasing it, or do you sell it on the basis of what a wonderful world it creates for the one she loves?  In a woman's world, her family comes first, even if it means going without.  The strongest form of persuasion will be when you convince her that you are here for the benefit of those she cares about most.  That, in turn, makes her feel that she is a fantastic caregiver and she'll bond to you for life.

I think Coco the Wonder Dog is going to teach me a few lessons in marketing - I'll keep you posted.

Comments

[Melissa]

Being this cute little fellow has the Lab in him, I would suggest lots and lots of chew bones, because if you don't you can kiss your furniture and shoes goodbye. Good Luck with your new family member and enjoy!!!!!

[Wendy]

Michele, I think you dog is delicious! I also think your marketing question is a great one and one I am working on too, but I'm not falling out in the same place you are. See, I don't think we, as women, should encourage each other to be the "best care-givers" or the "ultimate women" any more; rather I'm starting to hypothesis that as marketers we should start to help each other "enhance" our own day to day emotional realities ... ask each other how we want to feel and help each other get there [perhaps in some cases, free up some of her brain-space and do the work for her]. So in the case of PetSmart, I would argue that your "agent" was your marketer/enhancer to your [near furture] emotional reality of a sandcastle, ice-cream cone, last day of school, tampoline jumping, first kiss feeling sensual [yes, multi-dimensional] relationship with that beautiful puppy. I have a hypothesis that a lot of marketing out there today pits woman against woman, "best care giver v. care giver" and "ultimate woman v. ultimate woman" and it hurts us all in the end [just ask the 67% of women who would rather work for a man than a woman]. So... my thought it to take you idea, but twist it to an enhancer role. Thoughts?

[Gerold Braun]

Congratulations - Coco is a cute guy (girl?).

In Juli i read a case-study at marketingsherpa.com. The marketer in this case had chosen a dog as "special ambassador" for his message. The reason: ".. studies show entrepreneurs often have unusually intense, strong relationships with their pets. .."

Yes i am an entrepreneur with a dog too. No i am not in dog breeding business :-)

[Martha Barletta]

Michele --- What a hoot - I got a little Labradoodle pup last December! Her name is Addie (well, really Adelaide, in honor of her Australian heritage) - a tiny little mini 'doodle (10 lbs), strawberry blonde, who will not let me out of her sight, and who loves to sleep upside down with all four legs in the air. (Doing it this very moment, as a matter of fact.)

(From dog to blog....)
I'm in awe of your blog --- I know it's the wave of the future and all - Tom Peters even had a Halley Suitt (who blogs Halley's Comment) show us the blogging ropes at the Cool Friends Summit he pulled together a couple of weeks ago. But how you and Tom and David Wolfe and so many others find the time to be so incredibly prolific, with such good content just about every day is beyond me! I find it a handful just to keep up with my GenderTrends newsletter - and I only have to get that out once a month!

Anyhow --- Aren't you feeling like 2005 is going to be the tipping point for Marketing to Women - That finally, after Tom talking about it since 1997, and me since 1998 and now you and Mary Lou and Lisa and Andrea.... Finally, it is on the radar screens of a lot of the big corporate players, who are starting to get what it's all about?

Can't wait to meet you one of these days - inevitable that our paths will cross. Heard the conference you did with Peter Frost was a great success - Congratulations!! I think we are all going to have an amazing year... My best wishes to you, and hope to meet you soon!

Marti Barletta (author, Marketing to Women)

[felix gerena]

I´ve been reading your last comment about caring and women´s priorities about the people they love. It is simply lovely.

I am also convinced that marketers have to shift their interest from a product to a complete customer´s world.

Very nice blog.