This is what we learned at the French Zoo.

Logistics

Logistics is part of strategic marketing. Even when you can create a separate discipline out of it (because of its big content), with a bad administration of timing vrs services every marketing strategy will be a failure. So, here is a good example for a "NOT TO DO”:

The post office of my town is dealing with big affluence of clients... (Actually not really! I know because I have been there several times… The thing is that there are always a certain amount of clients and just one or two windows open)... Anyway, they have a sign in the door announcing how busy the service is, at what time of the day (so you can choose to come at a moment of low affluence). 

The problem is that according to the schedule,  you will never get to come and find a nice quite service, just if you come Monday or Tuesday morning (which means that if you work you will get to your office late).


But here is where logistics intervene. When you see the opening schedule, here below:

You will notice that the opening times are normal and enough to provide a good service. They also are open on Saturdays (half day) great for people that work. So this can just mean that they need more people to work here! You don’t just hang the busy schedule in the door as if you are proud of it moron! You try to fix the problem. 


Anyway:  - if there is people
                - it means there is a demand (in this case it means money) 


So don’t be cheap, you can pay for an extra person, if not, then it just mean you need to rice the price (or learn some management).

BTW: I have never come to this place without spending at least one hour!

Branding

The term branding comes from the English word "brand", itself derived from the German word Brennen (burnt), meaning "mark". Originally, it consists in the creation of a mark (customized with colors, letters, pictures etc…) and mark the elements to stand out and be identifiable for customers. The branding encompasses all aspects in a company such its style, its DNA, its quality, its values, its signs, its territory of expression, its logo, reliability ... It allows you to assign a company a strong personality and a unique identity.

The Branding strategy (very common and popular in the Marketing theory) consist in setting the distinctive mark of the company or product (sometimes EVERYWHERE) to recall the attention of the people and be present in the mind of consumers. This is a method used so that consumers can find a market. A brand value ​​as one can easily observe, compare, and sensory absorb. I also has values immaterial: its history, its symbols, its mission, its associated values. All this forms brand identity.

With this purpose, the companies started to place their logo in many elements such as “the company’s cars”. They take advantage of the mobile advertisement the vehicles can provide. This is not only effective for branding, but cheaper than a banner in a public street.

So, just as a recommendation, if you are driving “the company’s car” with the expensive branding strategy on in, behave with the values your company will like you to show…

Maintenance

If you are going to provide a service to costumers (or like in this case: users), be sure that what you are saying correspond to the reality of the product, facilities, or like in this case, the common wealthy space)!!!

This elevator is suggesting that in case of emergency you should push the “STOP” Bottom. However when you look at the bottoms the “STOP” one does not exist. It is clear that the emergency announcement is more resent than the existence of the elevator itself, so the question is:

“If the owners were going to include a nice prevention announcement (and spend money on it) why didn’t they write the correct instructions?

That is what I call spending money for nothing!

Translation:

-        After closing the doors, press the button for the floor you are visiting.

-        Do not open the doors before the shutdown of the unit.

SAFETY RULES

-        Users must refrain precipitation and ensure before entering the cab of his presence on the floor (?)

-        The use of the device is allowed to unaccompanied children.

-        In the case of cabin without door, keep children away from the wall smooth.

-        Incident in the operation, use the “STOP” button and press the “tone” .... 

Gossip or not! (The brand image)

The opinion of costumers regarding some products can produce the choice of purchasing… or inverse.

For clients: Next time someone say to you that Peugeot 207 is the “most wanted” from robbers for spare parts (pieces detaches), you go ahead, make your research and consider having a good insurance.

For the brand: How it comes is so easy to take off the door! - The door was stolen during the night at our own garage, from 3am to 5am (we just came home late).

Product Adapatation

There is something that we marketers call “product adaptation”. It means simply that you are going to take one product and you are going to “slightly” modify it in order to satisfy needs out of your original target. For ex. The Coca-Cola ® Company decided to modify its original formula and created Coca-Cola light ® to satisfy costumers that don’t want go fat after drinking…

I thought of this when I first had to write in a French Keyboard. As a matter of fact, many countries have “modify” the computer keyboard to strategically make the writing faster (please notice that I say “modify” because I completely ignore who created the original one!). In this way, the letters that are more used are more reachable (for example letter a in the American keyboard is the first one of the center row).

So, could you please tell me why would the French keyboard have one whole key for ù?

After my friend Eric Bourhis (he is the one that told me actually), there is just one word in French that uses this letter: où (where). And they waste one of the greatest middle spots for this? This was so incredible to me that I have to look for it in the internet and apparently is tru:

« ù : uniquement pour le mot où » (ù : only for où)

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accent_grave

Apparently it’s been like this since looong ago !

Doing my research I also find out that someone is renting one

http://cgi.ebay.fr/TOUCHE-pourcent-u-clavier-portable-ASUS-Eee-PC-MK90H-/180749888280#ht_7406wt_1153

I will be interested in knowing who will rent it and for what =).