Previous entry:
Cherry-Berry Pie
Next Entry:
Grapelings
Home:
One Truth For All
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Archives
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- January 2004
- December 1969
July 17, 2005
What Business are You In?
I have been doing some material research for work this week. This is pretty simple stuff: go through a specification, find products named there, get data sheets on them, and organize them in a binder. It's a bit easier than it used to be because all that stuff is available online, or it should be.
So here's my peeve of the week: when I go to the web site for a roofing tile manufacturer, in order to get product information for use in a multi-million-dollar project, I have to register and give the company complete contact information and data about the company where I work in order to download the PDF of their brochure.
I mean, what the hell? I have two options for getting this information: I either download it myself and print it out at my own expense, OR I call the manufacturer and have their paid representative mail me a four-colour glossy brochure. Which one do you think is cheaper and easier for the manufacturer? So why do they try to restrict my access to that method? They're in the business of selling ROOFING TILES, not brochures. All they are doing is making me less inclined to save them time and money -- I'm an intern, so having my contact info for a summer internship is not going to help them market to me should I ever end up in a position to choose roofing tile. They're being stupid and stingy about their marketing materials, which is about as short-sighted as you can get.
Businesses that forget their core business plan lose in small ways over long periods. If you sell roofing tile, then you should be letting anybody download your product information who wants it. And giving away CAD details like it's going out of style. Architects and engineers find that sort of thing way more useful than coffee cups or logo caps, and they use it, and when they use it they end up using your actual product. Save yourself some money by telling customers, "Yeah, all that data is on our web site: there's a link right on the home page to a special area for you."
The only people who should charge for CAD details are draftsmen, and the only people who should charge for a brochure are brochure salesmen, should such a profession exist.
Posted by ayse on 07/17/05 at 9:22 AM