If Dogs Were Consumers

In playing with our dogs -- tossing a cloth Frisbee to Otis, and to Thelma her favorite ball -- it struck me how happy they were doing the same thing . . . over and over. And mind you, like any kids, these dogs have a box full of toys, yet they wish to play with the same ones . . . over and over. Long enough, in fact, that we wind up having to throw them out because the Frisbee now fits over Otis' head due to the giant hole in it, and Thelma's ball is so dirt covered it's camouflaged in the yard.

If dogs were the consumers wouldn't life be easy for those folks in sales and marketing: no insights needed; no pitch to deliver; no new products to talk about. Easy -- maybe. Boring? Yes.

The complexity of today's market, from reaching the consumer and minding the shelf to managing trade, while providing great challenges also brings about vast opportunities. In this month's issue, we cover a broad range of sales and marketing focused content including: the cover story with Del Monte Foods, Best Practices, CRM thought leadership and spread and more!

Speaking of sales and marketing, the 2008 Sales & Marketing Summit quickly approaches (June 9-11). I hope to see you in New York!

And now for a little bit of self-marketing. In late April, we re-launched www.consumergoods.com. Striving to serve you better, our new site is easy to navigate and rich with content from CGT and industry-wide. We have also created CG Shares, a professional network for you to exchange information and ideas with peers in the industry. The link to this can be found under the "community" tab on our homepage.

Check it out and let us know what you think. [email protected]