I am not an expert, but I think marketing is more about emotions than about logic.
On their websites, the first thing Swaro and Zeiss do is separating hunters from birders. Guess why.
Sour grapes, oetzi ?
If you mail Nikon and ask for review samples for your blog and they don't reply...
Disregarding the massive brand placement through their camera advertising (every month on every tv screen everywhere in the developed world) their bino sales dominate the middle market so clearly their approach works, and that's despite the unhelpful global price disparities.
Best wishes,
Florian,
OK. I think I understand.
It's OK for Swarovski (or any other binocular manufacturer) to sell their binoculars to both the Birding market and the Hunting market as long as they don't bring up that fact when engaged in marketing events aimed at the European Birding market.:smoke:
Bob
@Jan
Well, knowing how difficult it is to discern the minute differences of top binoculars and make a sound purchase decision in the short time in a shop, I'd assume that for customers like yours, who have not much previous binocular experience and knowledge, the advice of the vender could play a certain role in the decision. So let's imagine the vendor says: "this brand has the best products, it's the market leader, it's our bestseller", wouldn't it be possible that many uninformed buyers just go for that brand then?
What Zeiss and Leica need to do it to educate and educate and educate those guys.
Guys like that at Cabela's are the face of the brand. He should know better than putting Vortex above Zeiss and or leica, but it is NOT the fault of the customer. He thinks he is getting the right info.
So Zeiss and Leica need to hurry up with some kind of Sport Optics Acadamy for salesrep's that sell their brands. It seems Swaro's name is already in place.
WTF is holding them???
Just my opnion.
Jan
He told them that Swarovski had the best warranty of all brands, and that short of actually losing their binoculars, Swarovski would replace or repair their bino for any reason.
The guy at Cabelas, which is a world class store/retailer BTW, is probably making his case based on product warranties.
The guy at Cabelas, which is a world class store/retailer BTW, is probably making his case based on product warranties.
This warranty thing is sth. I will never really understand. Maybe also some kind of cultural divide. I very often read here statements from US-Americans like "Leica warranty/service is crap, I will never buy Leica, only Swaro for me". Really like the warranty was the only thing people care about when buying an expensive binocular. This always puzzles me.
I know, good warranty is certainly a factor to take into account. But still, I want to buy a binocular, not a warranty.
I don't think it's cultural as much as personal. Frankly, when someone tells me how great a products warranty is, I wonder about the quality of the product that would need such a warranty.
I don't think it's cultural as much as personal. Frankly, when someone tells me how great a products warranty is, I wonder about the quality of the product that would need such a warranty.
So you actually wonder about the quality of a Swaro or Zeiss glass just because their warranty is far superior to Leica's? I wonder about that reasoning. Maybe its' just me, but when I buy an alpha product, at alpha prices, I expect better support, that's all.
So you actually wonder about the quality of a Swaro or Zeiss glass just because their warranty is far superior to Leica's? .
Jan, that's not the way retail works in this country. Why do you think Vortex and Swarovski are placed in the same case? I think that Cabelas has made a decision that they will push the Swaro and Vortex line, probably because they have agreements with those companies that are more profitable for Cabelas. The salesmen are told which lines to push. He even hesitated when he said Vortex was second best, but I'm sure that's what he was told to say at some employee meeting, and I think he values his job more than seeing that his buyers choose the right binoculars for themselves. I don't blame Leica or Zeiss for the salesman's ignorance (i.e. lying), I blame them for sticking with a retailer that treats them like dirt.
So you actually wonder about the quality of a Swaro or Zeiss glass just because their warranty is far superior to Leica's? I wonder about that reasoning. Maybe its' just me, but when I buy an alpha product, at alpha prices, I expect better support, that's all.
If I were mad at every company which ignores me....
As a lifelong user of Nikon cameras - bought my first in 1977 - and as a photography nut I am well aware of Nikon quality. And of their very often mediocre service to anyone outside the Pro users.
In germany, Nikon sells its binos mostly in camera shops, with € 250,- being considered an expensive one. Steiner is the household name for binos over here.
It's ironic that Steiner is now Italian owned (by the pan-global arms manufacturer Beretta, who also own Burris)
However of the big four, Nikon alone no longer offer riflescopes, although that might not make the whale meat any easier to swallow for some.
The list of bino companies that don't offer riflescopes must be quite small.
Best wishes,