Subject:
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Re: Holy Mackerel! LEGO survey...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general, lugnet.lego
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Date:
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Sun, 17 Apr 2005 22:25:09 GMT
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Viewed:
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7881 times
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee wrote:
> If you're still interested in helping out, my colleague running this data
> collection effort has asked me to post the questions below for feedback. She'll
> manually include this in the results as well. Feel free to answer them in line
> or email them to me.
>
> Thanks so much everyone for showing that the AFOLs are a force to be reckoned
> with!
I'm happy to help out, and I'm glad that we have this opportunity, as the survey
was flawed in many ways. It showed a lack of comprehension of the AFOL mind and
behaviour. Most of us would not consider buying clone products no matter what
the price. Actually, 'clone' is an innaccurate term, as it doesn't imply the
inferior quality of the roughly LEGO-shaped plastic they purvey.
The survey ignored the possibility of economic factors affecting buying trends.
The survey was also too theme specific; I don't worry about which theme the sets
are from, I buy whatever has enough of the parts I'm interested in, even if it
means I have a large stockpile of Yetis to pass along to my nephews. Oh, and 20+
as an upper limit? I have 20+ of some individual sets.
You can assume my support for the majority of the previous suggestions in this
thread, so I will simply add what may have been overlooked.
>
> * Would you buy LEGO toys for children 0-11? Y/N
Absolutely. And, I wouldn't stop at 11 either.
> * Why / Why not?
For all the reason's listed above. This should be heartening to TLG; we still
support the core values of LEGO, even when we find fault with particular
products and corporate decisions.
>
> * What feature(s) would you add if you were the marketing director of LEGO?
I would add to the above responses by marketing the coolness and expandability
to children while marketing the learning and creativity aspects to their
parents. We AFOLs are basically self-marketing; as long as you put the sets on
your website, we'll find them and buy the ones we want online, or in our local
stores. But, it would be great to see more advertising on TV.
I would push on the 'collector' aspect, not just for sets, but for the parts.
Many of us collect the parts we need to the extent that we'll even buy a set for
a few specific parts. We wait for years for a specific piece to be released in a
specific colour. That's the crux of the colour issue for some; dashed hopes have
taken a long time to heal.
>
> * How would you change existing LEGO products if you wanted to sell them for
> more money?
Fill the boxes with more pieces. I would pay more for more product. I'm
disinclined to pay more for cardboard backdrops, games, printed pieces, single
use pieces (Yeti, Jun Chi, Dewback) and excessively juniorized pieces.
That AFOLs may be more frugal with their money, shouldn't be that big a concern.
We tend to stretch our LEGO budget as far as we can. We still buy as much as we
can and I think that the sale prices amount to a volume discount on some very
significant volume. As a kid I looked for the best price, so that mustn't be a
new trend.
>
> * What new products would you launch?
Apart from the suggestions in this thread, I would complete the selection of
roof tiles for all the colours they have been produced in. This ties in with the
collector mentality again. I'd really like to build roofs in more colours and
shapes than are currently available. (Heck, I've even resorted to building
upside down.) Peaks and corners are particularly lacking in several colours of
the steep slopes, but there are many other gaps.
>
> * What should LEGO be doing that it isn’t now?
I would promote more of what the fans are doing. Idea books with large
fan-created designs would serve to show more of the possibilities to a wider
audience. Focus on the nostalgia aspect and generational continuity. Fight the
brand confusion; "if it doesn't say 'LEGO' on the box, it isn't LEGO." The
Ambassadors program is a good start; keep growing it, let us help you.
>
> So dangerous questions, to be sure, but the office of the CEO has asked them, so
> you know the responses will be listened to!
I can't see that there is any danger in finding out more about what your
customers are thinking. Too many businesses fail miserably when it comes to
evaluation. For all its flaws, your survey was considerably better than average.
>
> Thanks again, everyone. This incredible response has made my week.
Thank you, Jake, for all that you do. I know that the company pays you, but it
really seems like you're working for us.
Best regards, Ley (aka Professor Whateverly)
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Holy Mackerel! LEGO survey...
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| All, I know that some of you have attempted to fill out the survey announced yesterday on LEGOfan.org, only to be turned away with a message about the survey being complete. After some late night phone calls and early morning emails, I've been to (...) (20 years ago, 16-Apr-05, to lugnet.general, lugnet.lego) !!
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