Cutco Direct Marketing Strategy

Cutco corporation is the largest manufacturer and marketer of kitchen cutlery and accessories in the United States and Canada (instructors manual, Pg. 22). This company utilizes a direct marketing channel to distribute their high quality goods to customers allowing for most direct route from manufacturer to client. One of the incredible attractions for customers is the “forever guarantee,” that is offered with the purchase of any Cutco Product. The corporate objective is simple, to design and manufacture the highest quality product available. The foundation of this manufacturers product is incredibly high in quality and it has the backing of the forever guarantee ensuring that their support extends long after the purchase date,

A direct marketing channel utilizes telemarketing, mail order sales, catalog sales, and forms of online shopping to route products directly to consumers (Lamb, Hair, McDaniel, Pg. 246). In order to use other marketing channels the need for higher production quantities would be presented, for example if you make 100 knives and sell them direct to clients when you are out of stock that is it; contrary when completing transactions through retailers the manufacturing of larger amounts of product must happen first in order to get them distributed to store locations. There is a good chance that the high quality standards that work under the direct channel may suffer in the efforts to mass produce goods.

The forever guarantee that is offered by Cutco is top of the line. The guarantee covers four areas, they are; performance, sharpness, replacement and an unconditional 15 day money back guarantee on each and every item they sell. Simply put if for any reason the product doesn’t perform, becomes dull, is broken through abuse or if you just decide within 15 days that you don’t like it, you can get the item either fully refunded or replaced. A guarantee like this is incredibly valuable to consumers, as it

Cutco has targeted the high end of that market and created a corporate culture based on maintaining the highest quality standards. In the marketing strategy employed by Vector marketing, the company that manages the sales force for Cutco, customers have the ability to share their personal stories of family and times when their Cutco product has helped or served them. Thousands of customers have written stories to the company to express how their products have affected their lives, it is these stories that create lifetime customers and appeal to other consumers when looking for what they want. Vector calls this the friends of friends approach to marketing and it is very successful in this case as annual sales are over $200 million. I believe that there is more money to be had if they mass produce and used either retailer or wholesaler channels, but Cutco isn’t willing to sacrifice the quality for the