Here's the Answer

My attention was caught by a commercial with a person showing mall shoppers an ultrasound and asking what it was.  One shopper shook his head and did not give an answer at all.  Another said out loud, “I don’t know.”  A third questioned, “A hula hoop?”

The interviewer flipped the board upon which the ultra sound was mounted to reveal another ultrasound.  On the second one a baby was clearly visible.  “It’s a baby!” exclaimed one shopper. 

“This is a 3D ultrasound,” explained the interviewer.  “At Adefris and Toppin Women’s Specialists, expectant mothers receive 3D and 4D ultrasounds at no additional cost.” Go here to see three examples of this ultrasound. 

The commercial continued by relating that Adefins and Toppin Women’s Specialists are five women doctors who are moms themselves.  Five women doctors serving women.    

That is an excellent example of an answer to the question “What’s in it for me?”

Adefins and Toppin actually gave several reasons why a pregnant woman would want to seek their services.  The 3D or 4D ultrasound is a big one.  Women-only doctors is another.  The fact that all these women are also moms is a big bonus.  That aspect makes the patient feel these doctors understand her and what she is experiencing.  In addition, these doctors only serve women.  All of these reasons are offered at prices where the patient doesn’t pay more to get more. 

Whoever works with this practice on its marketing had thought through “What’s in it for me, the patient” and answered the question thoroughly.  The answers had been described simply and presented in this commercial.  Pregnant women viewing the commercial clearly received the message of what’s in it for them to go to Adfins and Toppin Women’s Specialists.  This is an excellent example of thinking through, knowing, and communicating why a customer is wise to seek the services of a business.

What is your answer to “What’s in it for me, the customer” to do business with your company?  How clearly do you present the answer?  Does your answer appear in all your marketing messages?    

 This week's marketing trivia challenge is What answer have you found to the question “What‘s in it for me”?    E-mail me your answer.

Not for Every Business

Patina Stores in Minneapolis recently announced that it was discontinuing its online shopping option.  The statement on the front page of the Patina Web site explains "After careful consideration, Patina has decided to discontinue the online shopping cart. We want to concentrate on what we do best -- the store experience."

In a press release, management said that since the store constantly updates its inventory keeping the online offerings current has been a challenge.  "(Online) was becoming a more disconnected experience from our store experience. At our core, we are a specialty destination store that focuses on a quickly changing retail environment.  Ultimately, it was difficult for us to change the Internet mix of inventory as fast as we were resetting and getting in product at our retail locations."

Patina management realized that offering online shopping is not for every business.  Their first priority is to have inventory at the brick-and-mortar locations.

I wonder what prompted Patina’s management to arrive at this decision?  Was it the stress of a seventh location they added in October?  Was it the pressure of keeping the Web site current?  Was it the tension of having online and in-store shoppers competing for inventory? 

Or, as they state on the Web site and in the release, was it that they came to an understanding that their unique selling proposition is the in-store experience?  Did they realize that their inventory, staff, and store environment create an experience that makes Patina different?  Do they get it that these cannot be duplicated online because the sensory stimulation found in the stores is not present online?

As a marketer, I’d like to think management realized Patina’s unique selling proposition.  I’d like to say that management went through the process of developing a marketing plan and realized online shopping did not fit Patina.  In reality, I don’t know.  I have a nagging suspicion that the decision was more inventory than marketing driven.

Whatever prompted the change, I applaud it.  While online shopping is an option, it is not for every business.  Just because a business can offer online shopping doesn’t mean that doing so is best for it.  Before making the decision, all facets ought to be considered.  The first consideration is not additional revenue.  The first and foremost consideration is how online shopping fits into the business’s marketing plan.  Does it mesh with the business’s unique selling proposition?  Does it offer an extension of why customers shop the business?  Does online give the same experience as the brick-and-mortar shopping?

Does your business offer online ordering?  Does it fit customers’ in-person business with your company?  How does it fit into your marketing plan?     

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What online ordering do you not use because it does not fit your experience with the company?  E-mail me your answer.

How Do You View Your Products and Services?

After watching the twelve days of cookies on Twin Cities Live sponsored by Land O Lakes butter, I wondered why the company doesn’t differentiate its product.  I saw a picture of the product on the TV screen but nothing to tell the customer why to buy it instead of other butter.  Land O Lakes butter must be have a unique selling proposition.  It must be different in some way from its competition. 

Thinking the company must have differentiated its product somewhere, I found the Land O Lakes Web site and clicked on the butter description.  Here is what I found for the salted butter.  “Land O Lakes salted butter is the all-purpose butter that is great for every use, everyday.  Use it for cooking, baking, spreading, or topping.”  The unsalted version had a similar description with comment on controlling the salt content and flavor of the foods. 

How do those descriptions differentiate Land O Lakes butter?  They don’t.

Mulling this over, I came to the conclusion that Land O Lakes sees its products as pure commodities that do not differ from their competition.  Their marketing objective is to have the Land O Lakes name in front of consumers so much that consumers will be more likely to buy it than the competition.  However, Land O Lakes butter is the highest-priced butter in the store, generally 50% more than its competition.  Without a defining difference in customers’ minds that makes it worth more, customers likely will not pay more for it at the store.  They will buy a cheaper butter. 

That’s the problem with management viewing a product or service as a commodity.  Since management doesn’t differentiate the product or service in their minds, they don’t do so in customers’ minds, either.  The lack of a differentiation leaves the product or service as a commodity and subject to selection by customers based on price alone.  Why bother to spend money advertising a commodity, especially one that doesn‘t compete on price?

A couple days later, I noticed a new commercial for Fruit of the Loom.  We could easily consider underwear to be a commodity, too, just like butter.  However, Fruit of the Loom management does not allow its product to have commodity status.  In the past Fruit has differentiated its products through innovative changes.  From boxer briefs with no-ride-up-legs to softer panties to a better fitting tee, Fruit of the Loom management is constantly differentiating it products.  Fruit’s new differentiation was that its underwear is now tagless.  The lack of scratchy tags makes Fruit of the Loom underwear more comfortable for customers. 

This comfort is so important to its customers that the company brought back Michael Jordan to be in the commercial announcing the change.  The commercial opens on an office worker in discomfort from a scratchy tag.  Michael Jordan appears, has the guy take the tag from his underwear, and hand it to Jordan.  Michael promptly tosses the tag into the paper shredder, telling the guy “No more tags.”

Paying Michael as a spokesperson and running these ads was worth it for Fruit of the Loom because the ads communicated a differentiation and a reason for customers to buy.

Take a look at your advertising.  Are you differentiating your products and services?  Are you giving customers a reason to buy them instead of your competition’s? 

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What differentiation of a product or service have you noticed?  E-mail me your answer.                          

How to Communicate Trust

I watched an interesting story on 60 Minutes last Sunday.  A financial marketing expert, Michael Lewis, had detected something strange happening with stock buys.  He found that high-frequency computerized stock traders were controlling half the stock market and making tens of billions of dollars in the process.  “The US stock market is rigged,“ Lewis stated.

Lewis had a conversation with Brad Katsuyama, a trader from the Royal Bank of Canada who had been experiencing the same problems.  When he placed an order for stock, only part of the order would be filled at the current price.  The balance of the order would not be available or be available at a higher price. 

When the two talked, Brad realized that he was not alone in his experiences.  Brad decided to pursue this problem and hired an Irish telecom expert on fiber optic networks, Ronan Ryan, to assist.  Ronan discovered that someone regularly detected the orders while they were in progress, bought the stock, and drove up the price.  The traders doing this were using a faster electronic route.  Ronan offered a solution of rerouting the orders, which worked.    

Based on that success, Brad quit his job with Royal Bank of Canada and started a new stock market, IEX, the investor’s exchange.  In this stock market, traders are not subjected to increased prices or incomplete orders.  He approached several large hedge fund operators and financial companies, including T.Rowe Price, The Capitol Group, Fidelity, and Vanguard, to explain the problem and his solution.  When they grasped what was happening, they were shocked.  One said, “I knew something was wrong, but no one had told us.”

Many have signed up for the new stock market as a result. 

How has Brad been able to establish his new stock market quickly?  Lewis notes, “When someone walks in the door who is actually trustworthy, he has enormous power.  And this is the story, the story of trying to restore trust to the financial markets.”

Brad has been amazed at the response.  “We are selling trust.  We are selling transparency.  Who would have guessed that trust could be a differentiator in a service business?” he remarked.

Sadly, today people are yearning to deal with companies they can trust.  Customers encounter too much manipulation and skimming.  They deal with too many companies who focus on the company rather than the customer.  Management at those companies doesn’t embrace developing profitable customers for long-term success.  They are taking all the money they can amass today with no thought of the customer tomorrow.

Your focus on what’s in it for your customer is important to your customer.  Check that you and your employees are communicating this focus in what you do and say.  Don’t do it by saying, “You can trust us.” 

Do it by telling the truth about a customer’s problem and offering a solution that benefits the customer.  Just as Brad did, communicate trust by actions and focus.

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What experience have you had where trust was the differentiator?  E-mail me your answer. 

The Drive for Information

A Wendy’s ad caught my attention recently.  The headline was “Doing the right thing always tastes better.”  That was followed by a message from Wendy. 
My dad used to say, “You earn your reputation by the things you do every day.”  So we try to do the right thing - every day.  Like serving only 100% pure North American beef.  That means no additives or fillers.  And since our beef is fresh, never frozen, we ship it to our restaurants as many as four times a week.  This may not be the easiest way, but we believe it tastes better.  And that’s Wendy’s Way.
The signature of “Wendy Thomas” ended the write-up.

Notice what Wendy’s is doing in this write-up.  First Wendy’s gave information as to the content of the meat in its hamburgers.  In addition, Wendy’s explained that the beef comes from North America, is fresh, never frozen, and shipped to restaurants as many as four times a week.  That is a great deal of pertinent information to those who already do eat or may consider eating at Wendy’s.  They now know that Wendy’s doesn’t use fillers or additives, either.  In the customers’ minds, all of this translates into a safe-to-eat, good-tasting, healthy product.  

Increasingly, I am finding that customers want information.  They want to know what they are eating.  They want to know that it is fresh.  They want to know that it is safe.  Much of this drive for information is coming from the Internet.  Since 97% of customers, or more, are checking online prior to making a purchase these days, they are making the statement that they want to be informed. 

In marketing our businesses, we would be wise to heed this.  Like Wendy’s, we would be smart to inform customers of the details of our products and services.  Give them the information they want.  Rather than presenting a slick, meaningless message in generalized terms, deliver a message that is clear, specific, and detailed.  Offer particular information which will help customers in choosing your product or service. 

Take your message a step further by presenting a unique selling proposition just as Wendy’s did.  In stating that the beef is never frozen and from North America, Wendy’s positioned itself against fast food stores which do use frozen beef such as McDonald’s and Burger King.  Serving fresh rather than frozen is a distinct advantage in most customers’ minds.  Culver’s, another of Wendy’s competitors, has also been telling customers that it serves fresh beef from Wisconsin.  By explaining that Wendy’s serves fresh beef, too, Wendy’s is saying “We are like Culver’s” and inviting Culver’s customers into Wendy’s.

Finally, Wendy’s ended the write-up with the signature of Wendy Thomas.  Her signature gave the message a personal touch and made it a message directly from Wendy herself.  This move conveyed a concern for Wendy’s customers and reinforced a connection between Wendy and them.  Wendy’s name gave the message credibility.   

Look closely at your messages to customers.  Are you giving them the information that they want about your product or service?    

Use Every Opportunity to Communicate Your Message

The other day I walked by an older model car with lettering on it. Along the back and both sides, the message was the same:

• FREE loaner car
• Mark's Auto Body
• Phone number

I slowed my pace and absorbed the communication. My first thought was, "A loaner car. Hmm, you don't see those anymore." My second thought was, "It's good that a business still offers a loaner car." Then the marketer kicked in, and my third thought was, "What a smart way to market. I am making this the subject of my next Insight."

Mark's Auto Body was wisely offering loaner cars to people having work done at Mark's shop. Due primarily to insurance premiums, most auto body and car repair shops have curtailed this practice. That leaves the person who is having his or her car repaired searching for transportation, which is a problem. Mark's solved this problem by having the loaner car.

Then Mark's took the opportunity to tell this to others by writing it on three sides of the loaner car.

I was impressed.

Why?

First of all, Mark's offered a service that others did not, which was a free loaner car. That alone differentiated Mark's from its competition, creating a unique selling proposition for Mark's Auto Body. Knowing your unique selling proposition is critical to marketing profitably.

Second, Mark's used the car as a rolling billboard to communicate the message to all who walked, drove, or in anyway came within the vicinity of the car. Mark's only expense to do this was the cost of the paint and perhaps someone to do the painting. Since auto body shop personnel work with paint, that someone was very likely at Mark's.

Most importantly, Mark's actually wrote the unique selling proposition on the car. Of all the wording Mark's could have had, writing "FREE loaner car" along with the name and phone number was the best way to get attention and to communicate Mark's message in easy-to-understand wording. The importance of this marketing was not just that the car had a message but the content of the message.

Mark's Auto Body used the opportunity of the loaner car to communicate a unique selling proposition to its target market, which is anyone who owns a vehicle. Do you do this? Is your unique selling proposition on all your communications with your target market? Take a look at all your materials, your attire, your office, your vehicles, and even the door into your building. Do you use all these opportunities to communicate your message in easily understood wording?

If not, do it. Use every opportunity to clearly communicate your message.