“Everything” Cell Phones

Many people in the tech industry are predicting that our cell phones will be the device that connects us to everything.  It appears to be happening in Asia more quickly then the US.  For example, why not use your cell phone as a key to your house, hotel room, etc.?  Certainly using it as a credit card would seem to be no problem.  What if you were walking down the isle at the supermarket, and you pointed it at a product and the cell phone extolled the virtues of that product?   What if the supermarket itself, provided its “discounts” over the cell as you travelled the store?

This will all happen and more.  It will make us tethered to our cell phones like never before.  Open your car door?  Sure!  Start the engine?  Sure!  Buy a hamburger?  Of course!  This is all quite interesting and adds to music, videos, e-mail, GPS systems, etc….  So, I ask, why do we need computers????

Rich

Bizvice:  Business Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship

An Open Invitation

As a thank you to those of you who take the time to read and follow my blog, I would like to make this offer:  Ask me any question related to Business Strategy, Marketing or Entrepreneurship and I will do my best to provide you with an honest answer.  This is an opportunity for you to receive free consulting advice from someone who has been there and done that.  Just give me as many facts as you can surrounding your question and I will give you my best advice!  

Rich

Bizvice:  Business Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Back To The Future

Despite the growing chorus of the need to do marketing differently in today’s wired world, the need still exists for Companies to communicate with their potential customers with a message of why they should buy your products.  So, is this really “back to the future.”?   I believe it is…  It is important for Marketers to keep focused on communicating their key point of difference.  To be sure, there are many more options for such communications.  But, at the end of the day, it is all about how many target customers you can reach most efficiently with the right “message.”

Using the “new” media is often an experiment.   And, every advertiser wants to stand out from the crowd.  So, often the message of why a product/service is better is often lost in the translation of “creativity.”   People buy products because they believe they have a need which will be uniquely filled by that product.  If you do not communicate your uniqueness in a compelling way which gets this message across, then you are wasting valuable resources and money.

So, the next time your “creatives” develop a new approach to market your  product ask the simple question:  “Does this approach focus on why my product is truly unique versus competition?”

Rich

Bizvice:  Business Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Road Trip

I recently took a road trip in the South East and observed something I have written about in the past.  How unexciting automobiles are today.  Most sedans look the same.  Most SUV’s look the same.  We live in an automobile land of blandness.  I understand the concept of “functionality.”  But a car, at least to me, elicits an emotional response.  I will confess that I love cars.  There are exciting cars out there but they are clearly in the minority. 

First of all, most cars come in dull colors.  And, most are only one color.  This adds to the “blandness” of the auto landscape.  Next, most cars look the same.  It is really hard to  tell the difference between most makes.  When I grew up, I knew every car and every model because they looked unique.  Now, there is little differentiation.  When a “new” design comes along everyone gets excited…  look at the “Smart Car.” 

So, how does the industry break out and do some innovate product development?   Start with color…  let customers choose from a wider range of  colors and look at the car as an object of art.  Thus, there must be things you could do from an appearance/paint point of view to liven things up.  Remember the two-tone cars?  Even Rolls Royce used to provide such an option.

Next, seek radically different designs… perhaps by demographics…. cars for young women, retired men, etc.  I recognize that the manufacturing process puts significant restrictions on any customized and unique approaches.  But, this is America… I am sure great minds can figure out a way!

Let’s rid the roads of blandness!  

Rich

Bizvice:  Business Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Individual Marketing Customization

I have written in the past about personalization of products and services to meet the differing needs of individuals.  A recent interview with Bill Gates of Microsoft fame reminded me that individual marketing customization is just as important to the immediate future of marketing programs.  Indeed the opportunity to customize messages to specific individuals is at the very foundation of the boom in marketing via the Internet.

If, as a marketing approach, a manufacturer could target specific individuals with a specific and relavent message about its product and could truly monitor whether those individuals responded by buying the product then enormous efficiencies would accrue to the entire marketing budget.  How specific can you get with both the individuals “targeted” and the relevance of the message is the critical question.  In the future, I believe you will be able to get highly specific on both counts.  For example, if you were selling cell phones and you could identify those potential customers who wanted a specific type of cell phone with specific characteristics (e.g.: camera, voice recorder, phone book, etc.) and you could deliver a specific message about such a phone to those customers then your marketing dollars would be much more effective.

Finding your key customers on an individual basis is the trick.  So, experiment with the “new media” available today.  And, be sure to link your experiments to actual sales data whenever possible.

Rich

Bizvice:  Business Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Customer Developed Marketing

You have all heard the buzz about Customer Developed Advertising and Marketing.  There are Companies today who are clearly experimenting with this technique on a large scale.  Budweiser has a TV show called BudTV and I am sure you will see many examples of Customer Developed Advertising on this site.  Of course You Tube has many examples.  Other Companies are using Customer Developed Advertising on the Internet and on Broadcast TV.  So, good idea?  While it may be to early to make a judgement, I believe this approach holds out great promise for a number of reasons:

1.  It gets customers involved in the product or service;  The more involvement, the more loyalty (at least in theory);

2.  It opens up the creative pipeline to new and innovative ideas and approaches;

3.  It provides a unique insight into the minds of your customers in terms of how they view your product or service;

Are there pitfalls…. of course there are.  The big one will be how “rejected” customers will feel.  In addition, ensuring that anything that is ultimately used is consistent with your product/service positioning is critical.

So, my vote goes to “try it, you may like it!”

Rich

Bizvice:  Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship

This Isn’t Kansas Anymore

Do you remember when broadcast TV on a national basis was how you simply communicated your product’s message?  And, when that message was a “slice of life” commercial?  Well, in the words of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, this isn’t Kansas anymore!

And yet, what has really changed?  Aside from the myriad of communication options available today, the key fundamental of brand positioning has not changed.  You still need a product with a significant point of difference which meets a real customer need to succeed.  And, you still need to communicate that point of difference clearly and succinctly.  What has changed is how and where you communicate your message.  Both of these issues (the how and where) are not easy to answer and will depend upon many factors.  Every “supplier” from TV,  Cable, magazines,  newspapers, Radio, the Internet, Cell Phones, etc., all have their compelling stories of why your money would be best spent with them.  Targeting your current or potential customers through demographics, psychographics, purchase behavior, predictive analytics, etc., all come into play.  So, how do you choose?  At the end of the day, it all comes down to results.  What combination of spending will “move the needle” in terms of your objectives (volume, awareness, new versus existing customers, etc.). 

So, experiment, and use “experts” to help you decide.  But, remember that the message is ultimatly “king.”  Your products differentiation should win out in the long run.

 Rich

Bizvice:  Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Lifetime Value

While I have discussed this concept in a few earlier posts, I feel it is such an important concept that I wanted to elaborate further on how to apply it to your thinking.

Lifetime value is simply the “profit” your Company makes on a customer over his/her lifetime.  The simple example is if you sell Chevrolet cars and a 20 year old buys a car from you on which you make a profit of $500, that individual provides you with a potential lifetime value of $10,000.  This  assumes he/she buys a new car from you once every three years for the  next 60 years.  Of course, if that person gets married and needs two cars, then their lifetime value doubles to $20,000. 

Can this “model” be applied to all products and services?  Yes it can as long as the product/service is not a one time only purchase.  So it can be applied to restaurants, toothpaste, haircuts, computers, etc.  Yes, anything.  Obviously, the lifetime value of each product or service will vary.  But I think if you apply this concept to your products/services you will be quite surprised at the “value” of each customer.

Once you establish this “lifetime value” it brings into focus the importance of customer satisfaction.  With a high lifetime value, you need to do everything possible to keep that customer for his/her lifetime.  Improving your product/service, extraordinary service, special unexpected surprises, etc., are all ways to accomplish this task and I have talked about many of these in the past.

The key is keeping your customers loyal to truly see the benefits of their value over their lifetime.  Remember it is always easier to keep a customer then to get a new customer!

 Rich

Bizvice:  Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Loyalty Programs-The Good, Bad And The Ugly

O.K.. so you are in charge of building loyalty for your business and you are considering a loyalty program.  Remember when life was simple and we had S&H Green Stamps.  I certainly do.  In fact, I was an avid “collector” and used the stamps to get the simple things in life like an ironing board (true!).  Did the S&H program build loyalty?  Yes it did…  But, why?   I believe it was because it was the “only game in town.” 

Of course, the first question you should address is do you really need a loyalty program.  Usually, the less differentiated you are from your competition, the more likely you are to need such a program.  The more unique your product or service is, the less likely you need a loyalty program.

The really big “surge” in loyalty programs came with the airline’s frequent flyer programs.  American Airlines was the first one to offer such a program.  Seemed very simple.  Just fly on American and get one mile for every mile you flew.  When you got to a certain level you could fly for free.  A very simple and effective concept, especially for business people.  Now the ugly part.  Every other airline in the world jumped in and offered a program of their own.  They were all quite similar.  Then the “loyalty program wars” started.  Everyone tried to out do everyone else.  Triple miles were all the rage at one point.  Today, you can earn miles on practically anything you buy.  Again, airline seats are very close to a commodity, so it seemed to make sense for American to offer such a program and “stand out” from the crowd.

So, what is my point?  As can be learned in the airline example, loyalty programs can work but, like the products themselves, they must be unique or you run the risk of competition simply copying what you are doing, thus negating the positive effects of the program and simply adding costs.

One way to avoid competitive programs is to join an existing multi-manufacturer program.  One example of such a program in today’s marketplace is  U-Promise.  A multi-manufacturer program in which you generate money for the college education of your children or grandchildren.  Since category exclusivity is provided, it is extremely difficult for competitive products to provide a similar program.

Of course, at the end of the day, any loyalty program must make sense from an economic point-of-view.  If your business does not increase sufficiently to pay out the expense of the program, you may be wasting your money.

So, there you have the good, bad and the ugly of loyalty programs.  Be careful if and when you launch such a program.  Remember they are not easy to establish and even harder to terminate.

Rich

Bizvice:  Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Delighting Customers

Do you remember when you were so thrilled with a product that you would talk about it endlessly with your friends?  Perhaps it was Good Humor Ice Cream, or a new Chevrolet, or a great new food product.  You just loved this product to death and you were “delighted” with what benefits it provided.  Does this still happen?  Yes, but I bet not as frequently.  Why?  It is all about service and uniqueness.

What are some examples of products that truly have “delighted” customers?  Remember when Swiffer from P&G was introduced?  Everyone was talking about what a great product it was.  It built a whole new category.  This is not atypical of P&G.  Remember Pampers? 

So, how can you truly delight your customers.  You can on three levels:

1.  Develop products which are truly unique and satisfy a real customer need;

2.  Go above and beyond in providing  service to your customers;

3.  Surprise your customers with something extra that they did not expect;

I believe I have dealt with #1 above.  As to #2, where do you go today and get great customer service?  Certainly not on the telephone.  Perhaps the best example of great customer service is The Ritz Carlton chain of hotels or Nordstrom.  Both have a corporate culture of going the extra mile for their customers.  Both have extensive training on doing anything possible to satisfy a customer.

As to #3…  I once stayed in a Four Seasons hotel with my son and his two dogs (yes, the Four Seasons allows dogs).  After we checked in (where they knew the names of the dogs) we went up to our room where we found two dog bowls, bottled water for the dogs and two dog biscuits with the dogs names on the biscuits!  Now that is providing a delightful surprise! 

It is all about keeping your customers happy to build loyalty.  So, look for those things that you can do to introduce new & innovative products and things that will keep your customers delighted with your product(s) and service(s).

Rich

Bizvice:  Strategy, Marketing & Entrepreneurship