Your brain, "off the grid"

It is easy to skim a variety of national publications digitally; once in a while, I come across an article compelling enough that it makes me seek-out the printed edition of a story, so as to better absorb it. This week, that’s what happened when I read this piece about a handful of scientists that went “off the grid,” as reported by the New York Times. Click here to read the rather lengthy piece.

Implications: After reading this report, I caught myself not thinking about the scientists that went “off the grid,” but rather, I was thinking about the consumers who remain “on” the grid. If our attention span is so taxed by technology that we have difficulty thinking deeply about most matters, how does a marketer gain deep attention in the mind of the consumer?

I highly recommend this story. Click on the link above, and realize the implications for your marketing communications are many.

Mike Anderson

About social media

I subscribe to the Iconoculture newsletter, which led me to this quote, which comes from Mary Rodgers, director of marketing communications, Cuisinart and Waring, at the 2010 Shopper Insights in Action Conference:

“Traditional marketing focuses on what brands attempt to portray to consumers. Social media allows consumers to tell brands about themselves, while simultaneously increasing brand awareness by promoting interaction and a sense of community.”

I don't need to write any implications for that remark; they should be self-evident. If you'd like to read the story from conference sponsor GourmetRetailer.com, click here.

Mike Anderson

As scrutiny follows the BP oil spill, what follows the scrutiny?

A story in today’s New York Times indicates that deep-water wells will face greater scrutiny than in the past. Click here to read the story.

Implications: While I don’t consider myself a futurist, my hunch is that deeper environmental reviews before permits are issued is only a first hint at greater scrutiny of the oil industry. Having earned the title of “worst environmental disaster in U.S. history” (at least by the media), we can assume that greater regulation of the industry is inevitable.

With greater regulation comes more expense (which I’m inclined to think will be passed from the oil company to the consumer), as well as possible delays in supply (we already see significant market swings from time to time, whether they be related to hurricanes in the gulf, incidents in the Mideast, or clogged shipping lanes for oil tankers). Both of these issues could lead to higher prices for fuel, and any product which consumers fuel in the manufacturing or transportation-to-market process.

Yes, that would cover just about everything.

I realize this might sound a bit repetitious from my earlier remarks about The Fuel Economy, but when a market trend seems so inevitable, it is worth repeating. Even though many marketing strategies are still so focused on price, it would be prudent to being (or continue) talking about how your product or service adds value to the consumer’s life; why it is worth the money. When (not if) your costs go up over the next few years, it will be easier for the consumer to accept if they own a long-held appreciation for your value proposition. Less so if a company tries to sell its’ worth at the last minute, as prices are already headed higher.

Mike Anderson

Smaller stores require smarter management

An article in today's USA Today supports a premise that most of us already knew: The small, independent retailer faces challenges that bigger companies don't during a recession and its aftermath. Click here to read the story.

Implications: A while back, I was driving by a suburban shopping area that was loaded with the kind of big-box and discount stores that are now ubiquitous throughout most U.S. suburbs. He turned to me and said, "Welcome to Generica." I grinned, because the term instantly made sense to me.

The independent retailer must be prepared to offer customer services that are difficult to achieve in a mass-merchandise, build marketing messages and partnerships that are responsive, agile and effective... and finally, notice and respond to slight shifts in their customer's purchasing priorities.

Their advantage: Their companies are often a little bit closer to Elm Street, and therefore, their customers.

Mike Anderson

So much for "cheap."

If you thought "cheap" or reduced margins was the only path to profit in a recession-impacted economy, this will be an entertaining read: Marketing Daily, 8/5/10, regarding Whole Foods.

Implications: It's about perceived value, not price.

Mike Anderson

Apples & Oranges: Tech gadgets in, other spending out

I’ve asserted—on more than a few occasions—that it’s not enough to compete with other contenders in your category; you must compete with people outside your sector, as consumers increasingly realize they need to choose from a world of purchasing priorities.

A great example of that came in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, in a story that suggests electronics are taking money from many other alternative categories. Click here to read the story.

Implications: It’s not enough to position your company, store, product or service as the best among similar alternatives. As consumers pick-and-choose between a number of competing desires—and knowing they cannot afford them all—they’re deciding to do without X in order to afford Z.

How can you demonstrate your product (and category’s) value to the consumer’s life? How can you demonstrate the way you deliver on core benefits, like common sense, family values, durability, and the reason you should be “the one indulgence” that deserves to be granted?


When you can do that, you can be Z.


Mike Anderson

Consumer research leads to creative, timely, topical (literally) customer service

Gatwick Airport in London did some research with people about anxieties they might have before going on holiday. Turns out, travelers were concerned about showing up at the sun and sand… without a tan. So, their promotional folks worked out a deal with a tanning company to provide pre-boarding “spray-on tans,” right at the airport. For more, click here to see the story in this week’s Springwise, or see how Gatwick positioned it at their event landing page. (Note that this is not the only clever promotion that the airport has done, recently!)

Implications: Often, innovation is less a matter of coming up with something creative, and more a matter of paying attention.

Mike Anderson

Consumers head back-to-school a little smarter (kind of)

Back-to-school sales are a little sluggish, according to a story from today’s Media Post Marketing Daily. Click here to read the story.

You might also enjoy this article about the more “strategic” mom: Insights into the way parents are making ends meet with the influx of BTS expenses. This story appeared yesterday in Engage: Moms.

Implications: A few years ago, consumers would see something on a store shelf, and say, “Why not?” Post-recession, the consumer still seems to be scrutinizing every purchase with a shorter question: “Why!?”

Do I really need it? Can I live without it? Could the purchase of X serve two purposes, so that I can avoid buying Y? What function does this purchase help with?

Now… let’s go back to that first question: Do I really need it? Be careful about how consumers define “needs” and “wants.” What might seem like a want to you might be an inescapable need in the mind of your consumer. I was fascinated by this portion of the Marketing Daily story about weak back-to-school sales: “One exception… is likely to be consumer electronics, including next-generation cell phones, iPads, and new computers. …not because parents see themselves as splurging, but that these are now viewed as necessary, not discretionary."

What do you sell that is a back-to-school need, and what do you sell that is a back-to-school want? Do your consumers agree?

Mike Anderson

Healthy lifestyles likely to retain a high profile

There’s no question that many folks are thinking about healthy eating, exercise, and their long-term well-being. But the question is, is that awareness leading to overall change in behaviors?
A story in today’s New York Times suggests that obesity is not on the decline. Read the story by clicking here.

Implications: First lady Michelle Obama has been raising awareness for children’s wellness issues, including fitness and diet. And you can expect those kinds of initiatives to continue, as the obesity issue continues to be pervasive.

Again… do you sell any product or service that might contribute to a healthier lifestyle? If you’re a sporting goods store, don’t just sell the equipment, sell the outcome. If you run a restaurant with a heart-healthy menu, you might emphasize that you’re making it easy to relax and enjoy without over-indulging. If you operate a large discount store that could take some time to navigate, why not suggest that people “burn some calories, instead of their budget.”

Healthy angles of all kinds will be attractive to consumers for the foreseeable future, as the topic retains its high-profile position on the awareness landscape.

If you haven’t seen details of Michelle Obama’s initiatives, see the video overview below, courtesy of the New York Times and NBC.

Mike Anderson

An overdue upgrade?

When I logged-on to the Internet from the Sky Club at the Minneapolis airport this morning, I noticed something important. For the first time that I can remember, I didn’t need to grab the password of the day at the front desk. I just clicked on the SSID, and it took me online. I also noticed that instead of being dropped into the main Delta Airlines website, my opening page was a new Sky Miles landing page, showing me today’s weather, an app to track my incoming plane (to see if it was on time), and the major news headlines of the day.

But all of that is not the most important thing I noticed. I noticed my reaction: “It’s about time," I thought. I expected this kind of convenience, even thought I didn't realize it until it had been provided.

Implications: So, either I’m becoming a snob—which I don’t think I am—or my expectations of what to expect from the online realm have grown faster than many of the companies I come into contact with.

I know there are technically-oriented people who expect much more than myself… from the web, their smart phone, their service providers. And I know there are people who might expect much less than I, content to still write checks on paper, or make a bank transfer by telephone (voice call).

I wonder where I sit on the early-adopter-late-adopter continuum.

More importantly, I wonder where your most important customers might be. Are they click-happy tech-types, eager to text their way through any purchasing process? Are they the kind of folks who want a person-to-person conversation? Or, are they a little of both, depending on the situation?

[Note: This posting has been published courtesy free Internet service from T-mobile and Delta Airlines. I really do appreciate the upgrade.]

Mike Anderson

The new abnormal

My colleagues and I were at a staff meeting in north Florida most of last week, so most of us had less time than usual to peruse the various trade magazines we subscribe to. But this morning, colleague John Henley forwarded a story that he caught-up with over the weekend, from Bloomberg Business Week.

It’s a great read, which illustrates the conundrum of consumers who have gone through considerable economic trauma over the past few years, but who still can find a way to spend on those things they are strongly motivated to buy (whether that means a latte or an i-Pad).

Click here to read the story.

Implications: I’ve shared nearly 400 articles/observations about consumer behavior at this site over the past 2 ½ years… and have frequently found myself apologizing for the fact that there are a lot of consumer trends that seem to contradict each other.

This story suggests I don’t have to apologize… that the new normal is abnormal.

Perhaps all of this means that none of us should understand the world of consumers, but settle for the neighborhoods that matter most. The customers you serve now, and those you aspire to serve in the next eighteen to twenty-four months. The customers you’d like to tempt-away from a competitor. The customers and prospects in your local market. Focus on your most immediate, important, and close-at-hand opportunities: Forget the world, and focus on the folks who are heavy users of the product or service you sell.

Some executives think skilled targeting tends to complicate a marketing effort.

I think it lifts the weight of the world from your shoulders.

Mike Anderson

Milking for all it's worth

In my humble opinion, people-watching remains one of the most entertaining modes of consumer research.

My wife had some dress shopping to do, and I had some work to do. So yesterday, I drove her to Mall of America in Bloomington, about 45 minutes from our home. She could shop to her heart’s content, and I could hit the Caribou Coffee shop (a rustic version of Starbucks, for those not familiar), and work until she finished her mission.

Electrical outlets were at a premium this day, as the shop was particularly busy. (Locals, evading a summer heat wave, tourists touring this monument to consumerism, and parents shopping for back-to-school.) After waiting a few minutes, though, a table opened-up near a prized plug-in, and I was able to get down to business analyzing some qualitative research.

While my focus is usually pretty strong on projects like this, I consider the Mall of America to hold “Fourth Place” on my list of favorite places to people-watch. It is only behind Pier 29 in San Francisco at #3, any commercial airport at #2, and New York’s Times Square, which enjoys the first-place position as my favorite of people-watching venues.

Back at the coffee shop, I noted a gentleman fussing-about, looking for tables near a plug-in just as I had been a few minutes earlier. He was asking folks who were obviously wired whether there was an open outlet they would share, so that he could charge his cell phone. He was one of those louder-than-most folks—maybe even trying to be a bit flamboyant or “noticed”—and lacking in the art of respecting peoples’ personal space. He finally made one couple sufficiently uncomfortable that they abandoned their table, which he nearly jumped on, since it was close to a power socket. After settling in with his gear, he asked a young lady nearby if she would mind “watching his stuff” while he proceeded to the counter to buy his beverage. She shrugged in consent, and he left for the counter.

He returned with 1) the cup of tea he had purchased, 2) the pitcher of milk that is intended for customers to dilute their tea or coffee, 3) an empty cup, 4) the shaker of cocoa designed to let customers modify a beverage to their liking, and 5) several packets of sugar. Then, he proceeded to concoct an extra beverage that he had not paid for, pouring enough milk and cocoa and sugar into the cup to yield a large glass of chocolate milk. (Not what the baristas had in mind when making the milk, cocoa and sugar available, I presume.)

Humans are fascinating people.

Implications: I suppose it would be inappropriate for me to indict the gentleman who grabbed an “extra beverage” composed of free ingredients. After all, the coffee shop had given the man an extra cup (on request), and provide the milk, sugar and cocoa customers use in modifying their beverage to taste, at no extra charge.

At that same time, while waiting for my wife to finish her shopping, I bought a cappuccino and “plugged in” without a second thought, using the shop’s electricity “for free.” (And with considerable presumption; I didn’t even ask.) I have a few mini-shampoos in my drawer that are labeled with the name of this hotel or that, and more than one pen in my desk that likewise displays the logo of some convention center or other host facility. I’m not sure how they ended up in my possession, as I don’t recall being told, explicitly, to take them.

In other words, exploiting a value-added freebie is not a matter of guilt or innocence… it is more likely a matter of degree. Almost everyone will exploit a value-added item that is provided as a courtesy of the vendor and as a convenience to the customer. It’s just a matter of how often or how much.

In this economic environment, are your customers more likely to “milk it?” Are there loopholes in your gift-with-purchase or courtesy program that need to be tightened?

Mike Anderson