Can’t decide? Furniture store lets you sleep on it.

Observation:  The Springwise.com newsletter that was published this morning features a story about a New York City furniture store that lets you try the bedroom before you buy.  Click here to see the full story.

Implications:   This week, I’ll be in New Orleans speaking to a conference of home furnishings and interior design professionals (known as ART), so this idea was particularly timely.  It might inspire us to ask, “In what ways might I demonstrate my unique value proposition, instead of just making claims about it?” 

Not everyone can invite customers in for a sleepover, but there are other ways to help the customer take a test drive, such as testimonials from past clients, written success stories, and photographs and/or videos of your product or service in action.  

Consumer confidence is not just about the economic outlook.  You can influence the customer’s confidence by the way you help them discover the benefits of your product or service.  Don’t just say, “Believe me.”  Satisfy the customer’s preference of, “Show me.”

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Searching for simplicity: Consumers want technology to make life easier

Observation:  Citing a study by Ketchum, a story in today’s Marketing Daily suggests that consumers want technology make their lives easier.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   It might sound like this report is stating the obvious, but the fact of the matter is many companies have completely overlooked this one simple request of the consumer.  We tend to think of innovation as adding another feature, or more bells and whistles… when the reality is that the best innovation can occur when we take something away.  Think iPod (reducing the many buttons and controls of previous music players to a single button and a dial).  Think Jiffy Lube (reducing the previously complex process of taking your car in for service to a ten-minute, oil-change-only experience).

Is your website filled with bells and whistles?  Or does it simplify the relationship between you and your consumer?  How about the in-store experience?  Would the best innovations mean adding some elements, or taking some away?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Stressed, but coping

Observation:   An interesting story in today’s USA Today suggests that consumers are stressed, but dealing with it.  In fact, an on-going study indicates that people feel their stress levels have fallen for the first time in five years.  Click here to see the full story.

Implications:   The story does not conclusively explain why people seem more “at ease” with the stress they are under, except to hint that the economy seems to be getting a bit stronger, employment prospects seem to be increasing…

And last but not least, people have been under pressure for long enough that they’re getting used to it.  (Reconciliation strikes again.  Click here to see all of the stories we’ve offered on that topic.) 

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Emotion vs. Logic: Does your customer buy based on one, the other, or both?

Observation:   One marketing cliché suggests that consumers buy with emotion, and then rationalize that purchase with logic.  But today’s IPSOS newsletter includes an important perspective on that old aphorism.  Click here to see it.

Implications:   The opposite of emotion is not logic, and the opposite of logic is not emotion.  Just because people love your product or service doesn’t mean it is irrational. 

Also important… just because a consumer might be loyal to your product or service does not mean they love it.  It could be that they just don’t want to shop for an alternative because they are completely un-interested in the category or loathe the idea of shopping in the category.  They choose a product by default, sometimes, as a means to avoid the complexity of shopping at all.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Restaurant chain realizes that many consumers want price certainty

Ever catch yourself bracing for the cost of an automotive repair with this kind of question:  “Okay, what’s the max this could cost me?” 

Apparently, the Darden restaurant group is convinced that consumers feel the same way about dining out:  They want to know what the maximum cost might be.  And they’re adjusting the promotional pricing of their Olive Garden chain accordingly.  That’s according to this article from Nation’s Restaurant News following the company’s most recent shareholder call.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:  Consumers appreciate certainty in an uncertain world.  Rather than promoting prices “as low as” for your place of business, might you be better off explaining that “you won’t pay more than ____________” for a specific product or service package that you sell?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Complex needs cause consumers to search for simplicity

Today’s Marketing Daily offers a story about consumers who own 14 or more technology devices.  Citing survey results from Accenture, the article asserts that these heavy users of technology with they could have a single-source provider who helps them service all of their various technology tools.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   Three things struck me about the headline and essence of this article.  First, that so many consumers have become intense technology owners.  But if you stop and think about it, with a computer or two at the office, another two or three in the household, plus a cadre of smartphones… it doesn’t take long for the typical American family to slip into the “high tech overload” group.

Second, the needs of a heavy-user in a category can be distinctly different from the moderate or light users of a category, when it comes to technology tools.  But couldn’t the same be true for customers of a bank, supermarket, or sporting goods store?  The heavy user in many categories has distinctly different needs (benefits) compared to the rest of us.

Finally, technology—while purportedly designed to accelerate and simplify our lives—is often the very thing that makes it more complicated.  And when that happens, customers seek the provider who can simplify their lives.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

UPDATE: Making it easy to be green.

Last week, I offered a posting about the importance of making an environmentally-friendly product or service easy to understand.  [See:  Earth Day, 4/22/11.]  

In today’s Marketing Daily, there was a story about a Whole Foods initiative to evaluate—and communicate—the extent to which various cleaning products are, in fact, green.  (Click here to see that story.)

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

One size does not fit all

Today’s New York Times features a story about sizing in the apparel industry.  There is no real standardized practice between designers or retailers now, but a move is afoot to change that.  Click here to read the story.

Implications:   My take-away on this story is focused on consumer frustration while clothes shopping.  If you can be a size ten in one line, but go to another store and wear a size 000, one must wonder why this issue has not been addressed before.  (And one might now better understand why many women pick a favorite designer or brand in clothing, and then tend to stick with it.) 

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Do-it-yourselfers get by with a little help from their friends

Over the weekend, there was an interesting story in the New York Times about the extent to which people are going online for guidance that was not provided by their instruction manual.  Click here to see it.

Implications:   My first thought here was to be proactive… if consumers prefer to go online for instructions (favoring a how-to video over the complicated written directions), why not provide it? 

Have your customers gone “rogue” to find information not provided (or not clearly explained) by your product’s owners manual?  It seems to me that, as they seek ideas about how to use/own your product, consumers are at extreme risk of hearing about other products and alternatives.  Worse yet, their search for solutions might lead them to a competitor’s website.

Better you control the content than someone else… especially if that someone else is a competitor.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

"Me, too!" versus iPad: Why Apple wins.

Former colleague and continuing friend Todd Storch sent me this story from The Business Insider (click to link).  It offers some great thinking about why, even in a stressed economy, so many people will pay a premium for Apple’s original.

Implications:   The iPad is not just a device, it is also a facilitator.  It helps the user accomplish… catching up on the news, playing a game, reading a book, using an app.  And contrary to popular convention, it does it without adding more bells and whistles; their current campaign explains that the iPad is what happens “when technology gets out of the way.”  (See their current ad in the video box below.)

Could your company benefit from some innovation?  Instead of thinking about what to add, ask whether your offering might be improved by taking something away.  Being intuitive—anticipating what the consumer wants—is the path to profitable innovation.  And it’s what can keep any company, product or service from being seen as a commodity.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Information overload remains a source of stress

Even compared to a few years ago, our access to information is greater. We’ve had websites and expanded cable for a long, long time. But of late, we have access to ever-smarter smart phones, i-Pads, e-readers and apps. Is your life better for all of it, or simply more cluttered? Do you have more time today, compared to a few years ago... or less?

The topic rises in my consciousness because of a newsletter I received yesterday from McKinsey (in my email), a story in the New York Times (which came through an app on my Droid), and an invitation to a time management seminar that heard about (from a friend on LinkedIn).

Implications: After reading the McKinsey and NY Times resources above, one might ask, “Am I making good use of my customer’s time? Is the velocity of their transaction sufficient to make them appreciate my service, or speak poorly about it? When I invite them to visit the company website or Facebook page, are they being incentivized with something that rewards their investment of time?

Is the content of my marketing full of the things I am proud of… or have I narrowed the message to focus on what matters most to my prospect? The time they will devote to consideration is finite; am I using those precious seconds of awareness in an optimal way?

The race to the sale does not always go to the lowest price, nor even the highest quality. Among time-starved consumers, the race sometimes goes simply to the provider who is faster.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Banks regaining *some* customer approval

Few industries took a bigger reputational hit than banks during the great recession. From liberal lending by mortgage banks, to the bundled securities (many involving sub-prime debt and illiquid assets) offered by some investment banks, to the T.A.R.P. “bailout” money offered to many commercial banks… there was plenty of negative press to go around.

Some of the bad feelings toward select banks were well deserved, but other hostility may have misdirected toward all forms of banks, including some who were impacted by, but not necessarily responsible for, the financial meltdown of 2007-2009.

It seems as if some of those negative emotions could be starting to wane, according to this story from Media Post Marketing Daily. Click here to see it.

Implications: I think that as more time passes, consumers will realize the complexity of the financial crisis that was the great recession. It was not an industry that brought all this hardship on, but certain players within that industry.

Surviving banks—even those who brought no harm to their customers or the economy—must nonetheless realize the importance of explaining their role in the community they serve… or risk being unfairly cast with an industry that some consumers are still slow to forgive.

Few consumers realize that some banks were “encouraged” to take T.A.R.P. money, even thought they did not want it. Fewer still realize that it wasn’t a “bailout,” but a loan, to be paid back with interest. Fewer still realize the many ways their local bank, thrift or credit union serves as a vital cog to business, employment opportunities and prosperity in the community.
If you work in financial services, it might be prudent to educate your customers thus, rather than waiting (or hoping) for your customers to figure it out.

Mike Anderson

YOU can balance the federal budget and solve the looming deficit

While doing research for another project, I came across this dandy little tool at the New York Times website: It lets participants make choices about how to solve the projected deficits. Click here to give it a spin.

Implications: The challenge of government, these days, is to help its citizenry understand the complex issues of taxation, services rendered, and sacrifices required. This puzzle/tool helps the participant gain fundamental knowledge of a complex issue. (I found myself wishing a form like this could have replaced the one I was offered at the ballot box a couple of weeks ago.)

You know, really good political commentary is hard to find these days, but I did hear a pearl of wisdom one day, just before the election, while flipping through the news channels. Someone said (I’m paraphrasing), “The problem is that we all want to go on the Hot Fudge Sundae Diet. We all know we need to go on a diet, but none of us wants to give up the hot fudge sundae that’s sitting right in front of us.”

Indeed, many folks have a NIMBY approach to tax cuts, not unlike their feelings toward nuclear power plants or hazardous waste facilities: They’re necessary and important to have, but Not In My Back Yard.

I only bring it up because voters are also consumers. And most companies are at risk of eventually facing the same kind of conundrum. It could be related to the battle between products that are cheaper because they are made with less expensive foreign labor… or it might have something to do with a service that is personally enjoyable but environmentally harmful.

Do you have ideas to explain complex consequences in an easy-to-understand way? Doing so might mean the sale or no-sale of a product, service, new store location in a quaint neighborhood... or even just an idea.

Mike Anderson

Compensating consumers for the cost of switching

Last week, Marketing Daily published a story about point at which price will trigger a change in consumer adoption. The research behind the story came from professors at The Wharton School (at the U of Pennsylvania) and Columbia University. (Click here to see the MD article.)

Implications: For years now, I’ve been using the term psychological entry fee to describe the underlying cost a consumer must pay—beyond price—in making a purchase decision. I might visit a fast food joint not because it is a great dining experience, but because it is familiar (I know it won’t be great, but it won’t be a catastrophe, either). I might switch gasoline brands without a thought… but changing healthcare providers can be a time-consuming task requiring some research homework. The entry fee for buying fast food or gasoline is quite low. The anxiety caused by picking an unfamiliar restaurant or choosing a healthcare provider might be considerably higher.

It seems to me that these researchers have offered empirical evidence of this anecdotal thinking. Everyone has their price, whether that be expressed as a dollar value, level of service, quantity, quality or comfort zone. What is your consumer willing to pay… and in what denomination?

Mike Anderson

The web is an increasingly important utility for used-car (and other) shoppers

Last weekend, I saw this Marketing Daily story about J.D. Power research that indicates intense use of the web by used car shoppers. Click here to see the full story. Technology tools are not limited to traditional Internet devices, though… as another J.D. Power press release indicates that mobile devices are also being increasingly used to aid the shopping process. Click here to see the release for yourself.

Implications: More evidence that the web has matured from novelty to utility. How are consumers using technology tools in their consideration process for the product or service your company offers? Are you meeting them in that space, and speaking that language?

Mike Anderson

At what point does a customer become "unbundled?"

Last week, there was a story in Marketing Daily about “bundled services” from Internet Service Providers. Essentially, the story explained that the more services a customer has with an ISP, the less likely they are to move to another company. Click here for the full story.

Implications: This is not a new issue. I have written, recently, about the increasing tendency of banks to focus on “products per household,” as a means of retaining their clients; the more products a customer has with their primary bank, the less likely they are to change banks.

But this is different. The JD Power research cited by the article suggests that dissatisfied customers outnumber the incidents of customer attrition (among ISPs). Is that a sustainable situation? Where is the tipping point?

Bundling is supposed to increase sales for a company, and lead to greater convenience for their customers (one provider, one point of contact, etc.) But in this particular category, “bundling” could be leading to customers who stay with a provider in spite of the service or value received, rather than because of it.

Think about your most important customers—regardless of the business you’re in. Is your marketing model designed to simply to make it less convenient for customer to leave you? Or is you strategy founded on delivering value that would make them not want to?

Mike Anderson

Customer-approved clarity

A Research Brief story from last week suggests that up to three-fourths of Americans surveyed said they have been confused by a television commercial recently. Click here to read the story.

Implications: In my opinion, the same could be said of messages that are printed, served or broadcast in almost any media: Too much clever, not enough clarity.

Next time you’re proofing an ad for your company, consider getting some help from a customer. If your target consumer doesn’t get it, your approval or opinion of the creative is not all that relevant.

Tips: Start by knowing who the customer is that you're trying to target, the benefits they desire most when purchasing your product or service, which other providers they might be considering (as an alternative to buying from you), and what kinds of tactics might spur them to action now or very soon.

Mike Anderson

Research informs the next marketing move

There was an interesting story in a recent issue of the Marketing Daily newsletter, announcing that Intercontinental Hotel Group had commissioned an extensive photography shoot for their hundreds of hotels. Click here to read the story.

Implications: The most important aspect of this story might be easy to overlook, when set beside the impressive number of hotels involved (approximately 3,500) and images to be captured (estimated at 100,000)… not to mention the 360-degree tours of hotel rooms and facilities.

The thing that caught my attention was the way consumers drove this decision: IHG did some research, and realized the importance of the web as a tool people use to decide on a hotel, and the importance of the visual representation those web sites provide.

Do you carry web-worthy digital camera with you frequently (or have one handy at your desk)? Have you done justice to your product or service in the way it is represented, visually, on your web site?

Or, have you listened to your consumers… to understand their consideration process, and how you can more effectively serve it?

Mike Anderson

In trying to clarify rules about children's product safety, only confusion results

A story from the New York Times this week explained how companies are trying to duck the new rules about toy safety—which have not even been completely explained yet. (Click here to read the story.) The Consumer Product Safety Commission will vote on the “definition” of a children’s product sometime soon, although it has postponed such a vote on three occasions already.

The impending policies are one one outcome of the wave of toy recalls that happened beginning in 2007.

Implications: It is not my intention to start a political conversation about new regulations (although that is a tempting proposition). But I raise this issue because… if it is confusing for policy makers and toy manufacturers, the regulatory process and outcome will surely cause confusion for consumers.

If you sell products that are intended for children’s use, can you be a of clarity, as well as reliability?

Mike Anderson

Why consumers have hang-ups about buying a new phone

According to this recent story from Marketing Daily, consumers might have some hang-ups about spending money on a new phone right now. For one thing, money is still a bit tight. For another, many consumers are unsure about the impact of data-use payment plans on their pocketbook. Click here to see the story.

Implications: Quick, answer this question: How many bytes of data did you use from your phone last month? Most people haven’t the foggiest idea.

Some phone company marketing is not as smart as the phones they’re designed to sell. If you think about it, whether you’re talking about apps or GPS or communication management… the reason smart phones are so beloved is the way they intuitively respond to the needs of the consumer.

Few consumers think in terms of data bytes used. We think in terms of text messages and emails sent or received, music or videos streamed, or photos uploaded to our favorite social network. Wouldn’t it be great to receive an invoice at the end of the month that said, “This month, you sent ____ messages, compared to your average of ____ messages. You uploaded ____ photos, at an average file size of _____; this compares to your typical monthly average of ___ photos per month over the past year.”

If we started to comprehend how many photos, songs or messages were involved with a 5 GB data plan, we might start grasping the value of ever more functional phones.

The fast food industry does not promote a fixed quantity of protein and carbohydrates for $5.99. They advertise a combo meal.

Mike Anderson