Mike de Block
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Showing posts tagged Marketing
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Why I don’t aspire to franchise an Albert Heijn or a Wallmart
My dream? Setting up a niche supermarket! Scalable? potentially. Moneymaker? on the long term. What is the ROI? Brand-advocates
So am I pointing specifically at Albert Heijn or Wallmart? No, this post is pointed at the supermarket industry in general. Recently, I was reading an article about a successful supermarket franchisee who declared that the key to success was his extensive assortment. While his answer is probably correct for the years that are behind us, his key to success is certainly not future-proof. Even when the focus is already on online and social media it is insufficient. This is supported by A Forrester research study indicating that 88% of consumers have abandoned an online shopping basket, suggesting that even if retailers manage to stand out and lure the consumer to their online selling points, they still need to place extra effort to close the sale. Why? Because the purpose of a company has changed in our current economy as social media emphasizes the importance of word of mouth:
- original purpose: Creating a customer
- new purpose: creating a customer who creates another customer
Seth Godin and Jeff Jarvis complement that consumers face an abundance of choices, while the time to actually consider what product to choose decreases. Nevertheless, am I as a 24 year old graduate mocking with a successful franchisor? No, I just think that his vision isn’t sustainable on the long term. Why? Because companies sell us a feeling and not a set of molecules in the form of a product, which complies with the new purpose of a company. However, cash is king and therefore standardization and being mediocre is prioritized.
However, you can’t blame the current Dutch supermarket chains like Albert Heijn (Ahold), Jumbo and C1000 as these companies are forced to endeavour shareholder value, which was like the holy grail in the previous era. Nevertheless, the father of the shareholder value movement, Jack Welch now said “On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world. Shareholder value is a result, not a strategy”.
This sounds like the perfect storm for new entries, since traditional supermarkets always have the burden to target the mass in order to deliver the demanded shareholder value. Moreover, the impact of social media is clear:
- Social media has magnified the influence our social circle has on our purchases.
Shareholder value should thus be exchanged for brand advocates as a result.
How?
Niche communities should been taken serious. Marketers already tried to raise brand awareness though product reviews on social networks.
However, now the consumer is taking the lead. The online communities are now trying to leverage their influence like US, Twittermoms. The TwitterMoms Seal of Approval is one of the first to leverage the influence of moms to conduct product reviews. Moms trust moms above all else, especially during the point of sale. When a products is approved like the Quickie Microfiber Twist MopIt’s, it receives a seal with an integrated QR code to allows anyone to view detailed feedback. Products will therefore be bought based on quality and not on quantity (package deals, discounts). The consumer communities are coming close to become self-supporting, which is why the economy of niches is commencing.
Use “free” to generate the initial buzz and lure the influencers
Secondly, when focusing on niches it’s vital that the word travels fast among the niche members. The best way to do so, is to blow up existing b-models. Give away products for free, that are used by existing players to achieve profit. While luring the critical niche mass to your store, you can use there presence to sell them other products. The difference between cheap and free is enormous from a customer perspective. With free the word travels fast and communities will get-2-know your store, while a price of 1 cent already makes it a different story as it put consumers to reconsider their purchase decision. Free is an emotional stimulator and a source of irrational excitement. This is due to the fact that people perceive it as a risk when they pay for something, it’s our natural fear for loss. But how can free be a business model? take a look at the picture below and amaze me with your creative ideas. Need examples to be persuaded? read Free from C. Anderson
Exclusivity discounts
The attention for the individual is superior to the content as it’s the people that matter, not the venue. Supermarkets must therefore function as a platform. Follow the example of the Danish gyms, where subscribers pay less when they regularly visit the gym. Discount can therefore been given based on the frequency of shopping and the amount they spend. Exclusivity is therefore given per discount that is offered, while the consumer itself is in control. Brand advocates could therefore been created based on price.
Review marketing
Thirdly, review marketing must be implemented in your business. Why? Because 76 % of the consumers doesn’t believe that retailers communicate the truth in their adds. 49% listens to the opinion of their social network in order to decide which store they are getting their groceries. Moreover, a recent study from Deloitte shows that 82% decides to purchase a product/services based on a consumer review. Social media comments on recipes, products, sponsoring events etc. can be attached via a price tag to the product. In short, a supermarket is a social gathering place, so embrace the opinion of your customers in order to increase the relevance of grocery shopping. Moreover, embrace the calendar of your customer. Truly function as a platform, where your supermarket approaches customers based on there facebook comments. Is your wine-geek best friends birthday coming up, a suggestion of wine is offered as a present. Moreover, product suggestion are given based on the photo comments or wall chats. Interested? take a look at Bijgespijkerd.nl where Ha Vo, CEO of Componence Social elaborates on this concept.
Brand advocates should be the new ROI, or lets name it the Return of Involvement. With this post, I just want to give you a grasp of an idea what the NEAR future will bring. However, my key argument is that shopping is about consumers and not about assortment or other old-fashioned tools to generate a competitive advantage. The new mass are the numerous niches that are being developed as we speak. Create a complementary offline-online customer experience and discover the person behind your customer. The return……. (you probably know it already) a BRAND ADVOCATES ARMY.
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A good example of a R.A.K = Random Act of Kindness to create word of mouth in order to stimulate your consumers to spread the word of your company. However, the shoe company, Zappos is the true king regarding R.A.K. as it delivered a pizza to one of their customers when he/she said during a conversation that he/she was hungry. The investment in the pizza was worth it as the tweet from the customer was retweeted multiple times since 2009. Sacrificing short-term profits for it in order to make customers very happy leads to big cost savings elsewhere. As they let their customers do the marketing for them. In short, you are not only benefiting from a loyal customer, but also cut cost on the long term.
Beautiful isn’t it those R.A.K. ;)
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Mini’s way to evoke emotion and earn the attention of the crowd! Also take a look at this awesome campaign from Volkwagen on #planetaterra
How many people can you (digitally) fit inside the MINI Countryman?
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A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business!
“Word of mouth (WOM) is the currency of how people spend their money” is a catchy one-liner that summarizes all the recent studies and keynotes from so-called marketing guru’s. In short, kind and human brands will trive in our connected economy as consumers can increasingly identify themselves with these brands. Once, this occurs, consumers are increasingly spreading recommendations within their social circle. But how does this relate to the title….
It relates as good companies should be more like Jezus and Walt Disney. Why? as they are good storytellers, who created lots of followers. Identification is crucial, which can only be developed over a period of time. Brands have to invest in their customers and create shared characteristics or desires in order to start a conversation. Storytelling thus has become the way to influence people and change perceptions. A good example is orange juice producer Tropicana. As part of their Brighter Mornings campaign, the Canadian division of Tropicana, brought a 36-foot wide helium balloon ‘sun’ to Inuvik, an Arctic Town (Canada) 200km north of the Arctic Circle whose 3,500 residents face 31 days of darkness in winter.
Another example is from Proctor & Gamble-owned secret deodorant, who wanted to ‘Blow People Away’. So when someone wrote on Secret’s Facebook wall that she couldn’t buy Secret in Spain, P&G weren’t able to just send her products from the US because of customs regulations. However, an agency executive took some to Italy on an unrelated trip and then mailed them to her from there. Thirdly, think of standing in que for a Easyjet or Ryaniar flight, were lots of people are going mad when they are refused to enter the plane, because of their oversized luggage that they haven’t paid for(seen on TV). Imagine when the scale says ” your ego maybe this big, but your hand luggage will be this” people will enter the scale device with a smile. It creates a sense of goodwill as it is a unexpected sign of humanity. Evoke emotion is thus the key, and most effective in an offline environment. A study from Nielsen (2009) already have proven that offline recommendations are superior to online recommendations. Whilst, the hype of the “online recommendation bubble” seem to burst as a study from German master student Sandra Stefan shows that 79% of the consumers believe that some consumers are being paid to produce positive recommendations or are even false. This leads to a nod of 36% of the participant when they are asked whether they find the abundance of recommendations confusing.
So you are saying…
Storytelling in a offline environment is the most powerful manner to change perceptions and create followers??….YES!!! This is one of those consumer trends that doesn’t demand a wholesale strategic shift, or long and expensive discussion, but simply the right attitude. It therefore surprises me somehow that the Sample Lab store as one of the most extremest forms of generosity concepts, isn’t being present on a global scale. As it actually allows consumers to shop for free, while paying with their knowledge via feedback. It’s market-research and WOM marketing in an offline environment offered as an customer experience. Does it tell a story of brand…No, but it does tell the story that these brands perceive consumers as individuals and that their opinion matter. And this perception might be the first step to prove that brands can be human as well….
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Ouch! this mismatch of perceptions must be embarrassing for executives.
But wait…just look a bit further and you also see another major mismatch. Look at the consumer rankings from top till down, and you will see that it’s more or less a milestone plan from consumers before they would like to act as brand advocates. It starts with fulfilling their basic needs, while gradually intensifying the customer relation in order to empower them to personal brand your products. Unfortunately, this research from IBM is showing that executives are not really spot on with their ranking.
Moreover, We are living in an attention economy where consumers know that the attention for a product is worth a lot to companies. Consumers therefore expect something in return, before they are rewarding your brand with only the slightest level of attention. So does your company want to shift from push to pull marketing, then start with simple and old-fashioned tools like offering financial discounts. As their must be a reason why collective-buying sites like Groupon are so successful…
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For a moment, I thought WOW, but then….
Everybody has their moments when they are witnessing something amazing. However, we are also facing an abundance of information we have to consume on a daily basis in order to remain familiar with the latest trends. It’s for that reason, I would like to ask your special attention for an augmented reality game, memory-management service and a development that allows passers to control Times Square.
Why is this augmented reality game so special…. as from a marketing perspective, even though the app is free, you need to buy physical cans of Red Bull which means that it actually helps increase sales. In short, consumers get more value for money as they now are buying a “racing game” and a beverage, which makes the red bull experience more appealing for a wider audience. My wow factor of this app thus relies on the fact that this app connects both the offline as the online experience. FYI: The app allows you to develop your own track and compete with others, how? Just take a look below…
Secondly, I came across memolane. The reason why I find this app appealing, is due to my daily overconsumption of information. Every morning I start with reading my rss feeds on my ipad, scrolling trough my flipboard updates in order to be inspired and (in case I have the time) read the Financial Times . However, this worked for me until a couple of weeks ago, as I faced a tipping point where I didn’t “read” the articles anymore. I was solely consuming information with the sole purpose to convince myself that I am on top of all the latest trends, while I actually wasn’t. I thus was longing to come up with some ideas and create a footprint of my own.
In short, followers will come and go, Ignore it and focus on being your awesome self.
So why memolane?… well it helps you to keep track of your hasty and restless life, as you should enjoy of those rare, but memorable moments that your life will encounter.
Last but not least, TubeMote, aims to let people use their phones as universal remotes simply by signing up for the service, allowing them to control not only their televisions and home security systems, but also public screens on stadium scoreboards and possibly, Time’s Square billboards. The service will be tested Thursday evening in New York on Times Square and I am just amazed by the idea that every individual at the square has the ability to take control and focus on something personal, instead of the masses of advertisements. Let’s get personal again;)
My advice: take a break from your “personal” information channels and reconsider why you need them and how it can help you to fulfill your personal needs.
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The best way to get your message accross is to use word-of-mouth by offering an experience in real-time. The tourism board of Canada choose Twitter to persuade Americans and I must say they did a pretty amazing job. The tourism board of Canada took the risk that negative comments appeared during their campaign. However, Canada was confident enough that there country offered true customer value, instead of masking the flaws of their product. This campaign is thus an example to follow for numerous of companies to create your distinctive power on your pross and not by masking the cons.
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At first, I was planning to write a post about the new KLM Tile & Inspiration campaign as it’s once again a distinctive campaign. By embedding their brand advocates onto the design of their airplanes, KLM is showing their human face(s) to the world. The fact that numerous amount of people are willing to link their faces to the brand of KLM is more then a compliment for the Royal Dutch Airlines. However, I reconsidered my choice since marketing is in essence all about understanding your crowd and identify the moments in which you can support them in their daily lives. The KLM campaign does connects to KLM’s core values, but doesn’t really offer any support besides temporary recognition.
I therefore would like to devote a post to a well-known brand who regularly organises stunning events/commercials, but in my perspective let a slip right after. In short, I miss the “post campaign connectivity”, which would turn me into a brand ambassador and would extend the WOW factor to stimulate word of mouth. I therefore sincerely hope that the Heineken Star app is the first of many to lift the brand of Heineken. This app allows you to predict how a shot in a live football match turns out while battling with your friends. Football is a game you watch with your mates in which everybody has their own opinion. Creating a platform to challenge the insights of your mates is then just a superb idea. Does this app let me cheer with my mates…Yes!Heineken star certainly does that and maybe even with a bottle of Heineken, but after another promising start I would ask mr Heineken.. What’s next? Since your raised the bar of expectations once again….
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Is the FIFA corruption beneficial for FIFA sponsors..
Sports administrators are not necessarily to be relied on for good judgment when it comes to bad regimes and the FIFA is thus no exception. However watching football is like a thunderstorm of emotions in which financial benefits should always be inferior to the love of the game. Unfortunately, the lack of any supervision body within the FIFA has resulted in a blurry proces, which lacks all contemporary requirements for a governing body.
However, as the ball is now in the ballpark of the sponsors, Blatter offered these brands the possibility to demonstrate that even if FIFA managers are struggling to find their conscience, their paymasters definitely not. As FIFA’s sponsors are mostly multinationals, it’s the ultimate moment to demonstrate their business skills and help FIFA to function as a modern company anno 2011. Moreover, attention and reputation became scarcity products in the current markets, which is why this is the time for brands to step up. Brands should thus not solely focus on their products, but as a sponsor help out the FIFA with their image by sharing their business knowledge and increase the level of transparency. In return, brands will rank higher in the top of mind awareness (TOMA), ( when people think of you first to fulfill their product or service needs). Secondly, a lot of sympathy is created by such actions among footy fans as brands relate to the overall sentiment that the love of the game is far more important then the financial benefits for the FIFA members. Fort-flowing, footy fans will gather around a brand and discuss this matter and possibly come up with solutions that might be helpful. In short, brand should function as a platform by helping footy fans to establish more transparency in the various bodies of the FIFA. Sponsoring is not enough, it’s how you utilize this sponsorship to fuel the DNA of a brand
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The moment when I first laid eyes on @roamler, the start-up with #Heineken as one of it’s first customers, was.. why the *&(@ didn’t I came up with this. This service has such an enormous potential as you can utilize your customers as scouts, explores or even spies. Roamler users receive a message as soon as they get close to a challenge, which increases the relevance of the service and the likelihood that these users actually accept a challenge. Moreover, participants get paid when they fulfill a task, which increases the fun factor even more.
One of it’s first customers, Heineken, currently pays € 2 to every Roamler user who helps out Heineken to check whether it’s famous brew head (“2 fingers” for the dutchies) is offered in bars who offer Heineken. In short, Heineken checks whether the ultimate Heineken beer is tapped according to Heineken’s standards in order to guarantee the perfect Heineken experience. Not even mentioning the side effect, as users do not select a bar based on the location, people, seating’s or music, but depending on the beer brand that is being tapped.
In short, Roamler enables brands to maintain it’s standards in a cheaper way by empowering it’s customers, instead of sending out expensive employees. For multinationals who rely on standardization, but still pursue a level of customer intimacy, Roamler is an excellent tool.
Think of a supermarket chain who utilizes their shoppers by checking the availability of certain products. Take for example, Albert Heijn (Holland), who developed an app for it’s customer, so they could upload and share their grocery list with all it’s family members to keep the list up-2-date. This app could thus benefit from the services of Roamler, as the person who does all the shopping could be timely warned that product x is being sold out, but immediately receive an alternative Albert Heijn store, with a 100% availability guarantee for their grocery list. Again, the side effect is that 20-30 year olds with a limited amount of time will be more likely to shop by Albert Heijn supermarkets.
In short, Roamler is the answer for every brand that wonders how they could make the life of it’s customers a little bit easier in order to generate attention.
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How do you communicate a message that people don’t want to hear off as most people just walk along when attention is trying to be raised. In response, this guerilla marketing campaign took the “walk along” part literally by telling the story in an engaging manner by underpinning the lack of attention.
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Turning waiting time into shopping time by letting stores blend into the daily lifes of their consumers. Tesco’s subsidiary Home Plus from Korea, did it as it’s a perfect example how a brand can facilitates value by making the lives of their consumer a bit easier. Since instead of spending time on grocery shopping, consumers have now more time to enjoy the food they purchased at Home Plus.
UPDATE: Not 2 x 1, but 1 x 2 offers in the supermarket via QR tags
Using mobile phones, consumers will be able to buy one product for themselves and another for the children in need, sharing their action through social networks to amplify the impact of each transaction. The application which will support the initiative will have a Facebook app where users will be able to visualize and track their donations.Another great example how QR tags can be used in the retail environment.
Update 2: Shoppers collectively reduce supermarket prices via Facebook check-ins.
I’ve already covered @4foodnyc in my slideshare presentation for it’s perfect integration of social & retail, but now ICA (subsidiary of Ahold) supermarkets from Sweden has done something talk worthy as well. ICA enables their customers to individually reduce the price on a selected item by checking in at the store via a link or a QR code. However, my only problem with this campaign is that all shoppers who checked in will try to buy the product a second before it’s about to expire in order to get the best price. Nevertheless, it’s a good example of how handing over control can increase your brand goodwill and lure customers to your store. Hopefully, their mother company, Ahold, has paid attention and implement a spin-off in their current non-social stores of Albert Heijn (NL).
Likes
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Tom Marchant, co-founder of travel company Black Tomato about over-delivery and acts, not ads....
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Grappig: de organogrammen van de grootste techbedrijven.
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“you can’t let other people tell you who you are, you have to decide that for yourself”
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ahhh… Carla Gugino
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Duracell: Brings Toys To Life… kinda scary
