Posts Tagged ‘Strategy / Tactics
Do NOT sell your product!
Because no one cares.
Sell love. Sell style. Sell confidence. Sell friendship. Sell something that people cares about. And, the simple truth is no one cares about your product.
You could have the most awesome widget in the world. Your customers would love you and your widget, until a better and cheaper widget come along. And inevitably, it will come.
This is the essence of branding. It evokes something inside your customers that goes far beyond your product offering.
However, you need to know exactly what your brand stands for. Everything that you do must go with this branding. Once you deviate, you risk jeopardizing your brand.
Take a look at these two ads:
Would you say that these two ads are well differentiated from each other? From just this ad, would you choose to shop at one retailer versus the other? Could you tell what the branding is for these two ads?
I would say that they both similarly stand for “affordable style”. However, I could not really tell if I’d prefer one or another.
Now, if I tell you that one ad is from Target, and one ad is from Ikea, would you now have a preference?
Some of you may be indifferent, but I think at least a few of you would have a preference.
And that preference was formed over a history of interactions with the brand. This history includes past shopping experience, product experience. Lastly, this history included your past experience with their branding: “affordable style”.
In fact, I would assert that some of you would have a preference on which style you prefer from the two different retailers. You may or may not be able to tell from this ad, but the product offering are different. For the most part, Ikea carries products that are uniquely available at Ikea. In fact, Ikea’s style is so iconic that one could walk into a living room and recognize the Ikea style.
I would even assert that while both brands stand for “affordable style”, Ikea leans a little more toward the style side of that equation. This is a good thing for Ikea, because affordability means price, and price could always be undercut.
Which is why it was so shocking of a move that Ikea would have posted the above ad. Ikea, this month, gave up its iconic font for 50 years, and instead adopted a commonly used font, a font so common that you have it. It’s Verdana, available on any Microsoft products.
Now, I personally love Verdana. It’s designed for ease of readability on the web. In fact, this blog, at this time, is designed with Verdana. However, is this the best print font for a company that relies so heavily on style and design? I doubt it.
In fact, this change caused so much controversies, that it caught the attention of Time, NPR, and Fast Company.
Ikea picked the new font due to cost reasons… And I think we can all empathize, especially in this economic environment.
However, something is sacred. The icons of your brand are sacred, and should never be sacrificed.
In Ikea’s case, their font was one of their icons, and it had just been offered up in the name of cost-saving.
Would it have a negative effect on Ikea? In the short-term, probably not. In fact, the cost-saving would probably yield a positive return for Ikea.
In the long-term? I ask again, are the two ads above differentiated enough from each other that you could form a preference for one or the other?
Ikea forgot that, at the end of the day, they were not simply selling furniture, they were selling a style. That style just got a little bit less stylish…
Related articles
- Ikea customers furious over change of font (dailyfinance.com)
- Ikea’s first font change in 50 years ignites backlash (ctv.ca)
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In a world of clutter…
Story: Today, I got called by my Financial Advisor’s office. She was following up on if I received a form that needed me to sign. I rather quickly said no. Then I scrambled to my “to-do” pile to see if I forgot it in that pile. Nope. So, I hung up with the agreement that they will mail me a new form. Then, I walked over to my console table, and remember that I have the “still-need-to-go through” pile. Then, there it was: An unopened envelope from my financial advisor’s office. I opened it immediately, and called the office back. I found the form.
Insights: From that story, I had two insights.
1. I get way too much mail, and it takes me a long time to go through all my mail. Between junk mail, free magazines, paid magazines, newsletters, the useful and important mail often get lost in the piles.
2. In the world of emails, texts, etc., phone calls, a rather old fashion way of involving your customer, still works.
Conclusion: In today’s world, consumers are overwhelmed by information. High touch methods of consumer engagement remain to be the best way to break through the clutter, and differentiate you from your competition. Is that difficult to execute? Is that costly to execute? Yes and yes. But, consider this alternative: You choose the easy and cheap route, and your competitor choose the hard and expensive route. Who do you think would win in the end?
Photo credit: Why Didn’t You Call Me?, originally uploaded by bitzcelt.
Invest into being Loyal
Recently at work, the question of what exactly is a “loyalty card” came up. Because in truth, loyalty cards are really just discount cards. I for example, have one from multiple grocery stores, multiple book stores, etc. Having a loyalty card from retailer A doesn’t mean I’ll be loyal to retailer A, because I probably have one from the competing retailer B as well.
People use the loyalty cards for the instant discounts. And every time you check out, the cashier ask “if you’d like to sign up, it’s super easy.” There is no investment, financially or mentally, into this loyalty program. So, in return, there is no loyalty.
But a recent conversation with a friend reminded that there are loyalty programs that work. Airlines.
What’s the difference? Well, an airline loyalty program is everything a retail loyalty program is not.
1. Airline loyalty program is not about easy and convenient. Have you every booked a reward travel? You have to jump through hoops!
2. It’s not instant. Hoops aside, you have to save up these points! It’s not quick or easy. And once you’ve accumulated a certain number of points, you feel invested into the program. That’s why ultimately drives loyalty.
So, the moral of the story: While the payoff is important, it’s the motivation to join a loyalty program. However, like everything else, the success of a loyalty program depends on how much you actually involve the consumers in the process. Make them invest into your brand one way or another! Then, they’ll be loyal to your brand. Otherwise, it’s just another card in the wallet.
Photo credit:DSCF5589, originally uploaded by joelogon.
Jeannie Chan is a Brand Manager for a Fortune 500 consumer goods company. She considers herself a marketer, a traveler, and a foodie. Jeanne lives in NYC. 
