Current Affairs Archives - Page 4 of 14 - McLellan Marketing Group

Too many choices paralyze buyers

July 8, 2009

When television was first introduced, there were 3 black and white channels. Today, 500+. Many in my baby boomer (I would like to point out that I am on the very tail end of that demographic!) demo grew up reveling in the idea of many choices because it was new territory.

But fast forward to today and you see those same baby boomers being overwhelmed at the array of decisions (based on choices) they have to make every day.

Walk into any mobile phone store and just count the number of phones available. It's staggering. Then, you have to figure out what each one does…and why it matters to you.

No wonder it is often easier for us to check out, than to check all the options.

Consumer research shows that the American consumer is suffering from choice fatigue. A study (by Sheena S. Iyengar from Columbia University and Mark R. Lepper from Stanford called "When Choice is Demotivating") found too many choices actually frustrated shoppers. People were offered either 30 choices or 6 choices of jam and then given coupons to purchase what they sampled.

Of those that had the opportunity to sample 30 only 3% made a purchase, while of those given 6 choices ten times as many or 30% made a purchase. That's a huge difference.

To better understand how we all react when faced with too many choices watch this brilliant TED talk by Barry Schwartz - author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. In this talk, he explains how and why the too many choices are paralyzing us.

So what does that mean for you and me?

It means that there is power in simple. Our customers are time-starved and information-saturated. Make it easy. If you have to give your customers a lot of choices — group or organize them in a way that allows their brain to sift through the options more logically and quicker.

It also means that we need to recognize that having more choices doesn't necessarily give us an edge over the competition.

If you are going to offer lots of variety — be sure you have a good reason for doing so, and be sure you help your consumers navigate through those choices.

Or they might not choose you at all.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

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Shame on you advertisers!

March 31, 2009

We've talked before about how the media hype is actually making the recession worse. How our fear is paralyzing us from spending a buck or making a business decision that involves any sort of an investment.

As you'll recall, I said I thought it was up to the businesses of this country to ignore the doomsday talk and get out there and behave our way out of the recession. We need to be smart but we need to grow our businesses just like we've always done. By investing in good people, good products and good services.

So that's why I find some of the recent ads I've seen so alarming.

An All State Insurance ad I just saw the other night started out like this (my paraphrasing): "Today, the longest walk of the day is the walk to the mailbox…where all those bills are just waiting for you."

A local ad here from a company that sells pool tables and accessories has the owner on camera, talking about he's taken a beating during the recession…so he is being forced to sell his wares practically at cost, just to pay the wholesaler's note.

Come on!

For a very small group of people, that's a true statement. But when the media…and now the advertising constantly tells all of us that we should be dismal and dread our mail — we are just adding to the malaise of this country. We're making it worse.

Does that mean you shouldn't talk about how your product or service is a good value? Of course not. But stop wrapping it up in the recession flag. You should always be a good value, right? Did your potential customers not care about that when the economy was booming?

If you don't care so much about how your marketing is impacting the economy…ponder this. How many ads have you seen/heard/read in the last 30 days that referenced the recession or these tough economic times? Just about all of them! It's become the theme du jour, which means that your efforts sound a whole lot like everyone else's.

So whether you want to stand out or you want to be a part of the solution — for the love of Pete, stop or if you're one of the few who hasn't jumped on the bandwagon yet — don't start.

How can you (or are you already) marketing your product without using the recession as a crutch?

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Are you making the recession worse?

February 2, 2009

Let me first acknowledge that I know the recession is real. I know people are losing their jobs, homes and life savings. I get that.

But the truth is….we’re making it worse. We’re letting fear make it worse.

Just like the kid who works himself up into a frenzy because he imagines what might be under his bed — we're allowing fear and all the hype freeze us with fear.

That paralysis is the biggest threat your business has ever faced.

Look around you. Ask other business owners. They will sheepishly admit that business is good. Some, under the promise of anonymity, will confess that it’s great. For the vast majority of businesses, especially B-to-B and the service sectors – things are fine.

And yet, they behave as though they’re down to their last dime.

I was talking to a friend of mine who owns a small business last week. He admitted they’re having a fantastic start to the year and everything looks good moving forward.

He went on to tell me that he needs a new company car. He has the money to pay cash for it. Car prices have never been lower. But he’s holding off.

Just in case.

Simpson College here in Iowa has a brilliant outreach program, thanks to the Associate Director of the department. She’s like a Pied Piper, getting to know theatre kids when they’re younger and encouraging them to visit campus, attend their very profitable summer program, etc.

Simpson just announced that despite great enrollment numbers and the construction of a new theatre space (capital campaign) – they’re eliminating the position.

Just in case enrollment goes down.

People, we have to stop this. A stimulus package alone isn’t going to cut it. Do you think any of those stimulus dollars are coming your way? Check the list – you’re not on it!

Small business owners are the backbone of this country and we will determine how long we’re in this recession. I’m not asking you to spend with reckless abandon. But I am suggesting that we don’t get our business advice from the local or national news.

This is exactly the time you should be investing in your employees and current customers.
This is exactly the time you should be investing in marketing outreach and not blindly lowering your prices
This is exactly the time you should be taking advantage of incredible pricing on those capital improvements and high ticket items that will serve your business for years

Look around. See how your business is actually doing. And behave accordingly. We can be paralyzed with fear of what might be coming, or we can behave ourselves out of this recession.

But…it is up to us.

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10 words to avoid in 2009

December 22, 2008

Good friend to the Marketing Minute, Susan Gunelius (author of Harry Potter, the story of a global business phenomenon) has a great article on Entrepreneuer's website. In the article, Susan reminds us that the normally jaded and wary consumer is even more so after the economic struggles of 2008.

I think her list will surprise you. It includes works that traditionally have been touted as buying trigger words. It also includes some copywriting 101 tips that have been passed down for ages. Let's see what you think.

Here are 5 of Susan's 10 words to avoid in your 2009 marketing efforts. These are the ones that intrigued me the most and I wondered what you thought.

Free

Ads that include messages about a free product or service promotions can work well during an economic downturn, but consumers need to see the products perform well. E-mail spam filters are tough on messages that include "free" in the subject line. While it might be tempting to use a subject line that says, "Open now to get your free widget," that's an e-mail spam filter red flag that will send your message to most recipients' spam boxes. When the economy is tough, you can't risk having your e-mails not make it to the intended recipients. Replace "free" with "complimentary" or "gratis" to sneak by spam filters without compromising the effectiveness of your message.

Guarantee

Few people believe in guarantees these days. Unless you can prove your guarantee is real, use the valuable real estate space in your ad for a more effective message that consumers are likely to believe and act on.

Really

If you want to waste space in your ads, include "really" in your copy. This word does nothing to help your messages. Instead, it slows consumers down, and they are not likely to wait around for the complete message. Don't risk losing them by loading your copy with useless filler words. Make sure every word in your copy is there for a reason.

Very

Does a message sound more compelling with "very" in it? Is "When you need very fresh flowers, call ABC Florist," more effective than "When you need fresh flowers, call ABC Florist"? If you answered, yes, reread the last paragraph.

Opportunity

You're not helping anyone when you offer "opportunities" in your copy. Consumers don't want opportunities. They want to feel confident handing over their hard-earned money. They want to know they'll get the results they want and need, not the opportunity to perhaps get those results. Don't let them wonder what they'll get when they pull out their wallets. Tell them.

To see the other five words and read Susan's thoughts on them, check out the article. But before you go…what do you think? Is free now a tainted word? Should we stop offering guarantees?

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5 marketing musts during a recession (with tactics included!)

October 15, 2008

I understand the lure of just hunkering down and waiting out the economic lull. And I know you’re probably tired of hearing this….but if you are smart — this is a huge opportunity for you to capture market share and solidify your position in the marketplace.

Please do not sit this one out. And I’m not even going to tell you not to cut prices or cut your budget, because we’ve beat that horse to death!

110% consistency: The buyers are already jumpy. Don’t give them any reason to mistrust or doubt you. Live and breathe your brand integrity. Don’t do or say anything that contradicts your brand.

Tactics:

Review your brand values with each and every employee
Refresh your website to put your brand promise front and center
Ask your employees for ideas on how to bring your brand to life. Pay $50 for every idea used. Make that very public knowledge.

Love on your current customers: They’re the most likely to buy again and they are also most likely the audience you’ve ignored. Now is the time to appreciate them, remind them why they trusted you in the first place and over service them.

Tactics:

Do a customer only mailing, spotlighting some of your best offerings at their best prices
Hold a customer appreciation party and say "thank you" repeatedly
Offer a pre-payment discount (you get cash up front and their commitment to follow through)

Give it away: Demonstrate to the world that you believe in abundance by giving away some of your product or services to a worthy non-profit. But don’t do a drive by. Partner with them for the long haul and work your PR magic.

Tactics:

Give your employees a voice in which charity you partner with
Be smart – choose a charity that has an influential board of directors and make a point of being at those meetings to share your expertise
Trade your products or services for an event sponsorship so you get publicity for your efforts

Listen, respond, repeat: Now is not the time to be ignoring the marketplace. You need to be listening to your customers, your competitor’s customers and anyone else who is out there talking about your industry.

Tactics:

Do a customer survey (while you are at it, do a past customer survey)
Set up Google alerts
Jump into conversations about your industry and offer value

Use content marketing: You’re good at what you do. You want your prospects and customers to be successful. Why not position yourself as the expert by sharing your expertise?

Tactics:

Create an e-newsletter (don’t start it if you aren’t going to consistently create/deliver it)
Build a robust How To series for your website
Launch a business blog (again…don’t start it if you aren’t serious about keeping at it)

What do you think? Most of these tactics will not cost you an arm or even a leg. And I’ll let you in on a little secret — they’re pretty effective, even when we’re not facing snug times.

What can you add to the list? What’s working for you that you can share with the rest of us?

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Sometimes a brand doesn’t have to say a word

October 1, 2008

Every once in awhile, a brand has such a rock solid understanding about themselves, their raving fans and the world in which they exist — they can do something powerful without saying a single word.

Budweiser has always been about as American as it gets. Their fan base is true blue American and they’ve talked about values like tradition and respect for years. (I hope their new owners are smart enough not to change that in the least)

4 months after 9/11, this is the spot they ran on the SuperBowl. Lots of companies ran similarly spirited ads that year. What makes Budweiser remarkable and so true to their brand is that every 9/11 they run this spot as a tribute to their country and the tragedy and triumph of that day.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4yfivS8SWs[/youtube]

I have to say….despite the fact that I think Bud is lousy beer, I have an incredible amount os respect for the company and this spot still makes me choke up a little.

Don’t ever forget that your brand can and should stand for something much greater than what you sell. It should be a reflection of your heart. Bud sets an impressive example.

Hat tip to my friend Steve for reminding me of this spot.

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Brace your business for the bumpy road

September 18, 2008

Banks failing, gas prices rising, and the credit crunch pinching — no wonder business people are nervous. These are scary times.

But they don’t have to be disastrous times. We’ve weathered recessions (even though we are apparently not in one) before and we will weather this one too.

There’s been some very smart writing on the topic, from a marketing perspective and I wanted to point you to a couple excellent posts.

John Rosen at Stopwatch Marketing (have you read his book?) tells us how to thrive in a slowdown.

John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing (have you read his book?) gives us 7 time-tested ways to dig out from a recession.

Hang in there…this is the time to invest in the relationships you have with current customers, stay visible in the marketplace (especially if your competitors are cutting back), build and protect your brand and overall, think long-term in your strategies.

The businesses that keep focused and recognizes that this a just a bump in the road (albeit a good sized bump) will be in stride to really take off once we’re on better ground.

Better times are around the corner, we just need to keep keeping on to get there.

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Did McCain’s speech keep his brand promise?

September 6, 2008

Just like we did last week with Barack Obama, 6 marketing pros watched John McCain’s speech through a very specific lens.

How did the speech support their brand?

McCain had a tough act to follow. Sarah Palin’s speech has shattered expectations in terms of viewers and buzz.

He had to build on that momentum and remind us that he was #1 on the Republican ticket. He also (in my opinion) had to continue the delicate balancing act of his duo-brand. McCain is part Country First/War Hero (very traditional) and part Maverick (very non-traditional).

Could he capture both sides of his brand and deliver them in a memorable, believable way?

So how did he do from a pure brand/marketing perspective? That was the question posed to six of us (CK, Ann Handley, Cam Beck, Alan Wolk, Stephen Denny, and me) over at Marketing Profs Daily Fix. We had to (in 200 words or less) critique the speech based on message, brand delivery and relevance. We also had to give a 0-5 star rating.

McCain got everywhere from a 0 to a 4.5 from the six of us.

Come read what everyone had to say and give us your take.

And if you missed part one, here’s our take on Obama’s speech last week.

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Did Barack’s speech keep his brand promise alive?

August 29, 2008

84,000 screaming fans a la a rock concert. An estimated 40+ million watching at home. On the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s historic "I have a dream" speech.

The stage was set for magic.

Barack’s acceptance speech last night was clearly one of the most important of his entire career.

It was his change to communicate and solidify his brand. This wasn’t the night for getting into the nitty gritty. This was the night for a Steve Jobs "get the crowd pumped, make them laugh/make them cry" sort of speech.

It was a brand builder’s dream.

So how did he do from a pure brand/marketing perspective? That was the question posed to six of us (CK, Ann Handley, Cam Beck, Alan Wolk, Stephen Denny, and me) over at Marketing Profs Daily Fix. We had to (in 200 words or less) critique the speech based on message, brand delivery and relevance. We also had to give a 0-5 star rating.

Mr. Obama got everywhere from a 0 to a 5 from the six of us.

Here’s a snippet of my comments:

Clearly Obama did not get the memo. Of all the speeches he will ever give – this one wasn’t about politicking – this one needed to be about creating the vision, the dream. This was the night to ignite our passion for his brand promise of change and hope.

Come read what everyone had to say and then weigh in with your opinion!

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Lies travel at the speed of the Internet – what to do if they’re about you

August 13, 2008

One of the amazing things about the Internet is the speed at which information is shared and digested. When a young journalist was jailed in Egypt that was a good thing.

But for American Airlines, sometimes the speed stings. Bad.

All over the net (and in print pubs like the Washington Times) headlines like "American Airlines Charges Soldiers For Extra Bags" appeared and then the stories go on to describe how American Airlines is charging soldiers traveling on orders to Iraq or elsewhere a fee for their 2nd and 3rd bags, in alignment with their new policies.

It’s a doozy of a headline. But, it’s not true. For the whole story, check out what the Seattle Times has to say.

But what should you do if you find your company in the spot American Airlines has been in – at the receiving end of false information (or misinformation) on a blog?

Secure the facts first. The last thing you want to do to accidentally deny something that’s got a kernel of truth in it or give false information.
Write a response that is clear (no weasel words), free of emotion and professional.
Decide how you’d like to release the response (based on the tone, impact, intent of original blog post).
Execute your plan and be accessible for follow up questions.
If you have a blog, deal with it there as well, even if it wasn’t raised there. That’s where many people will go to see if you have responded.

When you’re in the cross hairs — you need to respond quickly and judiciously. Unlike the good old days, you don’t have a lot of time to ponder the possibilities. If you’re wondering how quickly a spark can build into an inferno, ask American Girl.

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