Category Archives: Trend: Considerism

Trend: Considerism

Supreme homage to value, redefined; every action an investment, whether time or money; the death of impulse / birth of comparative study; choice as a primary concept

posted by Kevin

Dec 07, 2011 @ 7:30am

The New Art of Conversation

I’m in planning mode for several clients now, and McKinsey’s much discussed “customer decision journey” is dominating my thoughts. This theory holds that consumers hold a portfolio of brands, evaluate other brands constantly based on peer influencers and decide periodically which brands to add, discard or replace.

The customer decision journey replaces the old purchase funnel, rightfully acknowledging that spouses, children and friends influence our decisions more than advertising, public relations or social media.

It is worth acknowledging that consumers have denied the influence of advertising on their decisions since the beginning of market research. Nevertheless, Gallop’s poll paints a clear picture.

Peer influence and referral have never been more influential than before.

This dynamic is made all the more powerful by technology’s ability to offer everyone a voice, a megaphone and an audience. So what’s a marketer to do?

Start a conversation. Be bold and give consumers something to discuss.

Amidst all the noise about cyber Monday, Patagonia did just that.

There has been disagreement in marketing circles about Patagonia’s strategy. Some have questioned whether or not the approach was sanctimonious.

I love that the company has taken a stand against excess consumerism. Even better is the fact the company started a conversation about Patagonia. No doubt people are consuming less. So why not increase loyalty from current customers and attract new ones with likeminded values?

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posted by Kevin

Apr 11, 2011 @ 5:42pm

Lonely Days are Virtually Over

A recent Pew Research Center study found that 1 in 3 Americans doesn’t know his neighbors.

As suburbs sprawled, front porches disappeared and screened porches morphed into Florida rooms. Sidewalk parking — heck, sidewalks in general — disappeared, as carports became three-car garages. It’s today’s reality: In our communication-starved society, there’s little hope of neighborly dialogue between the garage and the kitchen’s granite topped island.

Enter the great reboot of the American dream. For the first time since 1950 (when the average size home was a mere 983 square feet), houses are getting smaller. Many people now prefer to rent rather than own. Security has replaced more as the American ideal. So how has this impacted marketing?

Facebook is the current decade’s front porch.

Put simply, people are starved for human connection. On Facebook, people can see you sitting right there, just watching the world go by and waiting for a friendly visit. Human connection via IM, but connection nonetheless.

You can see it playing out on TV as well. Lay’s potato chips wants us to “know the farmers.”

A far cry conceptually from “No one can eat just one.”

California Milk and Cheese is adopting a similar strategy.

Again, the shift is pronounced. “Got milk,” the dairy association’s legendary campaign, focused on the consumer. Now the focus is on the integrity of the product.

What’s key is realizing that relevance is no longer enough. Now there must be value and values – even for a potato chip. Sustainability, community investment and charity aren’t ancillary messages anymore. And the perfect place to parade them is right in front of today’s virtual front porch.

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posted by Cathy

Dec 13, 2010 @ 10:11pm

Move Over, Citizen Kane.

The world looks nothing like it did in 1941. That one’s obvious. But it also looks nothing like it did in 2008—thanks to the recession, large-scale natural disasters, and complicated politics. A new study released by Edelman confirms what we already knew: people think (and buy) differently now. Welcome to the era of Citizen Consumer.

According to the Edelman study, a solid 87 percent of Americans expect companies to consider societal interests equal to business interests. Our nation’s collective social consciousness has been awakened. Are you out of bed yet?

Here are a few bracing sips of reality:

1. Our voices will only get louder.

In April 2010, nearly half of Americans age 12 or older were members of at least one social network. Social media’s growth has exploded, changing the way we think, buy, give, respond, and experience. Need proof? Consider the role social media played in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake — raising eight million dollars for relief in less than a week. Or, try this one: If a customer has a bad experience or a complaint, they’re probably going to tweet about it. In February, Hollywood director Kevin Smith (a Twitter user with 1.6 million followers) launched a barrage of angry tweets against Southwest Airlines, after he was asked to deboard the plane when the captain deemed his obesity a “safety risk.”

Social media isn’t going anywhere. Growth can only continue to rise. This means that millions of ordinary consumers now have a voice, and they understand that strength lies in numbers. If Americans are passionate about something, you can be sure you’ll hear it.

2. We’re all connected.

The Edelman study points out that, “2010 produced a string of events that propelled our social consciousness into collective overdrive.” Social networks were in place, allowing us to experienced and respond to these events as a nation. In hard times, people bond. Events like the earthquake in Haiti or the BP oil spill in the gulf reminded us that we’re all in this together. We live in a different world, and we’re interested in making it better. 2010 opened our eyes to the power of collaboration, and today, studies show that 74 percent of citizens believe brands and consumers could do more by working together.

3. We’ll switch to your brand if it makes the world better (or makes us look better).

Consumers — particularly millennial generation consumers — now expect companies to do more than provide a product or a service. Edelman reports that two-thirds of consumers would switch to another brand of similar quality if it supported a good cause.

There’s another dimension to this willingness to change brands: if we are buying stuff that makes the world better, we look better. Consider the success of TOMS shoes: Founded in 2006, the company is structured around a “one for one” business model. For every pair of shoes sold, the company gives a pair away to a shoeless child in a Third World country. The company has donated over one million pairs of shoes to date, and become one of the most popular brands of shoes in the meantime. Wearing TOMS isn’t just a fashion statement—it’s a lifestyle statement. Consumers are motivated to become “brand enthusiasts” for those companies that merge social good with profit pursuit.

4. People are going to buy things.

Not everyone is a fan of cause-oriented companies. The Buy Less Crap campaign, a response to the Product (RED) campaign, insists that “shopping is not a solution” and encourages consumers to skip the purchases and give directly. But here’s the simple truth: people are going to buy things. What we buy and whom we buy from is power — we might as well improve the world with the purchases we’re going to make.

Consumers are raising their voices to make the world a better place. The companies that are listening — and working to effect social good — are the companies that will resonate in this changed world.

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posted by Kevin

Oct 18, 2010 @ 10:00pm

Do the Right Thing

I’m the first to admit that market research can sometimes mislead us. When polled, people are routinely more eco-friendly, more philanthropic, more tolerant of diversity and frankly, more the way they wish to be than the way they actually are. Still, I was struck by Cone’s newly released 2010 Cause Evolution Study. Consumers are giving more than mere lip service to cause-conscious products and companies, they are breaking out their wallets for them.

There has been a two-fold increase in products purchased that benefit a cause since 1993. That this behavioral shift is occurring, and at an ever increasing pace, despite persistently high unemployment lends credence to the following indicators:

  • 83% of consumers want more products, services retailers that benefit causes.
  • 80% said cause marketing would make them likely to switch brands.

While this is no doubt great news for the Ethos Water’s of the world, it’s a trend that is clearly underleveraged by most marketers.

Take healthcare organizations’ messaging for example. Such and such hospital ranked in the top 10% nationally, compared to its cross-town rival with a four-star rating from Healthgrades. Our hospital has an affiliation with a national flagship hospital. I’d argue that it is time for a dialogue shift.

Few hospitals have ever shone a light on the level of charity care they provide. I understand that no organization wants to be synonymous with indigent care. Still, a history of care, regardless of one’s ability to pay, may well go a long way when healthcare reform enables more universal insurance coverage.

At the same time, you don’t have to be saving lives to stand for something meaningful. Our clients at Moe’s Southwest Grill have seen double-digit growth in same store sales at many of their locations this year. A major difference between this and last year has been continual reporting on Facebook and Twitter about the tremendous number of children’s charities and schools supported by the franchisee group. In this case, customer loyalty is a welcome byproduct of giving back.

Community service feels great, and you might not do it for the recognition. That’s admirable, but recognize your customers do care, and they are watching.

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posted by Kevin

Jul 26, 2010 @ 1:36pm

It’s time to take your time

A recent article by Brent Bouchez found on Media Post inspired me. Bouchez identifies a misconception held among many marketers about baby boomers: that they want to be 30 again. Interestingly, while the 50+ year old may feel 30, they aren’t interested in acting 30.

Nielsen’s SVP of research and development, Doug Anderson, touts: “There is practically no segment or category out there where Boomers aren’t a significant audience.” They represent nearly 39% of all consumer-packaged goods spending, yet equate for only 5% of current ad spending.

That boomers are an ideal target, and an underserved one, is hardly news. Bouchez’s insight is that marketers too often miss the mark when it comes to resonate messaging to boomers. Specifically, he points out that while people in their 20′s, 30′s and 40′s equate happiness with excitement, their 50+ peers find happiness synonymous with peacefulness — practically polar opposite emotions.

Meanwhile, boomer-intensive marketers like hospitals continue to position themselves as large, hi-tech, even fast-paced. Likewise, many destination marketing organizations catering to the 50+ crowd offer something for everyone, action packed getaways. There’s an astonishing lack of peaceful positioning and calm messaging.

The economy has made the message architects speed up. Volume is king. The core positioning strategy in 2010 seems to be, be everything to everyone all the time. This is merely a flight to safety that guarantees poor performance. We’re rushing past relevant communications that showcase what people want.

Working with clients on Hilton Head Island, I’m struck by how the pace slows when I arrive on Island. The hotel staff does something remarkable. They slow down. They take their time. It’s not slow, it’s attentive.

In an economy that has everything in fast forward mode, there’s nothing more meaningful than demonstrating that your consumer is worth your time. It’s time to take your time, and find some peace of marketing.

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posted by Kevin

May 10, 2010 @ 1:46pm

Work Hard. Fly Right. Speak the Truth.

I’ve spoken before about the need for products to align with a real human need. The beleaguered airline industry has, in response to a volatile and highly competitive business climate, grown further and further away from the business of human needs. The needs for legroom, beverages, carry-on baggage, even bathroom privileges during long waits on the tarmac, have all been eroded.

In terms of a broken system, the airline industry’s only rival is healthcare. In both cases, screw-ups can be deadly. Further, both currently suffer from a near complete lack of message credibility.

Last week’s announcement of the proposed merger of United and Continental got me thinking. Would two of the biggest make one of the best? Doubtful. Historically, mergers are the highways to commoditized products and poorly differentiated brands.

It hasn’t always been this way. Fallon’s “Gershwin” campaign for United is one of my favorite examples of brand strategy. United didn’t just get you there, they served up life-defining moments.

Meanwhile, Continental’s “Work Hard. Fly Right.” Campaign, a more no-nonsense approach that even eschewed photography, has helped it gain and maintain marketshare among business travelers since 1998.

For marketing street smarts, it’s always inspiring to look at the up and comers. Today’s New York Times contains an article about Jet Blue’s new digital experience campaign.

Human need + demonstrated experience + customer (not company) endorsement.

Clearly a winning formula making good use of the type of brand discussion that only digital can generate. It’s the traditional testimonial all grown up and made relevant for today’s consumer. Healthcare organizations take note.

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posted by Kevin

Feb 22, 2010 @ 7:40pm

You’re too busy.

In 2000, Wallpaper announced that the corporate status symbol for the new millennium wouldn’t be the latest pricey watch or wildly expensive brief case, but time.

The theory was that if you can’t take a vacation (much less lunch), you hadn’t climbed very high on the corporate ladder. Busy was going to move from being a badge of honor, a sign of being indispensible, to a sign that one couldn’t effectively delegate or manage one’s time well.

It seems as if this is just one more way the first decade of the millennium was a failure. As the Great Recession bore down on business, busy moved from pervasive to pandemic, leaving marketing and communications especially ravaged. Digital and mobile messaging are of course the lead catalysts, and the result can be catastrophic for brands. If you don’t recall KFC’s coupon debacle this article recounts the disaster.

Howard Mann, the author of Your Business Brickyard, says it best: “More megaphones don’t equal a better dialogue.”

I see a rush to digital communications, and it is justifiable. Meanwhile, in addition to the virtual land grab, c-level executives seem to be holding fast to traditional tactics as much as budgets will permit. Yet on both digital and mass media fronts, inferior customer service or parody product lines stymie marketing efforts.

There are three factors that impact your brand:

In this hostile economic environment, a brand has to deliver all three sides of the brand triangle to succeed. Preference for a hospital with outstanding clinical care and the soundest of marketing plans erodes completely when a nurse having a bad day delivers a perfunctory comment to a patient’s family member.

Delivering all three aspects of the brand triangle is extraordinarily difficult. It demands attention to detail, and places as much importance on internal branding as mass marketing. In short it, takes time.

Let’s give up busy for Lent. Let’s slow down and consider the changes we need to make organizationally or operationally to support our brand promise before we get back to the business of marketing it. Otherwise, our next failure to live up to our marketing promises will find its way to Facebook.

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posted by Kevin

Dec 08, 2009 @ 3:10pm

The New Normal

My colleague, Katy Miller, and I attended the 29th Annual Economic Outlook Conference last week at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. We attended last year as well, just as the economy began to diabolically unravel, and as Riggs Partners began to offer commentary through this New Economy Consumer blog.

Last year’s predictions at the conference were dire, and they all came true. As a result, we were more than eager to hear discussion on 2009 and all prognostications concerning 2010.

Sure, most economists agree a modest recovery has begun. While many indicators remain negative, they are at least relenting a bit. Last Friday’s unemployment figure of only 11,000 jobs lost was a welcomed surprise.

Still, worries remain. Much of our financial system remains unsteady. The U.S. cannot afford another stimulus package. Dubai, UAE offered another ripple in the fallout that persisted throughout this year. Fears remain about the solvency of much of the commercial real estate market, and of a possible bubble fueled by the Chinese economic stimulus efforts. The consensus is that the recovery will be long and hard-fought.

Simply put, most of us remain worried, intent on retiring outstanding debt and increasing our savings. Historically, Americans have had short memories, and old spending, or overspending, habits seem almost genetic. Yet from the onset of this crisis, we at Riggs Partners have hypothesized that this time was different, more acute, and most likely to result in fundamental attitudinal and behavioral shifts.

Now brings us to understanding a new normal.

To summarize comments from Coastal Carolina research economist Donald Schunk, the new normal means individuals spending money they actually have, banks making loans to those who have sound credit and companies investing in endeavors based on the likelihood of a favorable return on investment rather than the inexpensiveness of leverage.

Enter the era of common sense.

Common sense tells us we can’t avoid overspending forever. It dictates that our choices be prudent. And it tells us that the companies with whom we do business demonstrate relevance and value.

The new normal is basic – stripped-down, and devoid of nuance, subtlety or gimmick.

The resulting ramifications for marketers are huge. If your product is a commodity, evolve or perish. Our current business environment is over-populated with parody products and services. It’s time to be aggressive and rethink what you are selling, and retool your organization and marketing communications efforts accordingly.

The new normal is full of opportunity for businesses and individuals. Don’t let it pass you by.

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posted by Cathy

Jul 07, 2009 @ 4:21pm

The Power of Purpose

Fifth in a series analyzing seven new economy trends

In recent months I’ve made many, many trips along the same I-95 route. The need to “grab a quick bite” has sent me into a number of fast food restaurants, and the service has been so outrageously slow that when I finally had one decent experience, I started a “good exit” section in my sketchbook.

I tell you this story because it demonstrates two things: (1) the power of purpose in meeting consumer need, even when that need is very basic; and (2) how important it is to deliver what you promise.

Of course, building and sustaining a brand is difficult and delicate work with thousands of considerations. But its foundation is quite simple:

Our customers need (fill in the blank), so we (fill in the blank).

Now is a great time to reconsider this equation. The economy has forced a redirection of energy toward goals that are extremely short-term and relationships that are much more transactional. Take the time to remind internal stakeholders why you provide the services or products you do. Give your employees a reason to come to work every day, aside from collecting a paycheck. How are they contributing value to the lives of your customers?

Then make sure your purpose is clear in all external messaging. Customers are reevaluating old shopping and purchasing habits every day. Make sure your company is on their radar.

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posted by Cathy

Jun 04, 2009 @ 9:11am

The Power of Humanity

Fourth in a series analyzing seven new economy trends

One of the most thrilling aspects of my work is the opportunity to speak daily with leaders I respect in fields that cross the business spectrum. I never pass on the chance to ask how the economic recession is affecting their business and what they see happening in coming months.

Each answers differently, but together they form a chorus. Of late there has been a song in a slightly different key.

“It’s still tough. But people have grown tired of the recession. I feel movement again. I am hopeful.” Like these professionals, many of whom are entrepreneurs, I feel my own optimism is at work. I am deeply ready for things to change.

And yet I caution us all. We must remember nearly one in ten Americans is out of work and millions more have had their salaries cut. Uninsured rates are skyrocketing, and record numbers of people are behind on or unable to pay their mortgages. The reality of daily life for countless families is a painful one, and a cavalier attitude by marketers who simply lose patience will result in marketing’s greatest peril: a recognition by the customer that the marketer is out of touch. It’s a chasm that can never again be forded.

Instead, really listen to your customer. Uncover a need that may well have developed—or at least moved to the forefront—in the most recent weeks of this downturn. Then find a way to meet that need with an evolved product or new service. (Be open to the possibility that what your customer needs right now is quite elemental.)

As we move into the New Reality of this Great Restructuring, brands that are both intentional and grounded in the human condition will survive and ultimately flourish. (TM’s new Nationwide work is a great example.)

Up Next: The Power of Purpose

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