JCPenney, in efforts to win male shoppers, have been buying male-oriented media (ESPN Radio, for example) and pitching a male-oriented tagline: "Get In, Find It, and Get Going." They obviously have identified how men prefer to shop (i.e. quickly), and even try to set apart the male zone as the Men's Department inside JCPenney.

Never mind that the Men's Department inside JCPenney is not noticeably different than the Men's Department inside many other department stores, but that's not the point.

Recently they have tweaked their tagline, replacing "Get Going" with something more benign. I guess "Get Going" sounded too much like "Get Out." Frankly, I don't think most men would be offended by that. I can't even remember the new wording! Ask my kids -- my wife has trained them that "when you're shopping with Daddy, you're on a mission." Hey, it works for me.

Now Ace Hardware has taken a strikingly similar line: "Get In, Get Help, Get On With Your Life." The theme is clear: men tend to view shopping as a task to be done but not savored.

These taglines are intended to reduce perceived risk -- the risk of having to spend a lot of time shopping when all they really want is to find something and move on. If you want to attract male shoppers, you need to cater to that desire and communicate it.

Have you identified what appeals to your customers? Are there obstacles in your customer's mind that delay visits or purchases? Speak their language and their interests -- you won't win them all, but you'll win more. And right now, that's a great start!

Labels: advertising, customer centered, differentiation, marketing, strategy, taglines

In the first couple years of Fox Marketing Group, I introduced a program giving local restaurants exposure in local hotels, updated weekly. I piloted the idea in two different communities, and then sold it after a couple years. Fun times.

The manager of a national steakhouse chain ran the same 10% or 15% discount coupon every week, never changing it. As I checked in from week to week, response from the front-line staff was encouraging: "We're seeing a lot of these." But to my dismay, the manager eventually dropped the program, saying he didn't think he was getting enough takers to justify the effort.

This came as a surprise not because of the feedback from the cashiers, but because of something that had happened only two weeks earlier. During my rounds to area hotels one afternoon, I pulled into the local Days Inn and saw a gold mine: A tour bus had just arrived, filled with tired and hungry travelers. In addition to leaving the "Local Flavor" in the usual places, I boarded the bus and asked if anyone wanted a deal on their meal that evening.

I was met with thunderous applause. 40 passengers, new to town, were ready to eat.

Just an hour or so later, I discovered where they had chosen. Cruising by the steakhouse, I saw the bus in the parking lot and a line extending outside the restaurant doors. This steakhouse was getting business!

But the manager didn't know it. The cashiers would see the coupons, push a standardized discount button, and pitch the sheets in the trash. The manager never saw them.

If you don't have a system for tracking where your customers are coming from, including feedback from your front-line staff, start now. Customers are precious. Find out how they got to you.

Labels: advertising, bad habits, marketing, messaging, research

I just ran across some research from Rutgers that reminded me of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs behavioral theory. (Yeah, this is heavy thinking for a Monday night, but there's no football on TV.)

Data collected over the past couple decades shows that environmental concern trends higher in periods of general economic strength. When there is job growth and a sense of economic security, people feel free to worry about things that less directly impact their daily lives.

The hierarchy of needs holds, for example, that people aren't too worried about their self-actualization when they're fighting to merely feed themselves for the day. "Higher" goals and ambitions don't kick in until the more basic needs are met.

When times are good, they have the energy and mental latitude to care about things higher up the pyramid like environmental consciousness.

The application for today, where the recent past has been a tailspin and the near future is uncertain at best, is to focus your messaging on your buyer's more basic needs and problems. Yes, if you're "green" or you offer some other self-actualizing benefit, that should come across -- but only after you've shown how you help them in ways that are a little closer to home.

Labels: advertising, marketing, messaging, research, strategy

Any chance you can name the current tagline for Wendy's? If I asked this just a month ago, you would have correctly said, "It's waaaay better than fast food, it's Wendy's." But what was correct a month ago is not correct now.

Wendy's, like most large corporations, no doubt reviewed several campaign themes before settling on the "waaaay better" idea. And like most large corporations, Wendy's probably did some follow-up research after launching and executing that campaign for a few months. Apparently, the results were less than spectacular, because the tagline abruptly changed.

Now, in the same media and same frequency of advertising as before, we hear a jingle saying, "You know when it's real."

What to learn? If something's not working, pull the plug! But don't leave a vaccuum, fill the void with something better!

Wendy's no doubt had the "real" theme waiting in the wings, a second choice in case of emergency. And based on audience response to their previous theme, they decided they had to change course.

I'm not going to do an autopsy on their "waaaay better than fast food" theme, other than to say Subway has pretty well established that same positioning ("Eat Fresh"), and a burger joint was going to have trouble inhabiting the same property.

The lesson for us is to be aware when our efforts are falling flat, and have a backup plan so one stumble doesn't lose you too much ground. I have a vibe that Wendy's latest campaign will work a little better for them. Is your backup plan ready too?

Labels: advertising, management, marketing, messaging, strategy

Southwest Airlines is currently running TV spots where baggage handlers remind us Southwest doesn't add fees for checking luggage. At one point out on the tarmac, they yell at a competitor's plane, "Why are you charging for luggage?!"

The airline industry is perpetrating this nuisance almost unanimously right now, with Southwest being the notable holdout. Kudos to them for pointing it out!

It's not always this easy to find a point of differentiation that really resonates with your customers, but it's worth a few minutes of your time to find one. Think of something that really irritates customers in your marketplace, something widespread that has always been considered "normal" but frustrates customers.

Does that irritant exist with you? If not, follow Southwest's lead and boldly point it out. If so, find a way to get rid of that bug in your system, and then let everyone know what you've done.

If "industry-standard" means irritating to customers, defy the standard -- and don't keep it a secret!

Labels: advertising, customer centered, differentiation, marketing, messaging, strategy

While purchasing some photography for a client yesterday, I noticed a special offer on my receipt. It was from a related design business, providing me a special discount code for my first purchase with them. And this: "Offer good through December 31, 2020."

That's pretty amazing. I have eleven years to check out the site, see what I might need, and save a little. In 2020, I'll have two kids in college, so I think I'll hold onto that discount because I'll need it more then than I do now!

Special offers are good. Promotional tie-ins with complementary businesses are good. But I'd encourage you to inspire a sense of urgency. Positive urgency, of course -- curiosity, excitement.

With eleven days to check it out, I probably would -- at least to see what it's all about. But eleven years? I'm not driven to action quite so much...

What timelines could you use to your favor? Create urgency to invite that first visit, or even to encourage a repeat purchase. Customers are "in the now." Make sure you are, too.

Labels: advertising, creativity, differentiation, marketing, planning, strategy

In a previous post, I mentioned a report regarding the incredible sameness of messages within a given industry. I just received an example, but fortunately I get to fix it.

Some website copy was just forwarded to me for editing. And there's going to be a lot of editing.

It all sounds nice, but there are so many generalities and fluffy claims, you could stick anyone's logo on it and it would probably still be true. Every player in the industry says the same things about themselves.

Companies check each other out, which of course is good intelligence gathering. But an unfortunate side effect is that they often go on and simply parrot each other. "My competitor said what? Well, we can do that too!" So all the companies make similar claims about their great pricing, their reliable service, their high standards of quality.

And no one stands out.

Don't be different just to be a nonconformist, do it to be more competitive. Just once, for practice, scrap everything you've ever said and craft your message again from scratch. Pretend you're talking to someone in casual conversation. Why should they do business with you?

This "blank canvas" approach might just open your eyes to something you can say that's truly different. And if not, look at each claim and see what you can add to your product or service that will allow you to say something unique. Then do it.

You don't want normal. Normal is blah. Normal is mediocrity. Ignore normal, and go find special.

Labels: advertising, customer centered, differentiation, marketing, messaging

You have 20 years' experience in the industry. Yay for you.

You have three locations. You have a well-trained staff. You have extended hours. You have done 700 similar projects. You have a wide selection.

Yay for you.

I can find what I want quickly at your store. I can ask questions and get helpful answers without initiating any arm-twisting from you. I can find guidance from you towards the best purchase for the specific purpose I'll be using the product for. I can schedule the next contractors because I have confidence you'll have your part done properly and on time. I can find you easily when I need you.

Yay for me . . . the customer.

Listen to any typical radio or TV ads, and focus on the claims. There's a lot of advertising that is little more than the business patting itself on the back. Yay for them.

Wouldn't it be better to translate all that fluff into something meaningful and motivating for the customer? Give the customer something that makes them say, "Yay for me!"

Labels: advertising, customer centered, marketing, messaging, strategy

In a TV ad for osteoporosis medication Boniva, I've noticed an interesting choice of words: "Boniva works with your body to rebuild bone..." Phrasing and word selection are not by accident in a big corporation's advertising, and should be just as deliberate and intentional in yours.

You're paying to send this message, so make sure you get it just how you want it.

Almost before I could analyze the why behind their choice of phrasing, I heard it again -- this time for the laxative Miralax: "Miralax works with your body to..." well, you know what it does.

It's clear that pharmaceutical marketers have picked up on something their customers want to hear.

The market is cool to the idea of putting chemicals into your body, but warm to the idea of things that are natural or appear to work naturally. Hence the rise in use of homeopathic remedies for a variety of ailments -- and the very logical repositioning on the part of drugmakers.

In this environment, a phrase like "works with your body" resonates more positively than it may have five or ten years ago. Then, it may have sounded weak; now, it sounds almost organic. And organic is very fashionable right now!

It takes a certain sensitivity to know what matters to your customers, what allays their fears or motivates their buying decisions. Do your best to recognize trends in attitude so wherever those attitudes move, you will be right there speaking their language.

Labels: advertising, customer centered, marketing, messaging

ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd had a good take today that reminded me of a piece I wrote a long time ago -- about what advertising can do and can't do.

He was discussing a show that ESPN promoted very heavily, but got cancelled. His observation: "The idea that we can promote something to a (specific) rating is laughable." You'll tune in once or twice, but you won't devote your time to it if you don't like what you see.

Then he made an interesting contrast: "Have you ever seen a promo for PTI?" For you non-sports fans, PTI is Pardon the Interruption, a very popular ESPN opinion/commentary show. They do very little in the way of promotion because to a significant audience, PTI is appointment viewing. Once you've seen it, you like it and you come back.

Advertising works. Advertising drives traffic. The idea with advertising to those who haven't experienced you is to get them to give you a try. Advertising can generate a trial, but it can't make people like you.

Where advertising agencies and media sales reps often fall short is selling you (sometimes overselling you) on what advertising can do, to the neglect of what it can't do. If advertising doesn't generate visits or calls or clicks, evaluate the advertising. But if you're getting first-timers but not repeat traffic, evaluate the other factors of customer behavior.

That is, make sure your location and people and products/services and customer experience are the kind of stuff that make people want to return.

(And if I may self-promote for a moment, Fox Marketing Group exists to help you with the "total package" of marketing endeavor from traditional advertising to customer contact to shopping environment. We're not selling one marketing tool or another, we're working to connect you to customers at every point in the buying process -- including making sure your business is the kind that makes people want to come back.)

Labels: advertising, customers, marketing

If only the "good hands" people could get their hands on that little gecko...

In a recent TV ad, Allstate did something I've not heard them do before -- they named names. Specifically, they named Geico.

Most companies, especially established players like Allstate, would prefer not to mention competitors at all. I haven't done the research to verify this, but I'm guessing Geico's massive advertising investment is yielding some business from customers switching from Allstate.

And it's quite an investment at that. Geico absolutely dumps money into TV and radio, and have done so for years. They're running what appears to be four separate campaigns simultaneously -- the gecko, the cavemen, the "money you could be saving," and a few straight-forward spots thrown in just to keep you on your toes.

Allstate's been pushed far enough, and now they're pushing back by name.

When do comparative ads work? That's a topic for a longer discussion (it usually favors the competitor with lower share, not the market leader), but the strategy here appears to be about disspelling impressions of "savings from switching." Allstate now claims that the average customer switching to Allstate from Geico saved money. We're more accustomed to hearing that claim the other way around.

Who knows if they're comparing apples to apples regardless of who you're switching from or who you're switching to? (We would need Progressive to find that out.) The "savings" game is one filled with questionable claims, regardless of industry.

But as a small business owner or manager, take interest in this battle of the bigs. Watch how they position themselves, alone and in regard to each other. Then look at your own market. Are there valid comparisons to make? How direct should you be in describing them? Maybe, just maybe, it's time to name names.

Labels: advertising, comparisons, competitors, marketing