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

Continuing on the thoughts from yesterday's post, there are other advantages of competing against your larger, slower competitors. Namely, they are often stupid.

The problem with huge corporations is that stupidity has lots of room to flourish. Quote me on that.

Consider the words of the great Minnesota Fats: "You don't learn from smart people, you learn from idiots. Watch what they do, and don't do it."

Want to see something stupid in the customer service category? A colleague of mine recently needed a receipt for a flight he had taken on Delta Airlines. Logically, he emailed to request. With a little less logic in action, Delta replied by email to tell him to snail-mail his document number to a certain department so they can email a receipt back to him. Meanwhile, his document number was in the email itself. Classic.

What is considered "normal" in your industry that drives customers nuts? Or confuses them? Learn from the big idiots, and give customers a clearly better way.

Labels: bad habits, customer service, customers, differentiation, marketing, planning

Back to work, fresh off a 4-day Disney Cruise, I'm reminded yet again what excellence looks like.

(Some people are Disney people, and some people are anti-Disney people. We tend to be Disney people. It's possible to get too much of the Mouse, I suppose, but we're not there yet.)

There are many books on "The Disney Way," including one by that very name. How would Disney run a hospital? How would Disney run a school? And on and on. I haven't read any of them.

I have only gathered my observations and opinions by spending my own hard-earned money to do so. And having done so four times in the eleven years I've been a parent, I always come back impressed. Very impressed.

Disney does it right. If more businesses devoted themselves to making the customer's dreams come true or making the customers feel like princesses or making the customers believe in magic, Disney would be the patriarch of the movement.

Here are just a few Disney-esque principles I've observed in action:
1. Do nothing half-way. Every ride is a movie set and every employee is a cast member, and every theme is carried out to an almost ridiculous degree. I don't believe there is an organization anywhere that executes their vision more thoroughly than Disney.
2. Exceptional is the expectation. "Average" is not on their radar screen. The "minimum requirements" are not even a consideration. Maybe this point is the same as the one above. That's how well they execute.
3. Build in cross-selling. Every Disney property is littered (poor choice of words) with profit centers, all feeding one another. There are no "operational silos," at least as far as I can tell. Every piece of the business model is cooperative and synergistic.
4. Take pride. This is not a repeat of points 1 & 2, this is about profit. Disney is not cheap. Disney will never be cheap. We've all been to cheap amusement parks. By taking great pride and making points 1 & 2 a way of life, there really is no peer to drive their prices down. Pride is a profit strategy.

It's becoming clear to me that this post could get really long, so I'm just going to cut it off right here. How can you "Disney-fy" your business? Open your mind really, really wide for this one, because dreams really can come true.

Labels: branding, creativity, customer centered, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, strategy

Crayola means crayons. Crayola is the crayon king more than Google is the king of search or Coke is the king of pop. Crayola means crayons like Kleenex means facial tissue.

Over the past few years, Crayola has taken over more and more shelf space in the art and craft aisles. And from my vantage point, secondarily as a marketer but primarily as a parent of creative kids, they've done an excellent job of it.

The hot item for Christmas this year -- this year's Cabbage Patch Kid, as it were -- turned out to be the Crayola Crayon Maker. When the full line of 100+ Crayola crayons isn't quite enough, the new Crayon Maker allows you (or your child) to take the scraps and broken pieces to mix and match and make your very own new creations.

My poor kids still don't have one. They were sold out everywhere!*

In a smooth way, without sacrificing their landmark product line, Crayola now means more to the same set of customers than it did just ten years ago.

When you think of crayons, you think of Crayola. But now you can also find the Crayola brand on a much wider variety of creative product lines. A crayon maker by any other name may not trigger interest or a purchase, but because it says Crayola on the package, you sense that you know what you'll be getting.

I think that's what separates a typical product line extension from a "blue ocean strategy." Is it just a new product or service, or does it expand what your name means to customers?

What does your name mean? What else could your name mean to the very same customers? If it's something that solidifies and expands your relationship with those customers, make it happen!

* Christmas is over, and their birthdays are in June, August and September. I may have to simply splurge on this and just buy it as soon as I find one.

Labels: branding, creativity, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, strategy

"Cognitive dissonance" is the academic term for post-purchase anxiety. (Professors use big words to impress their students.)

It sounds something like this: Should I have bought this? Should I have shopped around more? Should I have asked more questions? Could I have done better? And on and on.

Post-purchase anxiety can potentially deter customers from making a return visit to you. It can certainly reduce their willingness to refer others to you. They may fear that their perceived mistake will be called out.

The thing is, it's not because you've done anything wrong! Nevertheless, it's in your best interest to anticipate it and reduce it.

Provide reassurance (with evidence, documentation or other support) early and often in the shopping process. This isn't just good for reducing post-purchase anxiety, it may also nudge fence-sitters into buying when they would otherwise chicken out.

If you want to make the customer experience thoroughly enjoyable, keep in mind their potential for worry and doubt. Find ways to alleviate it -- give them peace -- and everybody wins.

Labels: customer service, differentiation, marketing, messaging, salesmanship

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

Lushin and Associates is still proudly advertising their "expensive and difficult sales training." Doesn't the tough economy mean they should scale back their advertising, or at least scale back their emphasis on "expensive and difficult?"

Not if they believe in it. And not if they are committed to the value their services provide. Not if they can prove their services are worth a premium. Surely they can argue that sales excellence and effectiveness are more valuable now than ever.

Times are tight and customers are cost-sensitive in every market, but that doesn't always mean an automatic price concession. Just thought I'd say publicly that I respect them for holding the line.

Labels: branding, differentiation, messaging, pricing, salesmanship, 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

I'm really, really proud of the Fox Marketing Group business model. I love what it is and what it is not. Yet ultimately I didn't really design it -- you did.

We handle advertising, but we're not an ad agency. We do graphic design, but we're not a design shop. We direct internet marketing, but we're not a web firm. We work with media companies, but we're not media salesmen. We handle printing and signage projects, but we're not a print shop or a sign shop. The list goes on.

What the business is not frees us up to do things in a dramatically different way. A way that suits our customer, the business owner, in ways they've never seen.

All those other things are selling something to the business owner. No matter how good or consultative or thoughtful they are, they still answer to someone else besides the business owner. They answer to their own boss, and try to beat their own quota.

I get the privilege of being at the owner's side. I get to think like an owner, yet bring to the table some skills and ideas the owner doesn't have. If someone has to sell to win, they can't really align themselves with the owner. I do, and I love it!

Take some solid research, for example, like the fact that the number one factor in a customer's judgment of a business is the restrooms (especially among female customers.) If I sold advertising or printing, I wouldn't know that information and wouldn't care! In fact, the truth might actually get in my way -- the owner might decide (correctly) that the investment in their shopping environment is more important right now than the investment in whatever I happen to be selling.

But since I'm on the owner's side, we can make facilities part of the overall marketing plan.

I'm free to act like I own the business myself, instead of figuring out ways to merely sell to it. And that makes all the difference.

Labels: customer centered, customer service, design, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, research, signage, strategy

Ally Bank is not a new enterprise. It looks new, it sounds new, but it's the relaunch of GMAC in the aftermath of GM's bailout/bankruptcy.

It's an online-only bank (think ING Direct) with a very clean website and a very human tone in the language. Why didn't GMAC do this?

I guess that's the benefit of starting over. You get to think fresh and start from scratch -- hopefully starting with the customer in mind, not convention.

A large, multi-center medical group is breaking up here in Indiana due to some financial mistakes. (Intentional or unintentional is a subject of great debate.) If I get the opportunity to relaunch one of the smaller groups, we will not be simply recreating the business model of the previous organization.

We will rethink every aspect of the way this group practices medicine and service -- from naming that's not quite so dry and predictable, to customer interactions that are human and personal.

In times of economic tumult, there will be plenty of failures and break-ups. Which means plenty of people and enterprises starting over.

If this applies to you, here's your chance to not just start over, but start fresh.

Labels: branding, customer centered, customer service, differentiation, management, marketing

It's 1:32pm. I've just changed from polo and khakis into a nice suit. Why? Because I want to.

This is an abnormal behavior from me. Usually when I'm putting on a suit, it's because I have to. Right this moment, about to present to a very formal and distinctive new company, it's because I want to.

And somehow, that makes all the difference.

When you really know your customers and enjoy serving them well, even things that are outside your comfort zone can be a pleasure.

Labels: customer centered, customer service, differentiation, marketing

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 are exactly where you want to be. If you really wanted to be somewhere else, you would do the things it takes to get you there."

Those are the words of Michael Crisci, sales and management expert (and one of the most influential people in my career to date). In those two sentences, he nails the one thing that holds back so many people across all types of businesses: comfort.

People may say they want something different, but in the end they are too comfortable where they are to pursue any type of meaningful change.

Comfort is the enemy of innovation. Comfort is the enemy of problem-solving. Comfort is the enemy of the next great thing. Comfort steals more profit from you than any thief or corporate espionage. I hate comfort.

This recession is going to spawn some really great things in the near future, because it's making a lot of people uncomfortable for the first time. It's my personal mission in the next 18 months to help business owners translate their discomfort into entirely new prosperity.

Uncomfortable yet? Good. Call me.

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

If we didn't have enough on our plates already, now we have to watch out for symptoms of swine flu. But that's not really my topic here. My goal is to give a little encouragement in generally discouraging times.

You don't have to go far to find bad news today. You don't have to go anywhere at all. The bad news will find you. Economic duress, political friction, and now pandemic disease potential. Nice.

But in the midst of all this, some companies are growing. It can be done! In the past week alone, I've been in contact with three businesses in three different industries who are all expanding -- a pool management company, a commercial roofing company, and a lotion manufacturer.

By all indications, companies like these should not be growing. Economic pressures and tightened budgets should be causing customers to lay low.

These three have a common trait, however. They're all spinning off new divisions to serve different customers or serve existing customers in new ways.

Think things are tight? Take a fresh look at customers in your marketplace and you might find opportunities to grow despite a general atmosphere of recession.

Is there something you can add to your offering that creates new value for existing customers? Is there a similar type of customer you could target with only a slight change in your product or service lineup? If so, you can invigorate your business during these leaner times, and emerge with gusto when times improve.

It's being done already. Maybe it's time you did it too!

Labels: customers, differentiation, marketing, planning, strategy

In the book How to Get Your Competition Fired (which I've just reviewed -- check it out at http://www.foxmarketing.us/reading.php), a survey of marketing from insurance agencies nationwide shows that they all say pretty much the exact same things about themselves. Not an effective strategy for standing out.

There is a remarkable sameness in many industries. Most, in fact. Everybody wants the sale, and everybody says the same things to get it.

The very topic of differentiation makes a lot of business owners uncomfortable.

I remember one business owner, when the topic of differentiation came up, leaned across the table and lowered his voice as if confessing some horrible sin: "Look," he whispered, "our business isn't really different. It's just ours. We do a good job, we treat people right, we play by the rules, but there's nothing really special about it. We just need more customers, that's all."

He thought he was speaking for himself. He may have been revealing the unspoken feelings of most business operators.

I wouldn't want to change any of the things you do well. And I obviously want you to correct or minimize any areas that are lacking. But primarily, I want you to add just one extra thing. Something that customers will think is cool -- and different.

There are lots of ways to give extra. Do your customers fear risk? Add your own twist on warranty protection. Are your customers in a hurry? Add free delivery options or quicker turnaround or faster setup. Are your customers intimidated by complexity? Simplify, demonstrate for free, or show ease of use.

In an incredibly commoditized automotive supply business selling to manufacturing facilities, one company promoted "The Fives." As in five-minute response to faxed or emailed requests for information, five hours to pricing, five days to delivery, and so on. It was different from their competitors, and it was succinct and specific. Their product was essentially the same as everyone else's, but their way to market was distinctive and helped them remain a player against bigger rivals.

For financial institution auditing, CPA firms follow the same protocols and ensure conformity to all the same laws. So how to stand out? I can think of one that is launching a key differentiation -- me. With every completed review, the bank or credit union will receive a free marketing audit to ensure their promotional programs are on-target. Quite a perk these days when dollars are precious.

If you're competing in a "same old same old" market, let's talk. We'll help you find your special place in the minds of those who matter -- customers.

Labels: customer centered, differentiation, marketing, planning, strategy