Category Archives: Huh?

October 14, 2014 · 12:02 pm

Disconnecting On The Phone

A report this morning from Kitewheel got my attention this morning. They “examined the current breakthroughs and breakdowns in engagement with today’s connected consumer.” The results aren’t very encouraging to those of us who like to think we’re in touch with the expectations of our consumer base

They hired some folks to survey consumers and marketing decision makers with respect to consumer expectation around experience and brand execution.  A few key findings:

  • 76% of consumers use mobile devices to compare prices and read reviews while shopping, yet 51% of marketers are not currently managing mobile apps as a consumer touch point.
  • 55% of consumers state frustrations in downloading an app that offers no functional difference from a business’ website.
  • 68% of consumer respondents expect a response to tweets directed at a brand, and one in three expect a response within 24 hours. Yet 45% of marketers state it is unlikely that their company can respond to every one of these social media opportunities.
  • 73% believe that loyalty programs should be a way for brands to show consumers how loyal they are to them as a customer; but 66% of marketers still see it the other way around.

In other words, we’re disconnected from those who access our brands via their phones.  We look at loyalty programs as consumers putting their hands in the air to show they love us.  They want them to be ways in which we show how much we love them.  Doesn’t sound like the basis for a happy relationship.

Five areas of disconnect were discovered including: mobile, social media, real-time e-commerce, omni-channel capability and brand loyalty.  Every one of those five has become far more important over the last decade and yet it seems as if many marketers are living in 1999.  As the study says, the overall journey of today’s consumer is frequently a broken one, with significant misalignment between consumer expectations and brand execution.  We need to think about how to fix that misalignment and do so quickly.  You agree?

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October 10, 2014 · 10:46 am

Who Are You?

Our Foodie Friday Fun this week starts at Taco Bell. No, this is not another rant on quick service restaurant food.

Taco Bell

In fact, I happen to enjoy it from time to time. Today’s screed is about a new product at Taco Bell: the Starburst Freeze. “Starburst,” you say, “isn’t that candy?” Why yes. Taco Bell is selling a candy-flavored slush that, in the words of an Eater story, kind of looks like icy Pepto-Bismol. Yummy!

Putting aside the appropriateness of any food business selling what looks like something to relieve indigestion, there is another point this product raises.  Obviously this is a cobranded item.  Cobranding is not uncommon in business.  Some examples include Crest Plus Scope, Tide Plus Febreeze and Dawn Plus Olay – all brands owned by Proctor & Gamble and there are numerous products involving to discrete companies as well.  That’s not my issue.

Taco Bell is pseudo Tex-Mex food.  While we can debate the merits of a Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunch, the inclusion of Doritos – a corn chip arising from Mexican food if one digs deeply enough – makes sense.  It relates to the core positioning of the brand.  It fits on the menu.  Strawberry Starbursts?  Not so much.  Other freeze drinks on their menu – one with Dr. Pepper and another with Mountain Dew – sort of make sense – they’re based on soda served ubiquitously.  If the shake was a chocolate candy and had cinnamon, almonds and chipotle, one could argue they were being extremely authentic to the brand since that’s a very Mexican shake.  Maybe they should have paired with Almond Joy?

Any time we add products we run the risk of diluting our core brand perception. Trying to be all things to everyone just means we slide toward commodity status.  We need to state who we are as brands and do nothing that makes the consumer wonder if that initial brand statement is still true.  If they’re asking “who are you?” we’re in trouble. Unless you enjoy competing on price alone, which is how commodities sell.

The simple test here is to ask someone where would one expect to buy a Gordita and where one might buy a Strawberry Starburst Freeze.  My guess is you wouldn’t get the same place in response to the question which tells me that the latter item doesn’t belong.

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October 1, 2014 · 11:30 am

Rubbernecking

Is there anything more frustrating than rubberneckers? You know who I mean. Drivers who slow down to gawk at an accident thereby causing traffic jams behind them. Make a note: they’re one of my pet peeves. They’re also something from which we can take a business thought.

Wikipedia reminds us that according to a 2003 study, rubbernecking was the cause of 16 percent of distraction-related traffic accidents. I’m sure you’ve had that sinking feeling when someone behind you isn’t paying close attention to the fact that an otherwise wide open lane has come to a screeching halt.  Maybe it’s due to someone changing a tire on the other side of the road and a police car has pulled in behind them to flash lights for safety. More than once I’ve heard the screech of tires as the dolt behind me is trying to slow down and waited for impact.  You wish the cop would deploy a massive screen, upon which is written “nothing to see here – move along.”

I’ve never understood the phenomenon, either in a car or in business.  It manifests itself in a couple of ways off the road.  First are those companies and brands that try to create a rubbernecking situation where they do something to cause partners and/or consumers to slow down and gawk.  One could argue that, in fact, the old-school way of thinking about marketing was exactly that.  Think about your response on the road, however.  How angry are you when you discover that there is NOTHING causing the situation that’s keeping you from getting where you want to go?  Our messaging needs to add value not be a distraction.

The other way rubbernecking impacts business is when we allow our efforts to get distracted by something going on elsewhere.  Maybe you are spending time rubbernecking what your coworkers or other departments are doing.  Slowing down to look at the next new thing probably is just keeping us from the destination we’ve chosen.  Most of the time there is nothing to see.  Obviously I don’t mean we ought to operate in vacuums.  We can’t let situational awareness become a distraction what brings our movement to a crawl.

Don’t rubberneck in your car.  It’s even worse in your business life.  That’s my take.  Yours?

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