Bcadgroup's Weblog » ENGAGING

Time to Take Action Now. The News About Customer Loyalty is Worse Than You Thought.

nicolem — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:47:47 +0000

Have you lost business this year? Are you keeping all of the customers that you believed were brand evangelists—the loyal and committed fans of your brand—in this soft economy? Or has their devotion waned? Coupons, discounts and other offers are now allowing customers to focus on value and bargains and to quickly bolt from the commitment they once had with you.

Not sure that connecting and engaging with your customer should be your number one priority when adding to or adjusting your marketing and communications strategies? I came across an article from the Fianacial Times that features a study: “a two-year analysis of 685 grocery and pharmacy-stocked brands, using data from 32m consumers’ supermarket loyalty cards, found that in 2008 the average brand lost a third of its formerly highly loyal customers.”

There are some serious hard cold facts that point out that even the biggest brands are experiencing HUGE changes and drops in brand loyalty! Everyone should be reading this article. I hope that you will pass it on to your colleagues and friends. It is time to take note and make the changes needed—to get those customers back now. In this new economy, you want to show your customers how much you value their brand commitment, and how eager you are to make adjustments that reflect the times and the changes in their lives. You want to prepare for a committed journey with them as we move towards the future…a future where the customer is put first and foremost.

Nothing could be more important than that!

Best Nicole

Big brands’ best customers have been defecting in droves since the beginning of the US recession, according to a study. By this year, more than half of a typical US brand’s most loyal shoppers in 2007 had switched to rival products.

A two-year analysis of 685 grocery and pharmacy-stocked brands, using data from 32m consumers’ supermarket loyalty cards, found that in 2008 the average brand lost a third of its formerly highly loyal customers.

The study will alarm packaged goods groups, as the most loyal customers – those choosing one brand for more than 70 per cent of their purchases in a category – should also be their most lucrative.

“Defection is top of mind for brand managers now because they’re the most profitable customers,” said Eric Anderson, associate professor of marketing at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

“Price and promotion have become so salient at retail, that what we thought was the loyal customer can be moved with discounts,” he added.

Past recessions have seen similar defections from top-tier national brands to stores’ private-label goods, Mr Anderson said. Academic research showed that customers could be quickly persuaded to switch by a cheaper price but took far longer to switch back.

The study was conducted by the CMO Council, which represents chief marketing officers, and Catalina Marketing’s Pointer Media Network, which has equipment in 25,000 stores analysing buying behaviour. Catalina can provide a two-year anonymous purchasing history on individual customers. Brand managers and retailers who had seen the data had been startled by it, said Todd Morris, senior vice-president at Catalina.

“They’ve always known there was churn but could never put their finger on how big the issue is.”

The study comes as marketers are leaning more heavily on research and on targeted advertising, as they seek to improve on the “spray and pray” approach of mass media marketing formats, such as 30-second television advertisements.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

What happened to the Neighbourhood Feeling?

nicolem — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:27:56 +0000

Today’s post is apropos, as it addresses the fact that the means of communication prior to the advent of technology began with stories. At the dawn of evolution, stories were spread by word of mouth or drawn onto stone walls to be documented and passed along from generation to generation. I have always said that everyone has a story to tell. The value of that story is priceless when it is authentic, transparent and leads to why something clearly stands out and grabs at your core. A story that says, “this is the way I think, the way the I feel and the way that I want to lead my life.” Social media now provides the opportunity to return back to an earlier time by encouraging people to not only engage one-to-one with the products and services that they value and use, but also with each other.

Chris Brogan is a social media expert and guru in the blogging world. I read his posts and we follow each other on twitter. He has written a great article about the chronology of the process that lead us away from that neighbourhood feeling. His post definately leaves pause for reflection.

How will you find ways to create that neighbourhood feel—that person to person connection with your customers? That “I’m more than just a number” feeling that has been lost over the years as businesses have grown distant thanks to their focus on reaching the masses while ignoring the individual.

Best Nicole

A Recent History of Communication

Several hundred years ago, newspapers were born from broadsides and pamphlets, where information was aggregated and distributed, most specifically to a regional area. Stories were often personal, where many people knew the protagonists and antagonists of every piece. The learned people of a region stayed informed by paying attention to the distribution of various printed materials (as well as through private letters delivered through the postal system).

A hundred or so years ago, the telephone came into play. People used them to communicate. They were expensive at first, but then people figured out ways to cut costs, including the initiation of the party line (where people would all use the same service, but would use different ring types to indicate which house was receiving a call). Phones were very social.

Radio came, and it had a more broad reach. We learned about areas beyond us. Newspapers grew up. Television came. Nationalized content came. Syndication. International.

There’s obviously some good that comes from learning more about the world. I wouldn’t want to go back for anything. Having friends all over the world is really the best thing that ever happened to me. And yet, something happened with business communications.

Missing That Neighborhood Feel

With the ability to reach the masses came the disconnect between businesses needing to reach potential customers and any chance of personalization and localization. It’s hard to do both: reach millions of people and yet seem personal. Is that necessary?

We all want to feel important and unique. We want people to address us personally, to remember us. At least sometimes. I understand that we don’t need a relationship with our gas station (especially since they rarely have mechanics on staff any longer). I realize that we really don’t care to know our telephone company (until we have a problem).

Or do we? Do we like being treated personally? Is it too much to ask? Do we want these kinds of interactions? Which products or services do we want to be personal versus not?

Do we want that neighborhood feel back?

Linking Customers to Sell More Clothes

bcadgroup — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:11:08 +0000

We are going to try to provide all sorts of examples of great branding at the same time we discuss the problems, concerns and ways that companies do not speak to women or consumers in a way that encourages them to become brand evangilists.

I came across this article today in Ad Age MEDIAWORKS online. I thought this was a brilliant example of engaging and targeting consumers to build brand evangelists and sell more products.

In Japan, Uniqlo Microsite Lets Buyers Find Testimonials
Published: November 13, 2008

For a more in-depth look at this Idea of the Week and other case studies, visit Ad Age and CMDglobal’s Inspiration site.

Uniqlo wanted to sell its new Bra Top range and so recruited 300 Japanese women to represent the brand.

The 20- to 40-year-olds were filmed answering a range of questions, from their favorite food to what they liked about Uniqlo products, and the answers were then played on a microsite for like-minded women.

Filtering criteria allowed visitors to find women of a similar height, weight and shape and see how they answered the questions.

Sales of the Bra Top increased five-fold following the campaign, and at one point Uniqlo sold out all 1.7m units.

Best Nicole