Keeping up with your consumer

Your consumer is changing. And with all of the external factors influencing consumers (the economy, the environment, job insecurity, food safety, etc.) the pace of change has accelerated. Are you keeping up?

As you plan for 2011, ask yourself if your brand could be impacted by consumer skepticism and lack of trust in “big business.” Ask yourself how your brand is adapting to changing consumer consumption habits. Are you willing to let consumers take some ownership over your brand? In our culture of immediate gratification, is your brand doing all it can to give consumers what they want instantaneously?

If you’re struggling with any of these issues or just want a better understanding of trends impacting consumer attitudes and behaviors, we encourage you to read our latest white paper, Seven Consumer Trends to Ignore if You Want to Be Ignored. We think you’ll find it to be thought provoking and valuable as you plan for 2011 and beyond.

Zhu Zhu Pets epic battle

Do you remember Zhu Zhu Pets, the cute little toy hamsters that were all the rage last Christmas?

Well apparently cute doesn’t cut it anymore. Coming soon to toy stores everywhere are Zhu Zhu Ninjas and Zhu Zhu Special Forces, both available in battle armor. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the Kung Zhu Ninja Warrior Samurai Scorpion Vehicle!  “Cute” is gearing up for battle.

It seems as though Cepia LLC (the makers of Zhu Zhu Pets) is gearing up for battle, too. The battle so many marketers face when trying to keep their brand relevant and their target consumer engaged. It strikes me as a risky move for Zhu Zhu Pets.

In 2009, the brand seemed to be about lifelike pets that were cute and interactive. They would coo and purr and explore their habitat. While these new products are still interactive, the armor covers up cute and “lifelike” is a stretch. Cepia LLC is not walking away from their original line of hamsters, tunnels and hamster wheels. It seems they are trying to expand what their brand stands for. Hopefully they have a clear definition and a clear goal in mind.

Only time will tell if they will be successful (my six-year old son thought the Zhu Zhu Ninjas looked “awesome”) or if over time the brand will send out so many mixed messages, it will end up standing for nothing.

Wanted: a target market

It’s not always clear who is being targeted for a product or service. Without a clear target, I’m left feeling puzzled.

For those of you who live in Chicago, San Fran, NYC or Washington DC, there is a free online service available called parkzing.com. If you sign up for this service, it sends you an email when you get a parking ticket. Hmmm. I find myself wondering who is the intended target market for this service? At the top of the web page it says “Never pay another late fee again!” Okay, so I can tell they are appealing to people who have paid late fees in the past. (Sorry to say, I’m one of them.) Beyond that the target is more than a little murky. What do you think…do you think they’re targeting:

• Stressed-out speeders who don’t notice the parking ticket and drive away so fast the ticket blows out from under the windshield wiper?
• Disorganized paper-pushers who are destined to lose the ticket the second it hits their kitchen counter, but who would never lose track of an email amidst the dozens (or hundreds) they get each day?
• Kind-hearted car-lenders who will let anyone use their car and want to know if “anyone” got a ticket?

I also can’t help but get a bit cynical. Who really is offering this service? What’s in it for them? (Yes, they hope you will pay them $5 to pay the ticket for you, but really, if you’ll try to avoid late fees, you’ll probably try to avoid any fees.) And most importantly, if I rely on them, will they really follow through?

Having a clear target market and attempting to make a meaningful connection with that target market would have provided answers to a lot of my questions. Connecting with a target can even build the foundation for the trust that is needed here.  Without that target and that connection, this was just a service that made me a little curious.

The Hilton is divorcing me

I know, relationships are hard. They take work. And it appears that the Hilton is throwing in the towel on me. I got my walking papers from them in a cold-hearted email telling me that I’m on the brink of losing my HHonors status, one I’ve had for over a decade. They didn’t do what all therapists suggest—communicate! If only they would have asked me about my year; the decrease in travel, the relocation of some key clients, the husband in school that’s put a huge crimp in our typical jaunts. I haven’t changed my loyalty to the Hilton, it’s still my go-to hotel–but life changed a bit this year.

So, why am I airing my dirty laundry about this? I’d like to encourage companies to take a long-term view of their loyalty programs and have dialogue with your users. Loyalty programs can be low cost ways to keep people coming back. Yes, I understand they’re not free – you give away hotel rooms, upgrades, discounts. But rarely does a redeemer-of-points/miles/etc. not also spend money.

When we redeem our HHonors points for a free room, we almost always purchase additional nights, spend money in the restaurant (okay, the bar), buy a soda in the trinkets store, tip the concierge, the housekeeping staff and the valet. We contribute to the revenue stream. Without some benefit from the HHonors program, I will shop around a lot more, I will frequent boutique hotels, I will be less loyal. And they’re not even asking me why.

The dark side of “filtering”

Humans are pre-programmed to filter. It’s a coping mechanism. If we get bombarded with too much information, we end up remembering very little. If we have too many choices of TV channels, we watch our favorites. If we’re fortunate enough to have a “Favorites” button on our remote, we might even use that to save us from the barrage of channels to surf.  (Okay, I know some of you are saying you love to channel-surf, but I’d still bet you have to be in the mood for it—in the mood for not filtering.)

As more and more communications try to reach us the consumers, we become more adept at blocking out what’s not relevant. It becomes harder for marketing messages to breakthrough–and in turn, harder to change someone’s mind or get them to think differently about a brand.

Take politics for example:  Politically, many of us are divided, and the filtering we do reinforces these divisions and helps us firm up our own beliefs. Odds are strong that we’ll find websites, news channels and print media that help reinforce our political ideals.

We do it because validation feels good. Having other people help us prove the rightness of our views gives us a sense of belonging and helps us feel a little smarter. What makes this a problem is that the more we listen to sources that show us our viewpoint is right, the harder it becomes to listen fairly and objectively to other sources. And the harder it becomes to change our minds.

It doesn’t matter if we’re talking politics, coffee or cleaning products–the filtering mechanism maintains its power.  There are groups and websites that will make us feel at home and feel justified in our beliefs—some of them may even be further cementing negative views of your brand.

The “average” consumer has disappeared

Looking at the 2010 Census, Advertising Age reported it is expected to find that the average consumer is now extinct in the United States.  Americans can no longer be neatly and easily defined. In fact,  Ad Age reports, “The iconic American family—married couple with children—will account for a mere 22 percent of households.”

Why is it, then, that many marketers still believe they should try to appeal to everyone with their brand, their product and their communications?  While these marketers may believe they are playing it safe, in reality, they are putting their brand’s success in jeopardy.  Marketers who try to appeal to everyone end up with messages that are overly general and appeal to no one.

Growing a brand requires prioritization.  We easily accept that idea when it comes to capital expenditures, staffing, budgets, etc.  No one wants an average staff or an average budget.  We want specific people working for us and specific dollar amounts to accomplish our specific business goals.

For many marketers, however, the idea of prioritization is harder to accept when targeting.  Prioritizing causes them to worry that they are excluding some potential consumers–and potential dollars. In reality, the key to successfully building a brand is to identify the high priority consumers your brand needs the most and taking the time to understand them.  Doing this doesn’t exclude other potential consumers; it allows you to delight your target and build devotion to your brand.

Forget the “average consumer”.  Set your sights on the carefully targeted consumer who will grow your brand.