Maybe as a byproduct of my age, maybe as a byproduct of my personality, maybe as a byproduct of my upbringing, I have always had a fascination with change. I love analyzing the way things have changed in the past, and being involved in things that are changing currently. What has fallen out of public favor, why this occurred, and seeing these things perpetuate themselves is always interesting.
One way that I see marketing changing currently, and potentially drastically changing in the future, is through harnessing unadulterated consumer insights, and creating discussions between consumers…basically the field of Word of Mouth Marketing. As a concept, business has harnessed Word of Mouth (WOM) for centuries, falling in and out of favor as other forms of marketing have become increasingly elaborate. From discussions on which vendors had the best products, fairest prices, shadiest business tactics at bazaars and markets centuries ago, to online iterations in almost any form imaginable, the exchange of customer opinions and experiences has been a strong force in the what and how people choose to buy. As internet marketing continues to grow in size and importance, it seems only inevitable before courses are taught on the subject, books are already being written, and WOM will certainly play a role in these discussions. Analyzing what developments have been made, what is currently happening, and what could potentially lie ahead for a fledgling (but promising) industry and form of marketing, would be ideal research for me.
Currently, I work for one of, if not THE largest force spreading WOM and its benefits in the business landscape today. Our founder is on the Word of Mouth Marketing Association board; we publish a highly respected blog geared more towards selling WOM services and best practices; our CMO also runs a respected marketing blog, and I have even seen whitepapers and articles written by executives at our company when researching the industry on Google scholar. My largest concern, is that although the subject is gaining popularity and buzz, this research may be a bit close to home so to speak, and variety outside of what I have already heard espoused on a daily basis will be hard to find.
While this concern is in some ways substantial, it also provides a challenge that could benefit my current career path. Delving into the reasons why WOM is working, the components of WOM’s effectiveness if you will, especially from an academic perspective, is something we seldom do. This may be because trade journals are much more relevant (and easily quotable) when selling than academic journals, but the different perspective may reveal something those in the industry easily overlook. Take the study done by McCombs professor Bin Gu in February 2008 showing that positive word of mouth is both a precursor and outcome of increased sales. That is to say large quantities of reviews produce sales, and sales increase the number reviews and positive impressions about that product, service, feature, etc. Published around the same time as a product we designed to “cross the chasm” (of review volume so it was high enough to have positive effects) was released, this article is fuel to the fire for both the entire industry, and said product. Diving deeper into factors such as authenticity in marketing/advertising, consumer trust, new applications for WOM to influence, and new verticals opening themselves to the idea daily, this project could provide a fairly holistic view of WOM marketing from various levels.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I Swear It's Like Going to Disneyland
Marketing is much like magic. When done correctly, it blends the lines between reality and fantasy. When done poorly, it invites one to scream out the “secret” to others, dismiss the magician entirely, and proclaim the act a sham. The thing about magic (and marketing) is, sometimes you just want to believe. To steal liberally from what I believe to be the best movie of the past 20 years, The Prestige, “Now you're looking for the secret. But you won’t find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled.” This, my friends, is exactly what the “customer experience” is all about, and harnessing this power, to the fullest extent, and connecting with the correct segment, can be described as nothing short of magic.
12 pages long and containing the unbelievable story of two women who seemingly built an empire out of nothing, and defied conventional logic, the article “True Colors” just didn’t connect with me. My notes while reading the article should have lent themselves to a piece about changing generations, and how a clever, if not inspiring tag line, simply means nothing to those of my generation. How, authenticity, and the spread of social marketing would mean the demise of this style of marketing and advertising, where a character could evoke feelings strong enough to make someone brand loyal, or even a first time customer. How the pioneers were both amazing, and quaint, the right women for the time, but maybe nothing so revolutionary today.
Instead, after reading the articles in “The New Grocery Experience”, I cast my cynicism to the side in favor of the gleeful exuberance that is truly the shopping “experience”, or magic, if you will, of entering a Central Market (or Whole Foods). Let me explain: I am an unabashed food nerd. I make better food than 95% of the restaurants I eat at, regardless of price. My dream job is opening a wine bar where I serve what I want, when I want, playing a random mix of my MP3 player as background music. I LOVE FOOD. It is my one true passion in life.
The “Central Market” experience has become so ingrained in my foodie DNA that anytime I am having a special meal, cooking for a date, or simply feel like treating myself, I swing by a Central Market. The shopping experience in its entirety is worth the extra prices: the abundance of quality, the sheer abundance, the leisurely pace I take; it all even seems to get my creative juices flowing. I have never, in the 30-40 times I have been in a Central Market, left the store with exactly what I planned on getting, with only what was on my list, or sometimes, even in the ballpark of what I had envisioned going in. That is half of the fun. I frequently tell my guests, whoever it is, that the meal sitting before them, and simply the luxury of shopping at Central Market, is inspiring to me. I want to be successful enough at whatever I do, so the special occasion can be a common occurrence. That will be an effective measure of my success, the day I do my basic weekly grocery shopping at a Central Market, is the day I have arrived. This all may sound a bit extreme, to the point of parody, but I assure you, that only goes to speak about how crazy I am about food, and how truly sincere I am when I say Central Market is my favorite store on earth.
Furthermore, this is one place where I willingly give in to the marketing powers that be, rather than fight them. I typically have the strong will to enter a store, whatever store, pick up the one thing that I want that is on special, and leave. I almost pride myself in the ability to sense a “trap”, and avert it. Central Market gets the best of me every time. They frequently sell boneless skinless fresh chicken breasts for $1.99 a pound, or high quality steaks for anywhere between $6-$10 a pound, prices that are comparable with what you may find elsewhere, but unmatched in quality. I wander in, convinced I will pick up what I need (the steak, or the chicken, or the fish, or the bread), and simply leave. This is where the experience of simply being at a Central Market grabs hold, and prevents me from ever leaving with a basket less than $40. I feel “compelled” to meander slowly through the aisles, and pick up a little of this or that, or some crazy vinegar or oil I cannot find anywhere else, and pick up extra meat on sale, simply because it is a scarce resource, and a loaf of some of the most amazing bread anywhere, and some pesto…and on and on and on until the too good to be true sale that brought me in, is only 5-10% of my total bill. Oddly, I never feel cheated, duped, or remorseful of my purchases. Instead, I leave with my hefty bill and small bag of groceries, absolutely giddy to cook them all.
This is certainly what I would consider part of the “magic” category. It defies all odds, all logic, and yet magically repeats itself, over and over again. The entire process, the entire experience, and not merely the finest ingredients imaginable, makes all this magic possible.
12 pages long and containing the unbelievable story of two women who seemingly built an empire out of nothing, and defied conventional logic, the article “True Colors” just didn’t connect with me. My notes while reading the article should have lent themselves to a piece about changing generations, and how a clever, if not inspiring tag line, simply means nothing to those of my generation. How, authenticity, and the spread of social marketing would mean the demise of this style of marketing and advertising, where a character could evoke feelings strong enough to make someone brand loyal, or even a first time customer. How the pioneers were both amazing, and quaint, the right women for the time, but maybe nothing so revolutionary today.
Instead, after reading the articles in “The New Grocery Experience”, I cast my cynicism to the side in favor of the gleeful exuberance that is truly the shopping “experience”, or magic, if you will, of entering a Central Market (or Whole Foods). Let me explain: I am an unabashed food nerd. I make better food than 95% of the restaurants I eat at, regardless of price. My dream job is opening a wine bar where I serve what I want, when I want, playing a random mix of my MP3 player as background music. I LOVE FOOD. It is my one true passion in life.
The “Central Market” experience has become so ingrained in my foodie DNA that anytime I am having a special meal, cooking for a date, or simply feel like treating myself, I swing by a Central Market. The shopping experience in its entirety is worth the extra prices: the abundance of quality, the sheer abundance, the leisurely pace I take; it all even seems to get my creative juices flowing. I have never, in the 30-40 times I have been in a Central Market, left the store with exactly what I planned on getting, with only what was on my list, or sometimes, even in the ballpark of what I had envisioned going in. That is half of the fun. I frequently tell my guests, whoever it is, that the meal sitting before them, and simply the luxury of shopping at Central Market, is inspiring to me. I want to be successful enough at whatever I do, so the special occasion can be a common occurrence. That will be an effective measure of my success, the day I do my basic weekly grocery shopping at a Central Market, is the day I have arrived. This all may sound a bit extreme, to the point of parody, but I assure you, that only goes to speak about how crazy I am about food, and how truly sincere I am when I say Central Market is my favorite store on earth.
Furthermore, this is one place where I willingly give in to the marketing powers that be, rather than fight them. I typically have the strong will to enter a store, whatever store, pick up the one thing that I want that is on special, and leave. I almost pride myself in the ability to sense a “trap”, and avert it. Central Market gets the best of me every time. They frequently sell boneless skinless fresh chicken breasts for $1.99 a pound, or high quality steaks for anywhere between $6-$10 a pound, prices that are comparable with what you may find elsewhere, but unmatched in quality. I wander in, convinced I will pick up what I need (the steak, or the chicken, or the fish, or the bread), and simply leave. This is where the experience of simply being at a Central Market grabs hold, and prevents me from ever leaving with a basket less than $40. I feel “compelled” to meander slowly through the aisles, and pick up a little of this or that, or some crazy vinegar or oil I cannot find anywhere else, and pick up extra meat on sale, simply because it is a scarce resource, and a loaf of some of the most amazing bread anywhere, and some pesto…and on and on and on until the too good to be true sale that brought me in, is only 5-10% of my total bill. Oddly, I never feel cheated, duped, or remorseful of my purchases. Instead, I leave with my hefty bill and small bag of groceries, absolutely giddy to cook them all.
This is certainly what I would consider part of the “magic” category. It defies all odds, all logic, and yet magically repeats itself, over and over again. The entire process, the entire experience, and not merely the finest ingredients imaginable, makes all this magic possible.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Knowledge Will Set You Free
I feel it necessary to start this blog post with an examination of my biases. I am, what I would call, a “moderate libertarian”. It is my political and philosophical persuasion, that I abide by what Barry Schwartz calls the “Conventional Western Wisdom”. Freedom and choice, inseparable in value, should be maximized, which will result in immeasurable happiness. Where some of my libertarian brethren take this almost to the point of anarchy, wishing to privatize things like the police, firemen, and schooling, I do not. I agree with Mr. Schwartz in that everyone should have “their own fishbowl” so to speak, which varies in scope and size based on an individual’s ability to choose.
There is an incredibly large degree of empowerment in choice. Choice provides people, whether they are buying a product, service, or even voting in an election, a sense of satisfaction that they made a choice, any choice, and can attribute a sense of value to that choice, because it was their own. In his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini makes the claim that people actually have a stronger relationship with something, anything, once they actually make that choice, because of an internal desire to remain (and appear to others) consistent. There may still be, and frequently is, buyer’s remorse, but the connection to that brand, that product, that service, that politician, is stronger now that the decision and endorsement was made. I own, and take pride in my decisions, and like to stick with my decisions.
Think about the last time you received a gift, something marginally useful that you may not have actually purchased for yourself. Now think about another item, that is, again, marginally useful, but this time you purchased it for yourself. Which item do you find yourself trying to use more often? Even if that item requires a lot of extra effort? Which item would you be more likely to sell at a garage sale? If you are anything like my family and I, the gifted item is nearly disposable, while the purchased item gets its try every now and again. I come from a family of foodies, so one year I decided to give my mom a pasta machine for her birthday so we could make homemade pasta at home. It has been used literally once in almost 8 years, but has somehow made it through 4 different moves without being lost or sold at a garage sale. In an attempt to make handmade potato pasta called gnocchi, my dad purchased a potato ricer a few years ago. After a failed (and laborious attempt) to make a perfect batch of gnocchi, my dad has been trying to use the ricer in a number of different (and unintended) ways, all with little success. But he continues to try, for reasons until recently, I did not take the time to examine.
Where I find Mr. Schwartz is almost entirely correct with his “Paradox of Choice”, is with an uninformed or uneducated consumer. I know about as little as someone can know about household repairs, or how an automobile functions. Send me into a Home Depot or Autozone, even with a specific list of products, and I will freeze up given the choice of even just 3 different brands or options. To the uninformed consumer, much like his example of purchasing jeans, where he only knew of one style, or his example of patient autonomy, choice is certainly not a good thing. Choice means you can make a mistake, and choice means that there is always the possibility you have made the wrong choice, leaving you with a hefty sense of buyer’s remorse. I recently stood in front of the pain reliever section at CVS for about 10 minutes trying to decipher all of my options (time relase, extra strength, rapid release, PM, etc) before buying the generic, regular strength, Tylenol. I even went in, thinking I knew what I wanted, but ended up confused and “paralyzed” by the situation, not knowing the merits or downfalls of each option.
So how do we get the best of both worlds, a plethora of choice without the paradox of choice burdening every purchase? Make it as easy as possible to educate consumers and make them feel at ease with their purchase. Segmentation, in many ways, makes this possible. Certain price points message a perceived value on the customer’s end. Effective packaging and messaging can easily queue the customer into whether this product was meant for professionals, for children, for the elderly, for the tech savvy, for whoever. The internet has proven an unbelievable research tool for all forms of product research. One study even discovered “70% of online consumers said they use the Internet to research everyday grocery products” (Prospectiv, January 2008). Consumer ratings and reviews empower customers with the confidence the product will be functional, durable, and valuable (through the star ratings), and specific consumer insights on the product itself (the review material).
While there is certainly something to be said about the ills of too much choice (for example, the choice for Barry Schwartz to dress himself), I feel the effects were vastly over exaggerated in this twenty minute segment. Furthermore, it seemed Mr. Schwartz was not ashamed to also mention (or briefly push, rather) the idea of income redistribution, leaving one to wonder if the two ideas merely run parallel with one another, or if one is the byproduct of the other. I reveal the fact my biases certainly influence/cloud my judgment and opinions, I can only hope in its 304 pages, this is disclosed in “The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less”.
Edit:
Upon reflection of this topic, my post, and the podcast, I changed the title of the article to “Knowledge Will Set You Free”. While touching on the subject of politics, which along with food, movies, and music, I tend to weave into every discussion, I did not fully explain my planks for a better society; or why exactly, education, education on and about most everything, is so truly important. In order for my libertarian utopia to exist somewhere, even in my imagination, it MUST be filled with educated citizens. Citizens who understand that although an income tax does not exist in a libertarian utopia, the welfare of others is essential in maintaining a functioning society, so they give to charity out of both altruism and necessity, but not a legal sanction to do so. Citizens who understand that pollution and waste are exactly that, and do not partake. Citizens who understand the risks involved with drug use, even casual drug use, and do not partake in the hardest controlled substances, even though it would be legal to do so. Citizens who, because of a diverse and thorough education, are tolerant, if not accepting, of others lifestyle choices, cultures, abilities, etc, and simply do not have the power to legislate any discriminatory laws or practices into being. Maybe I am confusing education with a strong sense of morality here, but those I have regarded as having the highest sense of morality, always have impeccable and seamless logic to demonstrate their points, a sign of a highly educated (or at least highly intelligent) person.
So how does this starry-eyed political diatribe relate to consumer purchasing and decision making? Because the only way more choices can hamper a consumer; because the only way to suggest LESS options for the consumer, without actually asking the consumer, is a good thing, is if there is no faith that consumer can make an educated decision on their own. I actually find it rather insulting someone would insinuate I should have to make fewer choices, and always be fine with it. I have seen people standing in the wine isle with the “deer in the headlights” look, absolutely flabbergasted by the selection. A quick response: any good liquor store will have an expert on hand, to guide your decision, discover your wants, and suggest the best option for you. Paradox smashed, problem solved, and education delivered with minimal output! The internet contains a PLETHORA of information on nearly any subject, easily accessible, and enough to remove shopping paralysis. It is believed one of the key contributing factors to Amazon.com ‘s longtime success was their effective and widespread use of customer ratings and reviews. I can personally recall instances of starting a very basic, broad search, (cookware for example) and narrowing down to a few options, having no idea what I was looking for going in. It has been theorized Amazon is losing market share to others, especially as of late, because of the widespread use of reviews on competitor’s websites.
Knowledge will set you free my friends, knowledge will set you free…
There is an incredibly large degree of empowerment in choice. Choice provides people, whether they are buying a product, service, or even voting in an election, a sense of satisfaction that they made a choice, any choice, and can attribute a sense of value to that choice, because it was their own. In his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini makes the claim that people actually have a stronger relationship with something, anything, once they actually make that choice, because of an internal desire to remain (and appear to others) consistent. There may still be, and frequently is, buyer’s remorse, but the connection to that brand, that product, that service, that politician, is stronger now that the decision and endorsement was made. I own, and take pride in my decisions, and like to stick with my decisions.
Think about the last time you received a gift, something marginally useful that you may not have actually purchased for yourself. Now think about another item, that is, again, marginally useful, but this time you purchased it for yourself. Which item do you find yourself trying to use more often? Even if that item requires a lot of extra effort? Which item would you be more likely to sell at a garage sale? If you are anything like my family and I, the gifted item is nearly disposable, while the purchased item gets its try every now and again. I come from a family of foodies, so one year I decided to give my mom a pasta machine for her birthday so we could make homemade pasta at home. It has been used literally once in almost 8 years, but has somehow made it through 4 different moves without being lost or sold at a garage sale. In an attempt to make handmade potato pasta called gnocchi, my dad purchased a potato ricer a few years ago. After a failed (and laborious attempt) to make a perfect batch of gnocchi, my dad has been trying to use the ricer in a number of different (and unintended) ways, all with little success. But he continues to try, for reasons until recently, I did not take the time to examine.
Where I find Mr. Schwartz is almost entirely correct with his “Paradox of Choice”, is with an uninformed or uneducated consumer. I know about as little as someone can know about household repairs, or how an automobile functions. Send me into a Home Depot or Autozone, even with a specific list of products, and I will freeze up given the choice of even just 3 different brands or options. To the uninformed consumer, much like his example of purchasing jeans, where he only knew of one style, or his example of patient autonomy, choice is certainly not a good thing. Choice means you can make a mistake, and choice means that there is always the possibility you have made the wrong choice, leaving you with a hefty sense of buyer’s remorse. I recently stood in front of the pain reliever section at CVS for about 10 minutes trying to decipher all of my options (time relase, extra strength, rapid release, PM, etc) before buying the generic, regular strength, Tylenol. I even went in, thinking I knew what I wanted, but ended up confused and “paralyzed” by the situation, not knowing the merits or downfalls of each option.
So how do we get the best of both worlds, a plethora of choice without the paradox of choice burdening every purchase? Make it as easy as possible to educate consumers and make them feel at ease with their purchase. Segmentation, in many ways, makes this possible. Certain price points message a perceived value on the customer’s end. Effective packaging and messaging can easily queue the customer into whether this product was meant for professionals, for children, for the elderly, for the tech savvy, for whoever. The internet has proven an unbelievable research tool for all forms of product research. One study even discovered “70% of online consumers said they use the Internet to research everyday grocery products” (Prospectiv, January 2008). Consumer ratings and reviews empower customers with the confidence the product will be functional, durable, and valuable (through the star ratings), and specific consumer insights on the product itself (the review material).
While there is certainly something to be said about the ills of too much choice (for example, the choice for Barry Schwartz to dress himself), I feel the effects were vastly over exaggerated in this twenty minute segment. Furthermore, it seemed Mr. Schwartz was not ashamed to also mention (or briefly push, rather) the idea of income redistribution, leaving one to wonder if the two ideas merely run parallel with one another, or if one is the byproduct of the other. I reveal the fact my biases certainly influence/cloud my judgment and opinions, I can only hope in its 304 pages, this is disclosed in “The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less”.
Edit:
Upon reflection of this topic, my post, and the podcast, I changed the title of the article to “Knowledge Will Set You Free”. While touching on the subject of politics, which along with food, movies, and music, I tend to weave into every discussion, I did not fully explain my planks for a better society; or why exactly, education, education on and about most everything, is so truly important. In order for my libertarian utopia to exist somewhere, even in my imagination, it MUST be filled with educated citizens. Citizens who understand that although an income tax does not exist in a libertarian utopia, the welfare of others is essential in maintaining a functioning society, so they give to charity out of both altruism and necessity, but not a legal sanction to do so. Citizens who understand that pollution and waste are exactly that, and do not partake. Citizens who understand the risks involved with drug use, even casual drug use, and do not partake in the hardest controlled substances, even though it would be legal to do so. Citizens who, because of a diverse and thorough education, are tolerant, if not accepting, of others lifestyle choices, cultures, abilities, etc, and simply do not have the power to legislate any discriminatory laws or practices into being. Maybe I am confusing education with a strong sense of morality here, but those I have regarded as having the highest sense of morality, always have impeccable and seamless logic to demonstrate their points, a sign of a highly educated (or at least highly intelligent) person.
So how does this starry-eyed political diatribe relate to consumer purchasing and decision making? Because the only way more choices can hamper a consumer; because the only way to suggest LESS options for the consumer, without actually asking the consumer, is a good thing, is if there is no faith that consumer can make an educated decision on their own. I actually find it rather insulting someone would insinuate I should have to make fewer choices, and always be fine with it. I have seen people standing in the wine isle with the “deer in the headlights” look, absolutely flabbergasted by the selection. A quick response: any good liquor store will have an expert on hand, to guide your decision, discover your wants, and suggest the best option for you. Paradox smashed, problem solved, and education delivered with minimal output! The internet contains a PLETHORA of information on nearly any subject, easily accessible, and enough to remove shopping paralysis. It is believed one of the key contributing factors to Amazon.com ‘s longtime success was their effective and widespread use of customer ratings and reviews. I can personally recall instances of starting a very basic, broad search, (cookware for example) and narrowing down to a few options, having no idea what I was looking for going in. It has been theorized Amazon is losing market share to others, especially as of late, because of the widespread use of reviews on competitor’s websites.
Knowledge will set you free my friends, knowledge will set you free…
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