Are You a "Copy Cat" Advertiser

Quit copying me or I'm going to tell on you! Ok, now that you are in touch with you inner child, let's chat about how un-clever most advertising really is these days.

Recently, in my mailbox I received a coupon pack from a company that specializes in sending coupons to consumers - I won't say who, but their name rhymes with "Zal-Pak". Normally, the whole pack finds its way to the garbage, but since consumers are responding more to coupons these days (and, let's face it I'm also a consumer) I decided to look at the offers.

This brought in multiple-personalities (no comments please) as I looked through the pile:
1. A consumer
2. A business owner
3. A consultant.

As a consumer, I felt overwhelmed. As a business owner, I chuckled and as a consultant I laughed out loud (figuratively). Why?

I counted 5-6 coupons from competing companies (in several industries - auto service, house cleaning, pizza).

As a consumer I looked for the best deal and discarded the rest. As a business owner, I thought of how horrible it is to commoditize my business down to the lowest common denominator (price) and would have been quite upset with the advertising person as my coupons are up against my competition...IN THE SAME MAILER!

As a consultant, I'm continually surprised at how companies continue to "copy" their competitor's advertising and expect to grow their market share.

"Copy Cat Advertising" only commodifies your products & services to price-only considerations.

It is time to think outside of the mailbox and get smart about how you communicate with your customers.

But how? Here's a couple of steps:

1. Know thy customer! (If you don't know who they are...find out! Start a database.)
2. Speak to thine customers relevantly (don't offer the same things to all customers...it makes your offers less "relevant" and you'll see declining response rates).
3. Study purchase data to find out who your most profitable customers are and then treat them like a precious resource (because they are your most precious resource as a business).

Need help? Yes, we can help. Don't need help but have worthy commentary? We'd love to hear it!

Loyalty Programs...The New Black?

Have you heard the latest news? There are these new things called "Rewards/Loyalty Programs" and they are all the rage. All the cool kids have them and you know you want one too. What size & color should you choose...remember, black is slimming :).

Ok, Rewards/Loyalty Programs are NOT new; however with new technology developments that allow small and large retailers to use customer purchase data effectively, perhaps we are seeing a new spin on the old programs as they evolve. Think of it as "Marketing Darwinism" (we are going to trademark that so if you say it you owe us $0.25).

So, as consumer buying patterns continue to evolve how can businesses adapt and stay relevant with their customers? Sure you can look at peaks and valley of your revenues based on seasonality, new product launches, etc., but that is old news - history as they say. By the time you act on that old news, your consumers are on to bigger and better things..think of that as "Purchase ADD" (yes, we want $0.25 for that too).

YOU NEED REAL-TIME PURCHASE DATA WITH AN EASY WAY TO ACT ON THAT DATA!

That's the "New Black"...actionable customer data that you garner through your loyalty program. Don't have a loyalty program and a way to collect customer purchase data? Call us, we have the answer.

The Economy Tsunami - 3 Steps Your Business Can Use to Stem the Tide...

This just in...the economy is in the tank! Will loyalty/rewards programs offer a glimmer of hope to help retailers communicate relevantly with their most prized assets - their existing customers - and keep us buying?

All businesses, from SOHO to F500, are leery as consumer confidence continues to wane. As consumers, should all crawl into our respective holes, pull our money out of the banks and stop "consuming". What should we call ourselves if we are no longer "consumers"...hmmm, what is the antonym for consumer?

As business owners, retailers, marketers, etc. what practices will you employ to combat The Economy Tsunami? It's time to sink or swim and if your business is relying on what we call "pay & pray advertising", we'll see you next to the Titanic (cool exhibit if you get the chance to see it - again, I digress).

We hear it already "So, you with all the answers, what do we do?" Glad you asked! Here are your steps to riding out the wave:
1. Start identifying your customers - You must find out who your faceless/nameless customers are.
2. Stop marketing to all your customers the same way (segmentation!) - We're not talking about poor customer service here, you should always have great customer service. We are talking about distinguishing between your High Value Customers and Low Value Customers. NEWSFLASH - Your customers represent different economic values to your business, some high and some low (a customer portfolio really). Speak to, and offer promotions, to each customer segment that reflects their value to your business. Would you sink millions into a low value stock - duh! Don't sink your precious dollars into poor performing customers.
3. Automate as much as possible - Yes, we have the tools to help you do just that and much more - come and take a look!