Marketing Module I
Positioning: Winning the Battle for Your Customer’s Mind©
by Diana Vollmer
Positioning one’s dry cleaning business in the marketplace is a challenging and continual process. Done well, it can be your most valuable business asset; ignored, it can be your worst nightmare. Whether you actively design your brand positioning or passively allow it to just happen without your direction, your company’s image is in constant flux.
Marketing gurus Al Ries & Jack Trout define positioning in their classic book, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, as “a marketing method for creating the perception of a product, brand or company identity in the mind of the prospect.”
Operations that build name recognition and define their marketplace positioning stand to succeed more quickly than generic dry cleaners. Highly identifiable fabricare companies, whether independent or franchisees, have a distinct advantage in winning the battle for the minds of their target customers and in turn winning the battle for their wallets as well.
As this is being written, a perfect example of this conversion of mind-to-wallet is occurring in theaters worldwide. Before and after the Oscars, the nominated movies enjoy a huge surge in ticket (and video streaming) sales. The buzz and sales resulting from Oscar is a tremendous advantage for the film industry. In the words of Director Frank Capra, “The Oscar is the most valuable, but least expensive, item of worldwide public relations ever invented by an industry.” Wouldn’t you like your brand to be as recognizable and influential as that small gold statue?
Consider creating an award to be identified with your company. Example, if you have a fashion institute or art academy in your market, create a competition for upcoming designers. By partnering with the schools and your retail community, you create tremendous visibility and good will among the fashion community, and you would be top-of-mind when they need or refer your services. Their association is also an implied endorsement of your ability to care for fashion items, so the audience will seek you out as the cleaner that “gets it”. Since most owners of cleaning companies are hesitant to do outreach, you will be a shining exception to the generally mediocre image most cleaners project in the minds of your prospects.
Assessing Your Current Market Position:
All of you project a specific image and position in your market today. It may or may not be the image you want to project.
Being objective yourself (very difficult), or more realistically, enlisting the aid of an objective friend or professional, a clear assessment of your current position is essential in your quest to improve your market position.
This objective assessment should be based on several factors:
Ø Your services list and services features
Ø Benefits those services provide to your prospects
Ø Consumer needs and your solutions for those needs
Ø Perceived importance of the services and solutions you offer
Ø Comparison of alternatives available in the market (including non-professional)
Ø Emotional impact of your services for the customer
Ø Customer experience when utilizing your services and those of your competitors
Ø Awareness of yours and competitor’s existence and expertise in the market
Ø Consumer’s perceived position of each alternative
Include the practical, the emotional and the experiential impact of your offerings from the prospects’ perspective.
Ongoing mystery shopping of your company and competitors can determine your perceived market position and that of your competitors.
Periodic customer focus groups and surveys (of both customers and prospects) can provide insight and direction for future profitable growth.
The various approaches to market intelligence gathering will aid you in determining the overlap between your offerings and the solutions that customers and prospects value, to arrive at the optimal mix of services for your company. The same assessment will help you craft the appropriate image and message for your chosen position.
Price Versus Value:
Traditionally, the drycleaning and laundry industry has relied on price to define the market. Marketing has focused overwhelmingly on discounts. However, if price was the driving factor for all drycleaning consumers, there would not exist the wide array of successful niche cleaners that price themselves above the discounters. Some consumers are price driven and others value different attributes.
If you are comfortable differentiating on price alone and battling on that margin field, go for it. There is money to be made at the low end and at the high end of the market. The middle is more challenging, as described by Christine Birkner in Marketing News, “The End of the Middle?”
If you don’t target the lowest price niche, although it is challenging to identify and deliver the exceptional service for which the most discerning customers are searching and are willing to pay, it is well worth the effort. Lavishing additional attention on your best customers and their wardrobes will delight them and convert them to fans who will spread the word about your distinctive difference, thereby becoming your (free and effective) sales force. Take care of your top customers and the rest will follow.
Customer Benefits Versus Facts:
Customers and prospects want to know “What’s in it for me?” Answer that question first!
Example, the factual route ad: “We pick-up and deliver to your home or office 2 days a week.”
The customer focused ad might show a family hiking, attending a sporting event or theater “While the laundry is being done.” Specific features and logistics can be detailed after the interest is created.
Luxury Versus Commodity:
Focus on price makes our service appear to be a commodity. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Discerning customers know better than we do the importance of our service to them. An international speaker at a drycleaning conference, when asked about drycleaning services, initially sounded like a dream customer. He owns 15 sets of identical clothing that he wears when speaking, so the cleaners in the audience assumed that an issue with one garment was no problem because he had several back-ups. They were totally defensive when he said that “one broken button” would send him to a different cleaner – “no second chance.” His perspective is that he must look good and feel confident to be credible to his audience and earn his (very lucrative) living. He had no idea what price he paid for cleaning.
Especially discerning customers tend to be a challenge to staff, so many times your staff will shy away from them or view them as too demanding or even spoiled by their wealth. This message is loud and clear to the customers and results in statistics such as the often-quoted research by Michael Leboeuf that “68% (of customers) quit because of indifferent attitude towards the customer by the staff”.
Based on U.S. census data, less than 10% of the population utilizes our industry’s services. If such a small segment of the market uses us, then we need to woo them.
Also, by default our service is a luxury, defined as “an item that is desirable but not essential”. So how do we move our “luxury” service from non-essential to essential in the mind of the consumer?
Emotional Experience Versus Features:
Instead of focusing on price or features, target the emotional and experiential aspects of wearing beautifully cleaned and pressed clothing, sleeping on luxurious sheets that have been professionally ironed, enjoying the feeling of arriving home to clean neatly folded family laundry (or even better, laundry stored in the correct closet or appropriate drawer), or the gift of discretionary time that you provide.
These images appeal to both people that live with luxury and convenience now and to those who would like to live with luxury and convenience. This segment of “aspirers” is looking forward to improved status in their careers, social standing, financial position or other aspects of their lives.
They can be influenced by images representing the future that they would dream of. Examples might encompass leisure activities like yachting, great seats at the Super Bowl, a formal charity event in a designer gown, an impeccably dressed speaker at a lectern, etc. Let them envision themselves in the desired setting and demonstrate that you can help get them there.
Marketing segmentation companies can provide lists of these people in your market for you to target. They are much more valuable long-term prospects than the occasional customer that utilizes you only for discounts and funerals.
Consistency
Whatever the market position you decide to pursue, ensure that the message and image are consistent in all media, whether static, hard copy or electronic, including your advertising, packaging, logo, tag line, marketing, PR, decor, uniforms, stationery, vans, and staff. Remember your success depends upon winning the battle for your customers’ minds.
Assignment:
Additional Reading:
Draft Your Company Position Statement:
- Where the company is now
- Where you aspire to be
- How you will attain the ideal market positioning
_______________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1.415.577.6544
Marketing Module II
The Branding Challenge©
by Diana Vollmer
Consistency in branding is an ongoing challenge for all companies. Even the best most iconic logos must be tweaked and updated periodically to remain current and appealing to the target market. If there is any question in your mind about the veracity of these statements, search the logo history of BMW or your favorite brand at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL9cebBIRiU&list=PL5OE3k22iqlmaZAIbspFUWS9DQJDf6_zh&index=91
The timely updates are often too subtle to even notice unless you see the versions side by side. Since consistency of branding is a critical factor to make the most of your promotional budget, the brand challenge is a very productive effort for any management team.
Note the evolution to simplify and streamline the icon.
Is your logo iconic and current or does the existing array of your company media look like the chaotic mess of the proverbial “dog’s breakfast”?
Perhaps your logo is used harmoniously throughout the company but looks like it is stuck in your grandparents’ era? Does that appeal to the current customers and the clientele you want to attract?
Every company should regularly take a brand challenge to ensure appropriate updates are being scheduled and implemented.
BRAND (AND TEAM) BUILDING CHALLENGE:
- For your next management meeting, assign your team a preparation project. Have them scour the company for samples of all media seen inside and outside the company that might be construed as branding. Does the collection look cohesive or does it look more like Times Square?
If the example is not easily portable to your meeting room, have them take a picture of it AND PRINT IT FOR THE MEETING.
The list of possibilities is endless, so the number of samples to be reviewed should be huge. Prepare to plaster the table, walls, windows, easels, floors and projection screens with the collected images. Prepare to exhibit all of it at once.
The list should begin with and build from:
- Signage (be sure all versions from every location are represented)
- Letterhead and stationery
- Business cards
- Company vans, trucks, cars and any other vehicle
- Website (all pages)
- Social media presence (all variations)
- Published advertising (all publications, all variations)
- Flyers
- Packaging (all variations)
- Hang tags
- Uniforms (all variations)
- Non-uniform attire of the entire team
- Store exteriors (all sides)
- Lobbies (photograph each one from all angles to show what customers see)
- Delivery people (both store and route)
- Customer service representatives
- Production staff
- Newsletters (hard copy as well as electronic)
- Staff headgear (sanctioned or not)
- Delivery carts
- Route promotional materials (consumer and business)
- Handouts of every description
- Promotional items provided for event participation of any kind
- Press releases
- Photo op announcements
- Anything and everything that is visual in around and about your company
- Before the meeting begins, assign general category areas for the samples, i.e. table for stationery, wall for store exterior store photos, windows for van. Be sure to assign a miscellaneous locale for unique items. Provide plenty of non-permanent tape, etc. for attaching the samples.
- Begin the meeting by having your managers post their samples in/on the general areas for each category.
- Ask your management team to take 5-10 minutes to individually assess the examples and
WRITE NOTES OF THEIR PERSONAL INITIAL OBSERVATIONS.
- Have each manager share their individual observations with the entire team.
- Tally the observations by category on a white board (electronic or manual) or flip chart so they can be captured for future use and reference. The format should be visible for the duration of the meeting.
- As a group, select items that you all feel proudly represent your company in their current version and group them together.
- List what makes them representative of your company identity.
- Note which categories are covered by the selected samples.
- List the categories that are not represented by the “proud” samples.
- Provide check marks by the ones that need to be tweaked to be timely or could use updating for ANY reason.
- Do they all use the same version of your logo?
- Do they all have a currently consistent look about them?
- If you saw one of the samples alone, would it be instantly recognizable as being produced just for your company alone?
- Choose the best of this selected group and discuss why they best represent your logo and brand.
The samples below are courtesy of Clothesline Cleaners in Boise, ID.
NOTE: While doing this exercise, keep in mind that:
- EVERYTHING Apple does has the current version of their logo prominently displayed.
- Amazon boxes ALWAYS display their logo as the most visible thing you see, even from a distance.
- The Nike swoosh is ALWAYS wherever Nike is.
- The McDonald’s arches can be SEEN for miles.
- Is there any way to avoid the Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook or Google logo for longer than 5 minutes?
- For the categories that are NOT represented in the “proud and current” group above:
- Determine which media groups are relevant and
valuable.
- Select the remaining versions that are the “best” from the category group.
- Determine what necessary revisions would be required to meet your current branding ideal.
- Implement a plan to bring the critical media groups to your new standards level.
- After completing the steps above, determine what categories of promotional media are missing in your current collection and that should be added to your materials.
- Unless you or someone on your immediate team is a media/graphic professional, it is time to engage a pro to assist in taking the process from your initial assessment and recommendations to a professional reality.
Your branding and logo can be as iconic in your market as the most recognizable and ubiquitous brands that surround all of us every day. It just takes awareness, coordinated management and constant vigilance to ensure this is a reality instead of a dream.
Assignment:
Take the branding challenge as described above. Present the best examples.
Review one of links in paragraph 1 RE: branding evolution.
Optional Reading Assignment:
Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities, 2nd Edition by David Airey
_____________________________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1.415.577.6544
Marketing Module III
Customer Profiling To Increase Your Sales & Profit©
By Diana Vollmer
What Customers Should be Targeted?
“The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
It is an axiom of business management that “80% of sales come from 20% of clients.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
“business owners often ignore the 80/20 rule… tempted to waste our time trying to please all of our customers instead of the most lucrative ones.
We are all conditioned to always respond to the stimulus around us. So if you obey the 80/20 rule, you are going always to feel as though you are ignoring something — because you are. It will be an irritating feeling at first. And it particularly gnaws at Americans because we are prone to trying to treat people equally. The phrase is clearly written (in) our Declaration of Independence, that all people “are created equal.”
But all customers are not equal. Far from it. Some earn you an amazingly disproportionate amount of money, many make you a little bit of money, and some even waste your time. With the last group, you lose money selling anything to them at all.
Your goal should be to zero in on those 20 percent of customers who are essential for your business’ prosperity.” https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229294
Our research in the fabricare industry indicates that the disparity between best and average customers is even more extreme, with less than 20% providing 80%+ of the sales. For this reason, identifying the top 10-15% of the customer base for profiling is usually most effective.
Relationship Between Engagement and Sales:
The more you know about your customers, the more you can engage them with your services. The more you know about your best and most profitable customers, the more you can attract prospects that will become best customers.
So how do you go about it?
Many of you have targeted consumers based on demographic information such as age, location and income levels. But is that enough?
Demographic Profiling:
Let’s use a hypothetical example that you have determined that you want to target consumers that earn more than $150,000, live in a specific zip code, are 35-45 years old, own a home worth more than the median price in your market, and have a college degree.
Psychographic Profiling:
This form of profiling which is sometimes referred to as “Intent-Based Targeting”, helps drill down further into motivational lifestyle factors.
For example, both of the following fit your demographic profile, but when you add the psychographic information to the equation, who is the most likely drycleaning customer? Which of them could be attracted to your wash-dry-fold service?
Prospect 1: Business banker, drives a BMW, married to an attorney, has 2 children in private schools that require uniforms, wears high-end designer suits and custom shirts, attends charity dinners for the arts, travels frequently domestically and internationally for business and pleasure, is an avid cyclist, is an investor in an art gallery, has a personal trainer, has had cosmetic surgery, uses a personal shopper for buying clothing and has Frette linens in their home.
Prospect 2: Electrical engineer, works for Google, doesn’t own a car, is not married, has no children, home is a loft in the “tech” district, eats most meals out or while working, bikes to work, wears lots of Under Armour which is purchased online, lives in Nikes, buys every Apple product when it is first introduced, spends work and social time with the same people, is always dreaming up new apps.
Psychographics Definition:
From Wikipedia,
“In the fields of marketing, demographics, opinion research, and social research in general, psychographic variables are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. They are also called IAO variables (for Interests, Activities, and Opinions). They can be contrasted with demographic variables (such as age and gender), behavioral variables (such as usage rate or loyalty), and firmographic variables (such as industry, seniority and functional area).
When a relatively complete profile of a person or group’s psychographic make-up is constructed, this is called a “psychographic profile”. Psychographic profiles are used in market segmentation as well as in advertising. It is possible to find other definitions of the field in academic literature and even online blogs. Some categories of psychographic factors used in market segmentation include:
- Activity, Interest, Opinion (AIOs)
- Attitudes
- Values
- Behavior”
The science of psychographics has become so precise that it allowed Target to identify future mothers early in their pregnancies, often before their friends and families know, and to target them to buy specific products during and after the major life event of the birth of a child. Target’s model was so successful that they got major media attention and enough push-back that they had to adopt a more stealth approach by imbedding the offers in more general merchandise flyers. For more information on Target and other retailers use of the science of habit formation, see the NY Times article at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=Target&st=cse
Even if this makes you nervous as a consumer, it should get you excited about the capabilities and power of knowing and planning around the psychographics of your best most profitable customers and the concept of targeting their “clones”.
Profiling Process:
In the US, there are numerous services that can provide psychographic profiles with minimal information from your best customer lists. Have only the top 10-15% of customers by revenue included so that occasional users do not dilute the clarity of the resulting target profile. You can ask for a referral from your marketing service providers, or if you have difficulty finding an affordable source, please contact MfM for a referral.
Note that it won’t be a profile of a specific customer but a composite profile of the list you submit for profiling. For example, you might receive a profile that includes statistics showing that (of submitted customers):
- 93% travel 3 or more times per month on business,
- 86% percent of them travel at least 4 times per year for leisure,
- 82% are “Urban Upper Crust: Well-to-do, urban, married shopaholics who love their credit cards. Into fitness and health, travel, gardening and golf. They use email and shop online and by mail. With the highest net worth, they can be very altruistic.” (As summarized from GENERATIONSSM CLUSTERING SYSTEM, KBM GROUP)
The profile will include many lifestyle categories, interests and habits as well as specific “communities”, “clusters” or “tribes” depending upon the profile source. These segments are summarized to help you better understand the motivations of each group.
The capabilities of detailing the passions, habits, motivations, health, activities and physical movements of these “tribes” is growing exponentially with the GPS tracking imbedded in their mobile phones. For example, Google developed “Latitude – See where your friends are, share your location…Turn on check-in notifications for nearby places once you’ve arrived or choose places to be automatically checked in at.” Latitude was later integrated into Google+ and then Google Maps. https://9to5google.com/2017/03/28/location-sharing-removed-google-plus-moved-maps/
Privacy Limitations:
Many countries limit consumer profiling through their privacy laws, so if your market has strict privacy limitations, the profiling process will be more challenging and require aggregation of information (either manual, electronic or a combination) from available sources that are internal to your database or from external sources that are allowable. Marketing professionals in your locale will be able to clarify available consumer information sources.
You already know more than you think about your best customers. A good training exercise at a sales staff meeting is to have everyone think of their best customer and in 5 minutes write a list of everything they know about that customer. Give a prize to the one that lists the highest number of items. Everyone will be surprised at how much information is already available just by thinking about it. One of the things your best salespeople do is automatically use the information they know about your customers to make them feel welcome, valued and special.
Add to that list the information stored in the point of sale system, relatively open social platforms like Facebook and Pinterest, semi-private sites like LinkedIn and Alignable, your SMS and email contact lists, well-crafted customer preference surveys, and the knowledge data base becomes exponentially larger, especially if all POS tools are utilized. For example, a report of the most frequent brands cleaned will provide insight into fashion preferences and potential joint venture partners.
Many of you have stores that blanket an entire town. Whatever your message, if it is the same everywhere to everyone, you have probably experienced different response rates at different stores. Make a habit of tracking the response rates for each message by store and draw your own conclusions about what messages are more appealing at the micro-local level. Also track who uses the offer, how often do they use your service and how much do they spend in total with you. Especially examine responses from your best customers because they are the ones paying your bills and providing your profit.
Using the Data:
The resulting information could lead you to reach out to your customers and/or target prime prospects in various narrowly directed ways that allow maximum return on the marketing investment.
The budget need not be costly because narrowing the target to the profitable influencers allows you to spend only on high probability prospects and to direct your efforts only at their specific motivations, resulting in a higher response rate and lower total marketing cost.
Overview:
Optional In-depth:
Read Charles Duhigg “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Business Assignment:
Profile Top 10-15% of customers by sales revenue (either professionally or manually depending upon privacy constraints)
_______________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1.415.577.6544
Marketing Module IV
Customer Connections: Crafting Your Competitive Advantage Message©
by Diana Vollmer
The Challenge:
Theoretically, to some degree, all cleaners clean textiles, they all press them, they offer convenient locations and there are thousands of them. Based on the statistics CINET gathered for the World of PTC volume 2 Market characteristics, there are 400,000-450,000 dry cleaning companies of all sizes worldwide with approximately 27,000 in the US alone (includes single operators not included in official 2017 business census).
Crafting an effective message allows you to stand above the crowd and to attract more business from customers who are patronizing competitors or doing their own fabricare. The FTN & AISE research indicates that 95% of the potential fabricare business is not being done by professionals.
With all the choices available to consumers, how do you stand out and become irreplaceable?
Have you ever seen a drycleaning ad or website that did not profess to provide “quality” as a primary marketing point? I actually tried hard to find one that didn’t site quality as their key attribute. Twenty-three (that’s 23!) attempts proved futile. No matter if the customer ratings were 1 or 5 on a 5-best scale, all claimed to do quality work. How is a prospective customer to find the real difference that is meaningful to them? If there was a second most common claim, it was “service”. 19 of the 23 claimed service as their particular competitive advantage.
That is where most companies stopped making claims or listing benefits! Again, what does this mean to the drycleaning consumer looking for their “ideal drycleaner”? If every company claims the exact same customer benefit(s), does any single cleaner stand out above the crowd or have a true edge over the others?
When everyone asserts precisely the same thing, is it a surprise that consumers resort to the rating sites that most cleaners love to hate and to berate? Who can the fabricare service shopper trust? Is the provider more credible than the users of the product who are doing the rating? Not likely, hence the popularity of the evaluation websites, where the unhappy experiences and resulting bad ratings are 5 times more likely to be reported than are the positive occurrences that result in good ratings. This math works exponentially against the cleaning professional when combined with the statistic that “It takes 12 positive service incidents to make up for 1 negative incident.”. Source: Lee Resource Inc.
BAD RATINGS ARE COSTLY
So how do you market your business to stand out from the crowd. How do you keep your valued customers returning regularly and how do you woo your dream high-volume, high-loyalty prospects to trust you enough to give your service a try?
Pricing wars don’t seem to be the answer because they create disloyal customers and disappearing cleaners.
So, what will retain and increase your loyal customer base?
The Solution:
First, do the basics well and be consistent. Remember consistency in customer experience and quality from both front and back-of-the-house, importantly supporting each other, is critical in these customer messages.
But a real competitive advantage results from knowing how to communicate with your customers and prospects to keep them interested, engaged and connected to your company. Count on emotions speaking louder than facts.
Personal experience shows that the more you know about another person and their interests, the more engaging you can make the conversation FOR THEM. Just think of conversations with your family and friends. Do you discuss the same things with all your friends or do the conversations vary?
The same is true for professional communications with customers and prospects. GIVE THEM A REASON TO PAY ATTENTION.
Creating the Connection
Crafting the message for maximum appeal to your target customer or prospect is a combination of art and science but it should start with what will appeal to them and where does that intersect with your best business interest. Focus on your profitable customers, they will tell their friends and the rest will follow.
Price: The Most Common Message
Since by far the most common message sent by drycleaners is discount or coupon, let’s examine that message first. Despite the way it looks from the operational side, the cleaning business is a luxury business. Less than 10% of the total population can afford to be regular drycleaning customers. But don’t despair, luxury businesses can be very profitable. Many thriving niches fit this category such as an array of luxury autos, boats, clothing lines, designer household furnishings, cosmetics, wine, gourmet foods, jewelry, arts and antiques, watches, AND PROFESSIONAL DRYCLEANING. To put the available disposable income into perspective, the Tesla Model S electric car is outselling all its “mass market” competitors by sales value and has a waiting list for delivery. Thinking of your business in “luxury” terms opens a whole new approach to customer communication. For example, when a man spends an average of $249 for a Brioni shirt, do you think he is going to risk having it cleaned for $1.99? Will 50 cents difference in price on a prized St. Andrews golf shirt cleaning make the decision for someone who pays £190 or more to play a single round of golf plus the associated travel and lodging? Golfers can be very emotional about that favorite elite course shirt. Will someone who pays $1000+ for an entry level set of Pratesi sheets trust them to a cleaner that will process them for $5 per sheet? Is price really the number one message you want to project?
Refine the Message:
So, if price isn’t the most effective message, what is?
That depends entirely on your best customers, their motivations, interests, habits and lifestyles.
Let’s examine consumers who demographically meet the same criteria and then examine ways to get their attention. Your previous profiling assignment should provide detailed motivational and behavioral psychographic information to aid in selecting the most effective message to convey.
First, according to GENERATIONSSM CLUSTERING SYSTEMSM there are generational factors based on the classic 5 age-based groups:
• Seniors (DOB 1945 & Earlier)
Bleak economic times meant fewer children in the ’30s and early ’40s. Born before or between two world wars, the Senior generation embraced traditional values when young, marrying and having children early, conforming, and quietly respecting authority. They enjoyed the music of Frank Sinatra and watched James Dean and Marilyn Monroe in theaters. In adulthood, they bucked the trend; women entered the workforce, and divorce rates skyrocketed.
• Leading Boomers (DOB 1946 – 1955)
Free love. Peace. Hippie. In a time of political unrest marked by the Vietnam War, the draft, and the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr., 44 million Leading Boomers demanded change. Through protests and riots, they voiced their support for civil rights, protection for the environment and women’s rights. These free-spirited individuals experimented with everything from sex to social structure and psychedelic drugs.
• Trailing Boomers (DOB 1956 – 1964)
Born after 1955, nearly 50 million Trailing Boomers were lucky to miss the draft. Less optimistic than older Baby Boomers, their distrust of the government only grew with each political crisis: Watergate, the oil embargo, the Cold War and raging inflation. Their cynicism, though, didn’t deter their love of pop culture; “Star Wars” smashed box office records, and disco exploded with the release of “Saturday Night Fever.”
• Gen Xers (DOB 1965 – 1974)
From the rise of the Internet to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gen Xers experienced historic changes with global impacts. With increases in the divorce rate, a rise in the federal deficit and the emergence of AIDS, they were skeptical of previous generations’ values. The outlet for their cynicism was a new genre of music — grunge — from bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
• Millennials (DOB 1975 – 1990)
Rivaling the Baby Boom generation in size, Millennials are high-tech, fast-paced and always multitasking. They are always plugged in; listening to an iPod while instant messaging online and talking on a cell phone is the norm. Most can’t remember life without the Internet. Because of the Web, tastes in fashion and music change
with the click of a mouse.”
The latest addition is Gen Z that has just begun entering the workforce and present future opportunities for the fabricare industry. According to https://www.kasasa.com/articles/generations/gen-x-gen-y-gen-z
“Despite the assertion that attention spans have dwindled to a goldfish proportions, Generation Z spends a lot of time on social media, and advertising on those platforms needs to be customized to fit the medium. They can sniff out canned or insincere messages in seconds — take the time to meet them and create purposeful conversations.
Fast Company suggests that “Gen Z have a carefully tuned radar for being sold to and a limited amount of time and energy to spend assessing whether something’s worth their time. Getting past these filters, and winning their attention, will mean providing them with engaging and immediately beneficial experiences.”
They’re a values-driven cohort, identifying with causes and supporting organizations that embrace them. Adweek cites “…studies have shown that Gen Z is interested in racial, gender and income equality, as well as environmental issues. Standing up for these values is becoming a differentiator for brands.”
Since the drycleaning industry is good at attracting boomers and seniors, let’s focus on 2 prospects that fit in the Gen Xer segment. They are both successful in their careers and earn similar incomes. They both have families.
Prospect “A” fits into the subcategory of “MOVING ON A STEADY COURSE”
“These multi-taskers are busy fulfilling daily obligations while also planning for the future. These folks are both parents and investors who enjoy cooking, gardening, sewing and exercising. They seek control and convenient solutions, are avid mail order buyers, and cope with common ailments.”
Prospect “B” falls into the subcategory of “BIG BUCKS IN THE BIG CITIES”
“Living in the big city costs lots of money, and these college-educated men and women have plenty of it. With the highest household income among their peers, these family-focused individuals have the means and desire to support those who mean most to them.”
Item Prospect “A” Prospect “B”__________________________
Schedule Hectic multi-tasker May pay to have others do routine tasks
Interests Home focused City activity focused, i.e. arts and live entertainment
Motivation Convenience Lifestyle appropriate
Although the profiles can be much more detailed relevant to interests, habits, activities, charities, etc., this gives a framework for our discussion. Simplistic approaches include:
Time saving and “stay in the car” convenience of your drive-thru is a message that will resonate with “A”. “B” is likely to respond to the “you take care of it” valet service to their building.
Reaching prospect “A” might be easier through a joint venture with the local school, gardening center or cooking school, whereas prospect “B” is more likely to be reached through a theater program or “evening at the museum” event.
Look at your whole value package from the perspective or your BEST customers. Why do they keep returning to enjoy the customer experience you provide? Understanding what value means to them is key to retaining them and expanding your base to include more consumers like them. This profiling step is critical to understanding customer motivation and value and to cultivating customers who are willing and able to pay what your service is worth.
Value is the sum of the entire experience and pricing is only one component of many that comprise value to consumers.
The exact combination of what consumers truly value is functionally and psychologically complicated. Remember your basic psychology class and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
The Harvard Business Review describes a slightly different hierarchy beginning with Functional at the base, then moving upward to Emotional, Life Changing and Social at the pinnacle. “The Elements of Value” by Eric Almquist, John Senior, Nicolas Bloch, Sept. 2016. https://hbr.org/2016/09/the-elements-of-value
Regardless of the titles applied, your service appeals to each of these levels to some degree. Choose your own specific advantages (from the many below or from alternative lists) and promote them in a relatable way that will appeal to your target customer.
Commonly accepted benefits:
Convenience, with components of delivery timing, location, hours of access, drop-offs, speed of service, in-car access, in-home/work access, breadth of product and service offerings, and proximity to other frequented businesses, all of which are Functional appeals that make life easier, once the customer has determined they have a need for your service.
Environment encompassing ambiance, visual appeal, emotional appeal, staff appearance, friendliness and knowledge, store layout, graphics, displays, number, look and value of media messages, including no need to see the store or delivery van/driver provides Emotional attraction. All of your media should reflect the design theme and sophistication level of your niche.
Quality is a spectrum that changes with the target market and is tied closely to Social and Esteem levels and can even reach Self-Actualization through creativity of design and fabric choice. These are psychological points that allow fine and couture cleaners to prosper alongside mass market, one-price and discount establishments, all of which can have healthy profitable businesses. The personalities and existing customer testimonials associated with your business are highly valuable at this level and are much more believable than what you say about your own quality.
Quality results from the combination of front-of-the-house (store and route) experience and back-of-the-house (plant) skills, systems and logistics.
Safety can be reinforced by your history, awards and longevity. You can be trusted to maintain their family’s wardrobe and protect their resources. Customer testimonials and ratings are valuable here as well. In-car service can also speak to safety, since there is no need to bring a child, pet or other dependent into the store to keep them safe and supervised.
All levels of the pyramid are significant, but the apex and the base are extremely powerful. The adage that “sex sells” is based in science as it is a reflex to basic survival instinct. The dominant appeal for our service is at the very high level of Esteem or Social on the HBR chart. Self-esteem, confidence, achievement, and respect are powerful motivators in driving clientele to hire you to polish their image.
Matching the Message to the Customer Awareness:
Another consideration is knowing where they stand in the buying cycle. Are they:
- totally oblivious to your existence?
- aware of your company but neutral about it?
- considering your service?
- ready to make a decision to buy?
Stage 1 might be addressed with a joint venture sponsorship for a highly visible event for a passionate cause, i.e. “Run for the Cure”
Stage 2 could be moved from neutral with an interactive effort, i.e. requesting donations for a coat drive or “Dress for Success”
Stage 3 consumers are likely to be swayed by specific value benefits to them, i.e. save them time and remove a chore from their list with route service
Stage 4 prospects can be moved with immediate advantages to them, i.e. drive through lets them stay in the car with the new baby.
The more you know about your target prospects, the more compelling your communications can be by appealing individually to what interests them, what they care about and how they view their world. Understanding what drives customers’ decisions, allows communications to become more relevant, marketing more effective, customer relationships stronger and your return on investment much higher.
Storytelling:
Storytelling is effective messaging.
http://www.tech4pub.com/2016/01/27/infographic-the-power-of-good-storytelling/Connecting with your customers is good business.
Assignment:
Read:
- https://hbr.org/2016/09/the-elements-of-value
- https://hbr.org/2019/11/how-to-design-product-pages-that-increase-online-sales?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Identify Competitive Advantages:
List your own distinctive competitive advantages
Assign Psychological Motivation:
Assign each advantage to the psychological level described to achieve the most powerful motivational message possible.
Craft the Message:
- Choose a product or service you want to expand.
- Design a message for each level of customer awareness to attract the attention of the target prospect and move them to the next level.
- This communication must be focused on THEM, and what you can do FOR THEM! A quick test for customer focus is to count all the “you” and “your” words in the message. That number should be AT LEAST 3 TIMES THE NUMBER OF “we”, “our”, “I” and “me” words in the message.
_____________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1.415.577.6544
Marketing Module V
Leveraging Joint Venture Partners for Attention and Profit©
by Diana Vollmer
One of the best ways to increase sales efficiently is through strategic joint venture partnerships with businesses and non-profits that share your target customer audience.
Joint venture efforts can:
- dramatically increase your word-of-mouth buzz, which is one of the most valuable forms of advertising
- provide an implied endorsement of your products and services by a third party, which is always stronger than a self-endorsement
- introduce your company to new target prospects with lifestyles similar to your best and most profitable clients
- commingle your best prospects with your best customers, who can sing your praises to their peers
- keep expenses low because there are other related lifestyle businesses that would like to be co-sponsors to your elite group and will share the cost of a given effort.
Examples of successful joint venture partnerships include financial services, travel agents, clothing stores, sports teams, outfitters, car dealership, real estate brokers, restaurants, beverage brands and distributors, charities and causes, either individually or together.
A very successful client acquisition event was a tail gate party held at a country club polo match. Joint sponsors included the cleaner, BMW, a bank, a financial advisor, an outfitter, a specialty clothing store, a champagne brand, a chocolatier, and a local caterer. All the expenses were covered by the joint venture partners.
Productive co-produced events include:
- teaching consumers to pack clothing for minimal impact and maximum flexibility for either travel or storage
- contribute an exciting live auction gift to your targets’ favorite charity (make your donation unusual enough to get the attention of the celebrity MC for the night so your name is mentioned many times. (A free year’s worth of shirt laundry has worked well, and Ablitt’s in Santa Barbara grabbed the MC’s imagination with their donated napkins sporting the slogan “Thank you for wearing clothes”.)
- provide target consumers information that they want to know on subjects they care about, i.e. a lifestyle events calendar, immediate emergency fabricare, casual but professional wardrobe selection, etc.
- be visible where they are likely to see you, i.e. sponsoring a fashion event or charity event they are likely to attend
- engage them by being a valued lifestyle resource like educating them about selecting investment textiles or ultrasonic cleaning for toys, heirlooms and children’s’ items like car seats, etc.
Some of the most successful efforts combine your raving fans (your original best customer list) with your target prospects. A unique invitation-only event commingling the two groups could make a significant impact on your sales and bottom line.
A successful example of this concept that was relevant to the cleaning business is the development by Little Black Dress Wines (a wine company) of “Fashion Swap” evenings. They created a step-by-step guide to hosting a fashion accessory swap evening where, of course, the host will serve their wines.
You might join forces with a local specialty store (that you determine through your profile) for a fashion show or with a men’s big & tall store (if your profile shows a high percentage in this category) for a designer trunk show. Retailers are always asked for recommendations for cleaners that can properly care for their wardrobes and you want to be their cleaner of choice and top-of-mind when the opportunity arises.
The direct sales line representatives such as Carlisle, Piphany and W by Worth for women, and Tom James and J. Hilburn for men, are usually eager to work with you as well.
Don’t forget home décor and linens as a way to reach both customers and prospects, especially since this is one of the growing sales categories for drycleaners now.
These are just a few simplistic examples of ways to use the information you have to retain and expand business with your current customers and to increase your number of highly profitable customers by catering to their specific motivations.
During visits to couture cleaners in large cities, it is always amazing to see the many garments and other textile items that are literally shipped from outlying regions for cleaning by these expert cleaners.
These shipments do not always contain haute couture, heirlooms or vintage collections. Often the contents are simply nice quality and easy to process by any competent cleaner with attention to detail and professional skill.
More often than not, these items are transported at the suggestion of the retail stores that sell them since many retailers tend to distrust the ability of the local cleaners to care for them.
Many cleaners do not wish to incur the risk of cleaning pricey specialty garments and $1500+ bed linens, however, you may wish to retain this work in your own market.
If you do want to target the “special” garments in your area, there are several steps you can take to become the cleaner of choice for the discriminating customer.
Step 1: Be great at what you do CONSISTENTLY!
If both you, your referring partners and your prospective clientele have confidence in your professional ability you can capture this “traveling” business.
Step 2. Target the most likely prospects for the service.
- Track the labels that you are processing. If you do not currently track by label in your point-of-sale “descriptor” tab, start now.
- Another source of information is provided by your “best customer” psychographic profiles which often include the high-end retailers frequented by your most valued (and most profitable) customers. These profiles are a wealth of information that provide you insight into what motivates your consumers’ behavior.
Once you have identified the potential retail joint venture partners, you have multiple alternative strategies from which to choose, which are discussed later in this article.
Step 3: Make your customers and prospects aware of your ability to meticulously care for their household linens and clothing wardrobes.
You may want to introduce an upgraded service. Many companies designate these enhanced care services with “Select”, “Platinum”, “Silver”, “Executive”, “Designer” or a similar designation behind their logo, i.e. Smith Cleaners Platinum Care.
This service can be introduced by your sales staff, your partner retailer, your route drivers, a message on your lobby flat screen, hangtags, your website, broadcast media, email and/or all the media available to you.
One way to begin is to recommend the upgraded service for high-value garments that already come through your plant. The customers will appreciate that you recognize the value of their wardrobes and will happily pay you to protect their investment in them.
Remember consistency in the message itself and consistency in the end product are equally important. For your high-end service, we suggest an additional more stringent inspection of each item.
Step 4: Upgrade your packaging to match the enhanced image.
Not only does this help with your marketing, but well-designed packaging standards also provide better support for the finished garments during the delivery process whether it be in your store shuttles, route vans or your customer’s vehicle. Proper packaging ensures that the product arrives in the same condition as it was after inspection.
Step 5: Let the retailers know you have the ability and willingness to care for the wardrobes of their clientele meticulously.
The single most productive “effort to investment ratio” toward this goal has been to cultivate business and referrals from key retailers that provide quality textiles to drycleaning customers.
Your target stores may be clothing or home furnishings, but they must be the stores that are frequented by the customers you want to attract.
To begin your program, run a list of the labels you receive from your best customers and begin with the stores that sell those labels. Once you have won the confidence of the retailers with whom you share a core customer base, you can win your way up to their highest-level department referrals. In some cases, the best referrals have come from the relationship built with the store alterations departments.
Personal shoppers are a tremendous source of referrals since they are a very trusted advisor that helps create and maintain the client’s complete visual image.
The following is a list of successful approaches that have been utilized:
- Create a list of target retailers
- Call on the top 5 from your list (start with the sales floor staff and/or alterations department professionals to solve their problems). Remember – the garment must be salable for the salespeople to collect a commission. You can become their best friend by salvaging garments from lipstick stains, torn hems, and smudged shirts.
- Offer to pick-up and deliver the garments/items for repair and/or cleaning.
- Provide personalized (with their store name) “Complimentary 1st Cleaning” gift certificate cards as a gift from you and the store with the purchase of selected new garments.
- Request promotional/fashion show tapes to play in your stores and at your events, such as “Fashions Night Out” sponsored by Vogue in cities around the world https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=fashion+night+out+tokyo&qpvt=fashion+night+out+tokyo&FORM=VDRE
- If there is no in-store alterations department, offer to pick up and deliver alterations from the retailer or set appointments at your store for customer fittings.
- Service the “store” route regularly, i.e. 2 times per week and “on call”.
- Personally visit stores periodically to enhance the relationship.
- Call the stores each season and ask if you can come in and look at the new fashions for the upcoming season so you will know what challenges you will be dealing with in cleaning them. They are pleasantly surprised by this request from a drycleaner and they love that you take interest!
- Maintain records and review them periodically so the service can be enhanced, and sales increased.
- Invite retailers to send their professional display personnel to set up display merchandise from their inventory in your store lobby.
- Deliver token memorable gifts periodically, i.e. unique snacks for the sales staff to stay top of mind.
- Provide newsletters for retailer staff and/or customers.
- Provide instructional training for their associates who often believe cleaning is detrimental to textiles.
- Provide plenty of business cards with maps to your locations/routes printed on the back of the cards and a QR code linked to your website.
- Overcome the reluctance and just ask for what you want! The biggest hurdle is your own reluctance.
Step 6: Be visible where these customers work, play and live.
Sponsoring and attending highly visible charity events is an excellent way to become part of the trusted team of these target customers. The causes about which they are passionate open their minds and wallets. The direct nature of the marketing impact provides a very high return on the investment.
Sponsorship of events for professional organizations whose members rely on their image for business success gives you direct access to people who are interested in your service. Examples include the Financial Women’s Association, Rotary and the Bar Association in your city.
Since so many of your target consumers “live” with their computers and mobile devices, electronic media offers an efficient direct way to inform them of your events and efforts and entice them to participate.
Assignment:
- Retail:
Step 1. Select 5 test retailers
Step 2. Learn as much as you can about them.
Step 3. Discover the name and exact title of the store or department manager you want to meet.
Step 4. Introduce your request for an appointment with them by saying “Since we share many mutual customers and want to provide them the best service possible, may we meet and discuss ways to accomplish this together?
Step 5. Meet with selected retailer to discuss benefits to them, i.e. save damaged inventory thus saving sales, discounts for their sales staff, maintaining the clothing investment of their clients, etc.
- Charity
Survey your top 20% of customers to learn their favorite charity. You may explain to them that your company will make a contribution and you would like them to nominate their preferred organization.
_______________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1.415.577.6544
Marketing Module VI
Budgeting for Effective Marketing©
by Diana Vollmer
When the subject of a marketing budget arises, it is natural to think first about the monetary cost of a sound marketing plan. However, beyond the financial allocation, other resources must also be apportioned to this essential activity. Time must be earmarked for analysis of the impact of various strategies and for the judicious allocation of funds between media and dissemination channels. Design talent must be provided for maximum impact of branding, coordination and immediate call-to-action when appropriate. Specific messaging and professional copywriting must be managed. All aspects need to be considered to identify a realistic and effective approach to your optimal promotional plan.
Lifeline to Improved Sales and Profit
Virtually 100% of the companies I have researched that are increasing sales and profits have a dynamic aggressive integrated sales and marketing outreach plan.
Their increased profits are due to the higher profit conversion factor of the last incremental sales over the base sales dollars required to meet first fixed and then variable expenses. Generally, if your pricing covers your expense and profit requirements, each incremental dollar of sales is more profitable than the last until it requires additional capital investment to sustain the sales growth as demonstrated in the graph below.
“`
The relationship between business market share and ROI is reflected in the next graph, explaining why a single location operation can be more profitable than multiple outlets if the expenses are not in line. Being in the middle is the most challenging from a profitability perspective.
Another aspect of the ROI lifeline that is more difficult to measure, but has definite value is the impact your sales and marketing effort has on the community, regardless of actual purchases related to a given campaign or effort. Your marketing reaches business partners, employees, your stakeholders of all categories, makes employees easier to recruit and retain, shows sustainability to your bankers/investors and can get you valuable attention from the media to provide free exposure that you don’t have to pay for.
The 2016 US presidential campaign has taught us a valuable lesson in the extent to which free media coverage is available! You can capitalize on free coverage, too, by making you and your company newsworthy to leverage your sales and marketing investment to the max. A classic example is a cleaner that literally gave blood on live TV to support the community (and incidentally earn goodwill and exposure for his company).
Monetary Commitment:
“It’s common for small businesses with revenues less than $5 million to allocate 7-8% of their revenues to marketing, splitting that between brand development costs such as websites, blogs, sales collateral, and promotion costs, as well as campaigns, advertising, and events.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2017/05/02/6-steps-to-developing-a-small-business-marketing-budget/#6ec1b3a6355c
This small business average is much higher than the norm in drycleaning and laundry companies. Our research shows that typically,
- The average industry marketing budget is well under 3% of sales revenue, and
- There is a DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN THE SIZE (as % of sales) OF THE MARKETING BUDGET AND THE SALES GROWTH OF THE COMPANY.
An exception to the industry average exists in some larger chains that require their affiliates to contribute up to 7% on brand marketing, with additional local promotional spending of up to 2% of revenues.
Regardless of size or organizational affiliate, marketing should be viewed as an investment instead of an expense. Past and future returns on that investment should be analyzed like any other return on investment, be it equipment, staff, vehicles or locations.
By comparison, sadly, a common approach in fabricare is to base the marketing budget simply on what’s left over after covering all other expenses. This approach often leads to abandonment of marketing at the first sign of a downturn when promotion is most needed to expand share of market.
A 2019 survey of owners indicated marketing budgets set between 2%-4% of revenues.
With budgets at 25% to 30% of the small business average, this lack of marketing may well be a reason for the decline decried in the industry.
By contrast, CINET research shows that THE FABRICARE INDUSTRY IS CAPTURING LESS THAN 5% OF THE POTENTIAL BUSINESS TO BE DONE IN THE MARKETPLACE. Our experience with aggressive marketers in the industry indicate that the CINET research is accurate and that business can be created with a well-executed proactive outreach marketing plan.
The most successful promoters are taking an approach that is both art and science and funding it with resources of time, capital and talent. The ROI on those expended resources is exponential.
The Science of Research and Analysis:
“Reports
of the retail apocalypse are all around us. Every week, new headlines proclaim
a highly distressed retail industry and another Chapter 11 casualty. The
reality is that winners and losers have emerged. On one hand, disruptions in
consumer behavior, technology, competition, and economics have transformed the
retail market considerably, and many brands haven’t risen to the challenge.
On the other hand, these disruptions have opened floodgates of opportunity for
brands to grow their relationships with shoppers.” https://www.salesforce.com/form/content/consumer-experience-report/
Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large”. (NOTE: Although a subset of marketing, advertising is very different and is defined as “the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements”. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advertising)
Artificial Intelligence (AI):
Since customers are at the heart of the marketing definition, targeting the “right” customers and prospects is key to a successful promotional effort. That is where science in the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is useful.
An example of AI starts with your POS system to identify your top customers, who are then profiled providing a description of those customers based on an extensive set of attributes. Those attributes are then used to identify similar consumers and to communicate in a meaningful way with your customers and likely prospects to increase your business. AI also provides various platforms for automatically delivering personalized, carefully chosen and crafted messages to your targets.
Our experience indicates that less than 5% of the fabricare industry is taking advantage of these advanced marketing tools in a meaningful way.
Talent Procurement:
Questions to consider. Who:
- Directs your AI efforts to improve marketing efficiency and effectiveness?
- Designs your creative images?
- Writes your copy/blogs/newsletters?
- Ensures that your branding is consistent across all platforms and media?
- Updates your website and social media posts to keep them functioning at peak performance?
- Plans the message calendar?
- Determines and places the ad buys?
- Tracks the results of your efforts?
- Tweaks those efforts for better results in the future?
These all require highly unique professional skills to make your return on investment efficient. Each of these tasks can be accomplished internally or can be cost effectively outsourced.
For most cleaners, marketing will not be a full-time position. It can be filled by a staffer with other duties, but in most cases, they will not have the professional experience required. The alternatives include hiring freelancers or an agency, which involves significant initial and ongoing expense. Freelancers can professionally fulfill the required roles on a part-time basis.
Whatever your preferred choice, the overall budget process must be finely managed, monitored and coordinated. Having each aspect of marketing done independently will be less effective for your investment and usually results in an array of materials that have no relationship or continuity of branding.
Key Considerations in Budgeting:
- Allocate Marketing Budget Based on Your Specific Business Goals
- Ensure Operational Costs and Profit are Covered by the Realistic Expected Sales
- View Marketing as an Investment Versus an Expense
- Consider Your Growth Stage and Desired Future Growth
- Fully Research Current and Future Sales, Marketing and Consumer Behavior Trends
- Hire a Professional to Optimize Marketing ROI
Assignment:
Answer each staffing question posed above and determine if the choices are the most professional they can be for your organization.
_______________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1.415.577.6544
Module VII
Media Channel Selection©
by Diana Vollmer
Media Allocation:
Where your promotions run should be well coordinated across platforms. The target audience for the message will determine variations in the delivery and content, but all should be identifiable with your branding. The media platform will vary depending upon the target for that particular message. You may be trying to expand the share-of-wallet of existing traditional customers, introduce non-traditional customers to your range of services that support their lifestyles, promote specific joint venture events (i.e. “Birds of a Feather” fashion show), public service drives (i.e. winter coats), etc. All have appropriate platforms, media, copy and graphics decisions involved.
Alonso Corona of Greene’s Cleaners describes the evolution of their marketing: “the way we have allocated our budget has completely changed to mostly digital. We do virtually no printed marketing pieces other than informational packets for sales calls and presentations. 98% digital, 2% printed. Our marketing approach is now very targeted and narrowed based on age, gender, lifestyle, demographic, geographic location, events, financial status, career position held, and many more. Our marketing is done on social media: Facebook, Instagram, twitter, LinkedIn, (and) in addition, with the use of Google analytics, email, and geo-fencing ads. This approach has helped increase sales and exposure to our target market, and (I) feel it has helped us stay relevant compared to the legacy blanketed marketing approach.”
To choose your media channels, get back to marketing basics and do it with a committed vengeance. Once the framework is in place the program is much easier to manage and maintain.
None of the basics listed are revolutionary, but all are proven.
BASIC # 1 – KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS!
The best way to appeal to clients and prospects is to give them what they want when and how they want it. You have already profiled your most profitable customers to determine what those wants and needs are and identified relevant motivations and lifestyle interests.
BASIC # 2 – COMMUNICATE REGULARY WITH YOUR CLENT BASE
To keep top-of-mind status with your clients and prospects, communicate regularly with them.
There are many ways to communicate with your customer base and similar prospects. Some of the most successful ways include:
- Assign segments of your clientele to each customer sales representative. For example, the customers with names ending in A-D are assigned to CSR Sally, E-L to Thomas, etc. This gives them a chance to get to know specific clients well so they feel very comfortable talking to them and cross selling the services that will be appropriate. If Jane knows Mrs. Jones has a dog she adores, it will be natural to suggest that the dog bed needs cleaning bi-monthly and the winter sweater should be cleaned for storing at the end of the season. Jane will also find out that her favorite charity is holding a fundraiser and she needs to look her best so she can get the dress ready in a timely basis. Mrs. Jones will feel that Jane really cares about her interests and needs and will be even more loyal to the company because they understand her and her lifestyle.
Each CSR should contact their assigned group periodically on a specified schedule to convey information that is important to the customer. The contact vehicle can be matched to the customer preference for text, chat, email, call, blog, newsletter, for even snail mail. These communications should feel very customized and personalized to the individual.
The total customer base should be divided by a rating system based on the current expenditures. The relationship development effort will vary by the designation, i.e. more personal attention will be given to “A” clients than to “B” and “C” customers. The “A’s” may get a phone call (depending on their favored way to communicate. The “B’s” may get a newsletter or email instead. The goal is to increase the share-of-wallet of each of them.
The budget impact of this communication should be minimal since the customer sales and service representatives are already on the payroll and have time for this activity between customer visits.
BASIC # 3 – TAILOR THE CONTENT TO CLIENT INTERESTS, MOTIVATIONS AND LIFESTYLES
The profiling discussed previously will guide you to appropriate ways to reach your target audience.
Print Media:
Print media has lost favor generally, but the publications that still exist are very targeted. Weigh the potential against the cost. Now that few people read newspapers, they may be very affordable for you to reach the traditional customer that is still reading their news. Business executives may be reached through the local version of a “Business Times”. Remember, it is not the quantity of people you reach but rather the quality as compared to your target match. If select print media is indicated, negotiate for the best possible positioning in the publication. For example, the top right-hand corner on page 3 has been historically the most productive spot. Publications are also offering exterior attachments, i.e. post its and highlighted banners for very targeted audiences. Most professions have a periodical that is still produced in hard copy (or electronically) that can reach a very specific target audience.
Radio:
Several cleaners have reported successful marketing via radio despite the prevalence of ad free radio. Each station can provide detailed psychographics of their listeners by timing and by specific program. If they don’t offer this in the sales presentation, push until you receive it. Do not just trust your instincts or those of the sales rep. The process of matching customers and listenership profiles has become very scientific, so take advantage of the expertise.
Television:
Most cleaners believe TV is too expensive for them to use. With the capabilities and targeted reach of cable TV, this is no longer the case. If you have not checked TV rates for your market lately, you should do that now. Like radio, the psychographics of viewership by timing and by specific program are available to you. Matching your best customer profile with targeted TV shows is both affordable and effective. Don’t assume you know what your client base watches and don’t assume that they all record their favorites for later viewing. Take advantage of the technical capabilities of geo-targeting to individuals.
Electronic Media:
The fastest growing ad allocation area, has advantages of:
- very selective targeting with detailed parameters,
- relatively low cost for maximum desired exposure,
- immediacy of implementation and response,
- flexibility of testing,
- geofencing,
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) for analysis, and
- instant refinement capabilities.
Some key cardinal rules:
- SEO (Search engine optimization)
- Interesting content that will make them want to continue receiving your messages
- Send to a targeted list
- Provide for an opt out
- Use the many tools available to match channels to your target audience
- Refine your efforts with the analytical tools available
Per Binge.co at https://binge.co/what-are-the-best-millennials-must-have-apps
On 11/15/19, Millenials rated their top apps as shown below.
The following chart is a small sampling of the many social channels available to be matched to your desired audience.
Sprout is only one example of a tool offering coordinated features and analytics to aid in making the highest return on your marketing investment. A sample chart is shown here.
Sprout’s core features are listed below.
Hootsuite is another option for coordinated analytics.
There are many such tools, including the extensive offerings from Google described at
LinkedIn marketing tools can be found at https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/reporting-analytics?#
Facebook’s analytics can be found at:
Another example: https://devrix.com/tutorial/content-mapping-psychographic-targeting-drive-up-sales/
These tools are infinite and becoming more sophisticated by the day. Be sure they are being used to your best advantage.
Favorite Millenial apps are rated on Binge.co below:
Actual distribution of social media ads and consumer usage.
Video:
- “Video most viewed content,
- live video is the most effective way to engage…
- most easily digestible on smartphones
- ”live” component…has the power to connect with consumers
- allowing businesses to separate themselves from their competitors
- has the ability to give many businesses a face AND a soul.”
Livestream research shows:
80% rather watch live video than read a blog,
82% prefer live video to social posts
73% of B2B organizations report ROI from video marketing
Signage:
Signs are an investment and with all investments the cost-benefit analysis is critical. Don’t be short sighted by undercutting the initial cost and shortchanging the future benefit of impactful signage.
The appropriate branding and visibility are critical to the successful marketing through signage. Budget accordingly and amortize it over the life of the sign.
Review the visibility both day and night and from all possible angles. One way to do this is to string red plastic tape in the exact location of the proposed sign and to “see” it from all angles. Another is to temporarily mount lettering that is the size proposed and test the farthest distance away that it can be read.
Note sales trend beginning after installation of backlit awning in week 15
Note sales trend beginning after installation of backlit awning in week 15
Signs on lockers and exterior walls.
Vans:
Vans have at least as much marketing significance as they have utilitarian inventory transport value. Remember this when choosing the style and design of our vans. This obviously applies to new vans but also to old ones as well, which need to be upgraded periodically to match your image.
Don’t forget to print your logo and contact information on the roof! To prove the value of his signage, go to a second story window and see what the most visible part of the van is.
Displays:
In-store displays are one of the most overlooked marketing tools available to cleaners.
The captive audience of clientele visiting your stores can easily be reminded of things that the need done that you can do for them. This can be done with flat screen TVs that provide a consistent professional message or with physical displays of specialty services, i.e. Uggs, bridal gowns, household, handbags and hats.
Ensure the displays look professional. Note: Most CSRs (and other people) do not have this skill. A professional look can be achieved by hiring the designer that does the displays for your favorite store. You might be able to barter cleaning for this surprisingly affordable service.
Contests:
All the efforts discussed above can be enhanced when supplemented by contests. They are usually contests for your team, but they can involve customers as well, i.e. best Halloween costume, most festive holiday table or cutest pet.
The pet idea has great potential for pet related fabricare cleaning because the “U.S. Pet Industry Sales Reach $86 Billion” https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-pet-industry-sales-reach-86-billion-growth-projected-amid-changes-finds-packaged-facts-pet-market-outlook-300612322.html
and the “Market value of pet related businesses in Japan 1.58 trillion” yenhttps://www.statista.com/statistics/739184/japan-pet-market-retail-value/
BASIC # 4: MAKE A PLAN
Whatever resonates with you can be planned in a dedicated afternoon and then the implementation becomes a matter of managing the action plan, the assignments, the timelines and the accountabilities. The most effective marketing efforts include combined components across channels.
Assignments:
Optional Reading:
Media Secrets: A Media Training Crash Course: Get More Publicity, Look & Feel Your Best AND Convert Interviews Into Web Traffic & Sales. Strategies for TV, Print, Radio & Internet Media
Make a Media Plan for a Product or Service to Expand
- Select the product/service
- Specify the detailed goal of the campaign
- Draft the message
- Select the desired media mix
- Set/refine the budget
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1.415.577.6544.
Module VIII
Impact of Timing©
By Diana Vollmer
Most respondents to our survey create their marketing plan around their business goals once a year. This is an effective approach if there is flexibility built in to respond to changing trends and refined goals throughout the year. Reviews and refinements should be scheduled at least quarterly.
Worthy Marketing Goals Include:
- Retaining the maximum number of current customers
- Maximizing the share-of-wallet of each customer (both existing and newly acquired)
- Attracting as many new customers as possible
- Attracting a new customer segment
- Showing the benefits and positive experience of doing business with you
- Highlighting the ease and convenience you offer
- Improving the content, timeliness and variety of channels of communication
These objectives are not mutually exclusive. They do, however, need to be prioritized and weighted to convey a clear consistent message to the selected audience you are addressing with any given campaign. The messages also need to be frequent and interesting enough to attract the mindful attention of the intended audience. To achieve your desired outcome, the message must break through the radar screen to the receiver’s conscious awareness. First you must grab the attention of your target audience and then keep their attention long enough to absorb your message. How many times have you noticed a unique ad, but can’t remember the product it was pitching? According to Microsoft, the human attention span is now down to 8 seconds (less than a goldfish at 9 seconds). https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=average+american+attention+span
That is a short window of opportunity SO TIMING IS CRITICAL.
Day and Time:
Since electronic media is the fastest growing communications channel and easy to track for engagement timing, we will examine it first. Despite the many alternatives, “Facebook continues to dominate the social landscape.
Eighty-nine percent of marketers use Facebook for their brand marketing, and 83% of all consumers surveyed use Facebook. Sixty-six percent of consumers say they Like or Follow a brand profile on Facebook. The next three social platforms on which consumers follow brands are Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.” https://media.sproutsocial.com/uploads/Sprout-Social-Index-2019.pdf?utm_medium=Email&utm_content=GuideTrigger
Since Facebook is the gorilla in the room, their “best times” chart is included below.
- Best times to post to Facebook: Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
- Best day: Wednesday is the best day to post on Facebook.
- Most consistent engagement: Weekdays from 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
- Worst day: Sunday has the least amount of engagement for Facebook during the week.
- Lowest engagement: Early mornings and evenings, before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m. have the least amount of engagement per day
There are slight variations by site, so for more details on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram charts, go to:
Let’s examine the various marketing intentions and consider proven ways to create attentiveness and engagement resulting in the desired responses. Your own app is a critical piece of the timing puzzle.
Apps and Immediacy:
Attracting New Customers and/or A New Customer Segment
The same things that are important to your existing customers are important to your best prospects. Prospects are just more difficult and more expensive to reach. Find them where they live, work and play. It takes more creativity to attract attention from someone who is not already doing business with you. Consumers are bombarded with messages on every media so yours must be entertaining, informative and most importantly ACTIONABLE.
If you want new route customers, make sure they can register immediately and schedule their first pick up NOW. Your iconic creative van graphics can catch attention (don’t forget the roof) but the contact info must allow for immediate sign-up or the most important component is lost.
When targeting prospects who work in casual environments, include basic wash and fold laundry services in your appeal. Give them an interactive app and flexible time/place options. They are used to being in control.
Since the future of our business requires younger customers to replace aging ones, let’s focus on Millennials and their priorities that provide insight into communication channels and events they frequent.
“Millennials in 2019 make 60% of their purchases online, the survey of 1,002 millennials (consumers ages 22 to 37) found. That’s up from 47.0% in a survey CouponFollow conducted in 2017. Millennials now make 40.0% of all purchases in stores, down from 53.0% in 2017.
The 2019 survey also found massive growth in mobile shopping among U.S. millennials. Consumers in that age group now make 36.0% of their total purchases using mobile devices, up 20 percentage points from 16.0% in 2017. Purchases made on a desktop or laptop computer make up 24.0% of total purchases, down from 31.0% in 2017. https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2019/03/26/millennials-online-shopping/
This consumer group moves fast with technology changes but some of their preferences, i.e. favorite celebrities, show longer loyalty. According to Inc. magazine (http://www.inc.com/ryan-jenkins/top-5-millennial-brands-cities-apps-2015.html), at the end of 2015 the:
Top Millennial Apps were:
- Yik Yak (to “Find your Herd”)
- Venmo (to pay/split the bill)
- InstaSize (photo editor)
- BuzzFeed (for “breaking buzz”)
- Tinder (to “meet people”)
Top Millennial Celebrities:
- Taylor Swift
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Robert Downey Jr.
- Beyoncé
- Emma Watson
In 2019, they are:
Who is Their Favorite (2019) Celebrity?
- Taylor Swift
- Beyoncé
- Ed Sheeran
- Drake
- Rihanna
To win millennial business, support a good cause and broadcast it on BuzzFeed. Talk about their interests and needs. Entertain and inspire them so they will engage with you. Be in front of them wherever they are figuratively and literally.
A change in content
Consumers are more likely to Like or comment on posts that entertain and inspire over discounts and sales.
Retargeting for Sense of Urgency:
Retargeting, also known as remarketing, is a form of online advertising that can help you keep your brand in front of bounced traffic after they leave your website. For most websites, only 2% of web traffic converts on the first visit. Retargeting is a tool designed to help companies reach the 98% of users who don’t convert right away. https://retargeter.com/what-is-retargeting-and-how-does-it-work/
Show Benefits, Ease and Convenience of Doing Business: Call for Action
Everyone has limited time. Give back time by adding a drive-thru (preferably 24/7 access), signing them to a route, managing wardrobe care, automatically scheduling rug or holiday linen pick-up, etc., etc.
Show how great they and their homes look when using your services.
Any and all of these messages can be timely delivered in a format and media designed to reach your specific target audience effectively and affordably, resulting in ever increasing sales and profit.
Since major life events offer the opportunity to interrupt previous habits, timing your message delivery around these events provides you the opportunity to gain a new customer that will include your service in their new habits long term.
Habit Formation and Behavioral Change:
“Habit formation is the process by which new behaviors become automatic. Someone who instinctively reaches for a cigarette after waking up has a habit. But so does the person who feels inclined to lace up her running shoes and hit the streets as soon as she gets home.
Old habits can be difficult to break, and healthy habits are often harder to develop than one would like. That’s because the behavioral patterns we repeat most often are etched into our neural pathways. The good news is that, through repetition, it’s possible to form—and maintain—new habits.” Psychology Today © 2019 Sussex Publishers, LLC. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/habit-formation
Life Event Triggers:
“Researchers led by a U.C.L.A. professor named Alan Andreasen undertook a study of peoples’ most mundane purchases, like soap, toothpaste, trash bags and toilet paper. They learned that most shoppers paid almost no attention to how they bought these products, that the purchases occurred habitually, without any complex decision-making. Which meant it was hard for marketers, despite their displays and coupons and product promotions, to persuade shoppers to change.
But when some customers were going through a major life event, like graduating from college or getting a new job or moving to a new town, their shopping habits became flexible in ways that were both predictable and potential gold mines for retailers. The study found that when someone marries, he or she is more likely to start buying a new type of coffee. When a couple move into a new house, they’re more apt to purchase a different kind of cereal. When they divorce, there’s an increased chance they’ll start buying different brands of beer.
Consumers going through major life events often don’t notice, or care, that their shopping habits have shifted, but retailers notice, and they care quite a bit. At those unique moments, Andreasen wrote, customers are “vulnerable to intervention by marketers.” In other words, a precisely timed advertisement, sent to a recent divorcee or new homebuyer, can change someone’s shopping patterns for years.
Experiments have shown that most cues fit into one of five categories: location, time, emotional state, other people or the immediately preceding action.” https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=Target&st=cse
The major life event opportunities for customer conversion are relatively easy to target because in many ways they are public information.
“5 Major Life Events
- Getting Married.
- Having a Child.
- Death of a Loved One.
- Starting a New Job. (Often in conjunction with graduation.)
- Retirement.”
Moving:
Moving is often included in the major life events list and provides a particular opportunity for fabricare professionals.
According to the US Census Bureau, the average American moves every five years. Of course, that doesn’t mean it is specifically your customers, but the average does provide an indication of mobility. Check for census moving statistics in your market. In addition to the movers, many of your customers change lifecycles that make them more or less inclined to use your services.
Weather and Seasonality:
There are natural timing points to promote and/or introduce specific services and gain immediate attention and sales activity.
For example, reminders and introductions are good calls to action if well timed. Do your customers and prospects know that you clean and restore the following?
- pillows
- heirloom quilts
- bed, table and bath linens
- patio cushions
- drapes and window coverings
- flags
- car and door mats
- boat, plane and RV décor
- letter jackets and military uniforms
- event attire and costumes
- altar pieces and banners
- handbags
- hats
- leather and fur
- shoes
- etc., etc., etc.
Let them know! Timeliness is essential to an effective call to action. Holidays and seasonal changes are perfect opportunities to win new business. For example: “Come home from your vacation to freshly cleaned ____X_______. (Choose items that are inconvenient to live without like drapes, duvets, blankets, pillows, rugs, etc.) The timing could also be triggered by season change when the décor changes from warm and cozy to light and breezy.
Examples of timely triggers:
- Flags and military uniform restoration near Veteran’s day.
- Rugs and fine linens in preparation for holidays.
- Patio cushions in the spring before BBQ season and in the fall for clean storage.
- Car and door mats at beginning and end of rainy season.
- Boat, plane and RV cleaning in preparation for summer.
Read:
Create a Timing Plan
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1.415.577.6544
Marketing Module IX
Test Marketing Your Message and Media Channels©
by Diana Vollmer
Testing preferred marketing message(s) and delivery channels will provide the highest return on your marketing investment because:
- Lower cost than untested efforts
- Ability
to compare responses to:
- different messages,
- competing media channels,
- varying timing, and
- various target audiences.
By the point in the marketing process that you are ready to run test ads, you will have created your strategic planning goals for the company, a marketing budget and a promotional calendar for the year.
The test is the next step toward implementing the marketing plan and reaping the rewards.
- Determine Goal of Campaign(s):
Using your master promotional calendar, determine the primary goal of the next campaign. For example, perhaps your strategic planning sessions have revealed that a high return goal is to expand profitable household sales. Let’s also assume that in your plant, area rugs are easy for you to process and have potential for greater usage by your existing customers and target prospects.
So, in this example, your primary campaign goal could be to “double sales of area rugs in the next quarter as compared to last year sales”. Note: This goal is specific, measurable and time certain.
- Determine the Target of Message:
Using a combination of your POS data, sales history and prior response records, determine which target group(s) can provide the largest sales increases for your promotional campaign investment.
Often your best return will be by increasing the “share-of-wallet” spent with your company by existing customers. You probably offer many services that most of your active customers don’t currently use, so letting them know what other services you can provide can be a win for them and a win for you.
In the case of the area rugs, you can pick up additional business from customers who have never had you clean their rugs, but you can also get more rug business from clients who have had rugs cleaned by reminding them “it’s time” based on their last cleaning date or on the holiday or seasonal cleaning calendar.
There is also a huge potential new prospect market if you tap into a specific group of consumers who just need to know your capabilities. For example, condo associations have been a rich vein of business for rugs in common areas as well as for introductions to the individual condo unit owners that see what a great job you did on the lobby rug.
- Craft Potential Messages:
What are the benefits for your customers of using your service? In the example of rugs, a list of benefits might include:
- Convenience
- Pickup and delivery
- Fast turnaround
- Additional service from already trusted provider
- Eliminate another chore from their long list
- Cleaner
Healthier Home Environment
- Remove pet odors/stains
- Provide kid healthy environment
- Brighter look of clean rug
- Longer Life of Valuable Investment
- Make
a Good Impression
- Friends
- Family
- Business associates
Ranking the benefits from the customer perspective will lead you to the right message. For example, new parents might be most motivated by a “healthy baby environment”, or for a broader consumer group, if the holiday season is coming soon and guest visits are eminent, the most important message might be “Impress the Boss” or “Pass the Mother-in-Law Test”.
Ensure that your copywriter and graphics designer (internal or external) both know all the consumer benefits, your business goals and the reasons for them, and as much about your target audience as possible. Include past successes to build upon, i.e., photos of kids with dogs sitting on a rug have been effective. Then let them be creative for each of the intended recipient groups.
- Review Available Media Channels:
With so many possible ways to communicate with target audiences, it is essential to select the most efficient ones to optimize your ad budget.
Your “best customer” profiling will provide insight into the most valued channels for your best customers and like prospects.
All types of media can be effective in certain circumstances and a combination of mutually supportive media is usually best for a successful campaign.
For example, if your customers are young professionals, newspaper or TV will probably not be effective, however, if your target is traditional mature homeowners, both can be valuable. Since so much advertising has abandoned these two traditional media options, and they can be minutely geo-targeted, rates are much more affordable than you might think.
Conversely, electronic communication can be very cost-effective if the message is desirable and can break through the noise and clutter of the internet. Direct snail mail can also be valuable with a very targeted list and an impressive message.
All promotional campaigns should reinforce your overall branding image and be reinforced with your logo, packaging, van, store, staff, signage and hangtag graphics. All media should be identifiable as yours at just a quick glance.
- Test Each Message for Each Target:
Next:
- Prioritize the edited messages
- Prioritize the media channels
Match the message(s) to the probable media and run small tests through:
- Social media sites placement (track each one separately)
- Email blast – selected list
- SMS blast – selected list
- Your blog and/or newsletter
- Newspaper route drop
- Ad in middle of nightly news on 1 local cable channel
- Snail mail to select homes
- Hang tags to select customers
- Slides on in-store TV
- Static signs in-store and out
- Bus benches
- Billboards
- Bus signs
- Van message
- CSR “Did you know …?” suggestions
- Other creative media channels
- Track Results:
Ensure that your tests can be tracked and measured for success. The success measurement can be:
- Numbers of responses (calls, emails, texts, landing page visits, clicks, click-throughs, QR codes, coupons, etc.)
- Numbers of enquiries
- Appointments set
- Orders (by # and $)
- Total category sales
- Sales trend change
After the short test period, compare the results and document them by success level.
Assignment:
- Choose the preferred and potential channels for delivering the message you previously created.
- Run the ads/campaigns in the chosen channels for a predetermined minimal time to test results.
- Compare the results by designated goal measurement.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1. 415.577.6544.
Marketing Module X
Results Analysis, Refinement and Expansion©
By Diana Vollmer
Measuring Results:
Tracking results is critical to an effective and efficient marketing plan.
Specific product promotions can be tracked by the sales boost in the targeted product or service. A goal of a 15X advertising cost boost in sales is realistic.
Segregate the results on the specific product from the general increase in sales that results as a benefit of the marketing and track both outcomes.
Service introduction promotions can serve both purposes of increasing sales in the given service and increasing sales in general due to the added exposure. We have often seen a general increase in sales when a competitor enters the market and the existing cleaner runs defensive promotions.
Branding campaigns can be measured by sales trend changes.
Kyle Matthews of Janet Davis describes their tracking process as: “We choose our actual spending by doing our best to track each source to identify what works and what doesn’t. We “tag” new customers that redeem coupons… Then we run reports later, utilizing these tags to see what sales were generated from each campaign each year.”
Discounts:
Since the most common approach to marketing in our industry is to use discounts, the analysis will start there.
Discounts are easy to analyze because they are:
- Easy to promote
- Easy to track
- Easy for your staff to talk about
- Potentially quick-cash generators
The results can be easily obtained through your POS system by measuring:
Also watch for and measure the negative impact of discounts, which can threaten your business.
- Giving the impression of “fake” pricing. Reduced pricing gives the consumer the idea that your “regular prices” are higher than they should be and that you are systematically overpriced. This consumer impression that “regular” equates to “inflated” is so pervasive that the federal government and many states have passed very strict laws about advertising that incorporates price comparisons.
Measurement: Does the service usage drop after the sale and only recover on the next sale?
- If special pricing is offered to attract new customers only, your existing customers feel poorly treated and may even leave to become a new customer elsewhere.
Measurement: How many regular customers comment or request the “new customer” pricing?
- Full price business will be diverted to lower revenue per piece and result in lower profits.
Measurement: Calculate the total cost of the product, including fixed costs, variable costs, promotional expense, overtime, failure to meet standards on other product categories during the sale, damage to quality reputation if plant or system is overwhelmed by increased volume on sale item. Weigh all the costs against the net sales increase.
- Your staff may encourage customers to “wait for the sale” thereby delaying current business.
Measurement: Are the sales results suppressed in the period immediately before the sale?
- A steady stream of discounts will cheapen your brand and may actually drive away your best customers who question your motives, financial health and future stability.
Measurement: Customer retention of top 20% of customers by revenue.
- Discounting also attracts price shoppers, a uniquely fickle audience that will hop to whomever has the lowest price.
Measurement: Retention of customers that used the discount.
Regular Price Product Promotions:
The results can again be obtained through your POS system by measuring:
- the sales on the promoted item,
The results may be more subtle and require more nuanced analysis.
Brand Image Campaigns:
Again, your POS system will provide the primary measurement relying on:
- the total sales increase over the comparable period,
- future period sales trends
- the number of customer touch points,
- customer actions and feedback
- formalized surveys
- customer engagement
In all types of promotions, there are internet tools that can be utilized to aid in results measurement and effectiveness impact. Most media sites provide their own analysis tools. The following graphic from SproutSocial.com shows measurement tools that compare the results from various sites and campaigns via a set of master reports. Hootsuite.com is another example of various sites that provide this service.
Refine the Message(s) and Timing:
The test is a chance to learn about responses but also to get feedback about tweaks that can improve the campaign. The results may show that the message was good but could have been better.
Don’t abandon it if all that is needed is a clarifying refinement such as:
- a timing shift,
- a copy tweak,
- an added entertainment component, or
- an attention-grabbing graphic.
For example, if you tested “run of station” (a broadcast formula that spreads your announcements into all dayparts, including late night and overnight), isolate results as much as possible by the times and shows when the ads ran and then duplicate only the successful time and show spots. They will be more expensive, but fewer will be needed to reach your target audience, i.e. You might find that midway through the nightly news works well for one customer segment or that the intro to Stephen Colbert works best for another.
A successful playful approach on one product can translate to another product that used a more sober approach.
Tone and timing that worked well on Facebook may need to shift for LinkedIn
Both broadcast and social media analytics tools can help with refinements.
Rollout Full Market Campaign:
Once any enhancing refinements have been made as a result of the test marketing, place the campaign for the full rollout in the formats and channels that proved to be most effective.
You may find that your budget needs reallocation or adjustment (up or down) based on the impact of various media channels on the results.
Review, Refine, Document and Repeat:
As with all your initiatives, promotional efforts should be reviewed during and at the end of the effort and rated for success. Hard data about results should be recorded as well as relevant observations, recommended refinements, and historical and anecdotal notes for use in future planning.
For example, if a test was successful but the full market rollout campaign ran during a natural disaster or weather emergency, the results might not be valid, so it might be worthy of another run. Conversely, if you ran an exceptionally successful ad on the Weather Channel during a “storm watch” period, don’t expect the same success in the future if there is no reason for consumers to tune in as often as they would during a storm watch.
REMEMBER: Marketing is an art that can always be enhanced with scientific analysis, tracking and refinement. It is serious business and should not be left to chance. Make it a planning and budgeting priority and your business will reap significant rewards by rising above your competition.
Assignments:
Watch:
Create a Campaign Rollout Plan
- Select your most successful market test
- Make any refinement tweaks indicated by the test results
- Create the plan for the full campaign rollout
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Diana Vollmer * dvollmer@mfmi.com * 1.415.577.6544
