"I love my life", as a Marketer I get to see the world in a different and unique way. After 17 years in radio, creating the soundtrack to people lives, and being involved in all sorts of research group strategy sessions, it’s great to see the world from the inside out, rather than the outside in.
One of the things I’ve always been curious about is why a lot of Australian businesses are in a race to the bottom of the profit stakes. Price is all that matters, cheap is good and expensive means you're just being ripped off.
I do a lot of travelling to Asia, in particular India, and it’s fascinating to compare how we Aussies are obsessed by the lowest possible price. While over in Asia, being able to pay the price gives you status and prestige. In this case the price is right!
The theory goes like this, in a highly commoditised marketplace if you have low points of differentiation then the determinate of purchase will be price. People make a purchasing decision on a price value matrix, for a given price, what is the perceived value?
Take a look at the advertising messages in the marketplace; ‘50% OFF’, ‘For Just $19,990 Drive Away No More To Pay’ and ‘Why Pay More’. Also, if you watch news programs they show how companies are ripping you off, how to screw everyone for a deal, how to save money on groceries and the best of the best car insurance companies - xyz saved $Y by switching. Where's the point of difference?
Surely in the world today, where convenience or configuring/personalising your whole experience, there has to be a way to differentiate your product by building in value and restoring the price.
Okay, okay.... I get that the market is a complicated place and I’m being a generalist. However, in radio the product is free, you can’t get cheaper than that….
What we did was create an emotional switching cost, we researched the marketplace and found out who our listeners were, what they liked, disliked, feared and aspired to in life and we created a product that resonated those messages and gave them a place to feel comfortable, like a psychological comfort zone if you will.
Studies show like-minded people hang around other like-minded people because they “get” each other and they defend their friends. By developing this connection with the listeners they became our advocates, defending and listening to the station a lot, resulting in No. 1 Ratings.
Another point to think about today is people build their own personal brand through consumption, whereas in the past, we used to buy brands. How so you ask, "has anyone seen my IPhone" not just phone, or "take the BMW to the shop" not just the car.
Our messages are conditioning the market, we need to start differentiating our products and services and build value into our marketing messages.
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As a business owner, the following are some points to consider, which may be of assistance;
- Reverse engineer your customer’s life, write yourself into their narrative, be their influencer and help them through the buyer's journey.
- Find out what represents value to your customers and then build this into all of your communications.
- Use a brand metaphor to develop the human traits, and write them into your communications.
- Use the language of your customers in your communication and build rapport.
- Use technology to create a unique experience for your customers, making them part of your brand family.
If you'd like to know more or would like to contribute to this article, I'd love to hear from you.
Call Andy Fox (me) on (03) 5249 5570 or email andy@element7digital.com.au
Our Website is element7digital.com.au
