Brand Autopsy

Ira Glass on Public Radio Pledge Drives

Betsy replied to my second post on "Pledge Drive Don’ts" and mentioned Ira Glass (from This American Life) and his Pledge Drive bit about how a WBEZ-FM listener will enthusiastically fork over $1.81 every day at Starbucks and listen to WBEZ five hours a day but ... he hasn't made a pledge to WBEZ.

Click here to stream the "Ira Glass Guilt Trip” bit . Good stuff. No, wait … GREAT STUFF. It is worth a listen. (Click here to view the track listing of the audio stream.)

I also found this interesting tid-bit from The Onion. In their interview with Ira Glass, Ira goes off on why he hates pledge drives and what he has done to make pledge drives less boring.

The Onion: You mentioned pledge drives. You're famous for taking a very proactive stance toward fundraising. How do you feel about pledge drives in general?

Ira Glass: Like all public-radio listeners, I hate the pledge drives. In fact, at one point, the public-radio system did audience surveys where -- I'm not even sure I'm allowed to talk about this in public, but anyway -- they did these surveys, and our listeners said that during the pledge drive, they felt like their local radio station had been taken over by these morons that they hated.

They felt that the people on the air were stupider, and they hated them, and they felt they did not share the values of the programs that they listen to, where people seemed to be kind of smart and inquisitive and alive.

So my feeling about the pledge drive is that I don't like things to be bad. I just didn't want to be boring on the radio. I couldn't face that, so we put a lot of work into trying not to make it boring, some years with more success than others.

There have been two different times, once in Chicago and once in Boston, where we did a thing where if you called during our show, once every five minutes we'd choose another name from a hat, and I'd deliver a pizza to that person that day. At the end of an hour, I had to deliver 12 pizzas to people.

PART TWO: Public Radio Pledge Drive Don’ts

MRKinLA made some excellent points in his reply to my “Pledge Drive Don’ts” post.

MRKinLA writes about how public radio stations have a
“… tendency to throw the local voice talent onto the airwaves with no scripting, ad libbing themselves in a downward spiral of inane comments like the ones you mention here -- "Stop freeloading!" "Please, please, please, we're in dire need!"

Agreed. Why can’t public radio stations take a page from the Creating Customer Evangelists playbook and use current paying subscribers to make the marketing/sales pitch? I would love to hear current subscribers tell me why they choose to become a paying member of their Public Radio station's listener community. Public Radio stations could reach out to their subscriber base and invite long-time subscribers, first-time subscribers, and intermittent subscribers into the studio to record their story of why they choose to donate. Then, instead of hearing on-air talent ad-lib their inane sales pitch, listeners would hear passionate and articulate stories (disguised as pledge pitches) from current subscribers. That sounds like a much more meaningful and appealing way to drive donations.

MRKinLA also writes… "NPR listeners in general, but especially those who may be fence-sitting potential subscribers, are a smart bunch. They know in an era of Clear Channel and other media consolidation, their options for intelligent radio are dwindling. Enlisting them as partners in the fight against media mediocrity is one way to communicate why people need to open up their wallets for NPR."

Sounds like Mark is borrowing another page from the Creating Customer Evangelists playbook by suggesting that Public Radio stations create a cause to better appeal to listeners. The consolidation that has occurred in the radio industry has resulted in lowest common denominator programming and Public Radio stations appeal to listeners who disdain anything lowest common denominator-like. Public Radio listeners are a curious and discerning bunch and creating a mission that pits David (local Public Radio station) against Goliath (Clear Channel station group) would seem to be a savvy way to galvanize support that would generate financial support during Pledge Drive time.

Public Radio Pledge Drive Don’ts

I don't mean to go off on a rant here ... but while commuting to work this morning, I writhed in pain as I endured KUT-FM groveling on-air for donations from listeners. The groveling was almost as pathetic as I had experienced listening to vocal Lyndon Larouche supporters accosting passer-bys on the downtown streets of Seattle last weekend.

Below, I have outlined three Public Radio Pledge Drive Don'ts. (Feel free to share your pledge drive frustrations in the comments section of this blog.)

Don’t Play the Shame Game
During every pledge drive, public radio derides and shames freeloaders (those who listen but do not contribute) into making a donation. We’ve all heard this line during the pledge drive, “If you’ve been listening without contributing, then it’s your time to pay up for all the great programming you hear but haven’t paid for.” This guilt trip is old and played out.

The Shame Game has continuously failed Public Radio. How else can you explain that it takes seven years for the average Public Radio listener to stop freeloading and start contributing? (This “seven-year freeloading” stat was repeated over and over this morning on KUT-FM.)

Stop Begging for Dollars
Charity is donating money to a homeless person on the corner holding up a sign that reads, “Need Money for Food. God Bless.” Charity is not giving money to a pubic radio station that verbally begs and grovels with lines like, “We need your money. Without your financial support, expensive programming like The World may have to go away.”

Begging is not becoming of a brand that appeals to the highly educated and the highly paid. Public Radio needs to better communicate its overt benefit to listeners in a rationale and emotional manner that doesn’t succumb to unsophisticated begging.

It’s not radio. It’s NPR.
Public radio has more in common with the HBO business model than it does with the commercial broadcast radio station business model. HBO relies on monies from viewers (subscribers) and not from advertisers to finance their programming. Public Radio, like HBO, must appeal to listeners and not to advertisers for money to finance their operation.

HBO has proven that consumers will pay for quality programming. Both HBO and Public Radio focus on quality content that serves as water cooler fodder for the well-informed. However, you never hear or see HBO stoop to groveling for dollars from viewers. Take the high road Public Radio and learn from HBO on how to appeal to consumers willing to pay for quality programming. (Admittedly, there is a major difference in that public radio broadcasts its signal for anyone to receive while HBO is a television service available only to viewers who subscribe to receive HBO programming.)

SaveBobEdwards.com

Bob Edwards may not be virile, but he is viral.

The online petition at www.savebobedwards.com is gaining momentum. When I signed the petition last night, there were 3,400 signatures and this afternoon at 4:20 PM (CST), there are nearly 8,000 signatures.

Can Bob Edwards be Saved?

This week I will be using the Brand Autopsy pulpit to rant against the staid and lethargic Public Radio Station pledge drives. But before I go off on my pledge drive rant, I would be remiss in not mentioning the recent ouster of long-time Morning Edition host Bob Edwards.

Last week, National Public Radio (NPR) announced that Bob Edwards, after 25 years, is leaving as host of Morning Edition. NPR is positioning the change as “part of a natural evolution” and that a new host will “bring new ideas and perspectives to the show.”

Now we learn that NPR affiliates may have pushed for Edward’s ouster. The New York Times (registration required) is reporting that some public radio station managers have expressed concerns that Bob Edwards is less engaged on-air and that the Morning Edition format (a 2 hour show with regular updates) is too static to respond to breaking news.

The ouster of Edwards has rankled loyal NPR listeners to the degree that NPR has received over 17,000 calls and thousands of emails calling for Bob Edwards to remain as Morning Edition host.

And, an enterprising college kid has started an online petition at www.savebobedwards.com geared to reverse NPR’s decision to oust Edwards.

In a commentary for the Los Angeles Times (registration required), Linda Ellerbee writes that “All Things Weren’t Considered” and that NPR’s drive for a younger audience, resulting in the replacement of Bob Edwards, is an act of ageism.

With Spring Pledge Drives beginning this week at many Public Radio stations, the timing of the “Bob be gone” announcement seems awkward. In fact, the online petition at www.savebobedwards.com asks signers to withhold pledging money to NPR affiliates until NPR reinstates Bob Edwards as host of Morning Edition.

I signed the Save Bob Edwards online petition, but I might still make a financial contribution to my local NPR affiliate - KUT-FM. My contribution is contingent upon KUT-FM appealing to me in an innovatively compelling way and not in the staid and lethargic manner I have come to endure.

Forthcoming posts this week on Brand Autopsy will voice my HMOs (Hot Marketing Opinions) on the public radio pledge drive process.

Competing for Share of Consciousness

While on vacation in Seattle, I’m taking time to catch up on some reading and some thinking. Currently, I’m chewing on the paradoxical wisdom written by Watts Wacker and Jim Taylor in The Visionary’s Handbook. (Admittedly, I am a laggard in reading this book as it was first published in 2000. I really hate being a laggard!)

In one chapter, the authors talk about competing for "Share of Consciousness" with consumers.

To win consciousness share, the message has to tie to the product to the experiences of the consumers you want to reach, so it can enter the full dimensionality of their lives. The message can’t just celebrate the product – products are everywhere.

You can also create consciousness share by never forgetting that all great consumers – the ones who set markets and launch new product lines – are acutely aware of themselves as markets of one. Fail to win a share of their attention by being innovative at the same time you are pursuing a share of the larger market consciousness, and you’ll be sacrificing the future for the present.

The largest percentage of the market you are ever going to attract occurs at the very moment you begin to lose the customer who made it happen.

All marketers working for companies that are in full throttle growth mode should re-read and "chew" on this statement again: The largest percentage of the market you are ever going to attract occurs at the very moment you begin to lose the customer who made it happen.

WHOA!!! That is a “chewy” statement.

The Brand Called Omarosa

While traveling last Friday, I picked up the USA Today and read comments from former Apprentice contestants “fired” by Donald Trump. These former contestants were commenting on the lessons they learned from the show, the key mistake(s) they made to get fired, and what they would have done differently.

Since Brand Autopsy is a marketing/branding focused blog, I was especially intrigued by Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth’s comments...

The primary lesson that I learned was the importance of branding. Inspired by Trump's branding brilliance, I am building my own brand by launching a line of business suits and accessories, exploring book and TV deals and a nationwide speaking tour. I made the mistake of not focusing solely on the task at hand and not focusing on relationships. It would have been more strategic to develop alliances in order to survive in such a high-stakes game.

I’m afraid that Omarosa learned the built-to-flip mentality to branding from Donald Trump.

It is my opinion (and experience) to build a brand that is built-to-last, you must first clearly establish what makes your brand unique, compelling, and meaningful. Once you have established what your band stands for and made your brand compelling and meaningful to consumers, then you can explore the areas to extend the reach of your brand.

If you rush the branding process by extending the reach of your brand before you establish what your brand stands for, then you are following the built-to-flip branding process. Omarosa is clearly trying to extend her fifteen minutes of fame by striking fast. Too fast, if you ask me.

Business Blog Book Tour rolls on...

The Business Blog Book Tour 2 visited Brand Autopsy yesterday ... Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell really rocked the house. They played all their hits and they debuted a new thought, "Creating Customer Vigilantes".

It was a pleasure to have them; however, their backstage rider contained a few odd requests that Paul and I had to fulfill. Ben specifically asked for a heaping plate of prosciutto and mozzarella. Not to be out done, Jackie requested Cristal, champagne glasses, and bendy straws. Paul and I obliged but for some reason we were not invited to the after-party. What gives?

Anyway, the Creating Customer Evangelists tour continues at these blog sites:

March 17 - Ensight
March 18 - Business Evolutionist
March 19 - What's Your Brand Mantra?
March 22 - Danavan.net
March 23 - StartupSkills.com
March 24 - Small Business Blog
March 25 - A Penny For...

Welcome - Creating Customer Evangelists

Welcome to the Brand Autopsy leg of the Business Blog Book Tour 2. Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell, authors of Creating Customer Evangelists, are blog-hopping this week sharing thoughts and insights about their book and about customer evangelists. You will find yesterday's (Mon. Mar. 15) entries on BusinessPundit.com.

Below is a jump-list of the topics Brand Autopsy discussess with Jackie and Ben. They will be popping in to answer any additional questions these posts may create.

Topics:

Birth of an Evangelist – How williams + moore became evangelists for the book.

Blame it on TiVo – Jackie and Ben share what prompted writing the book.

Evangelist in the Midst – How to spot a 'customer evangelist.'

Hot Evangelist's Now! - How about later? - What happens when doughnuts begin to go stale?

If You Could Turn Back Time and If You Could Turn Back Time II – These two post have nothing to do with Cher.

Creating Customer VIGILANTES – the UnEvangelist.

The Evangelist Responsibility - A call to action.

Thanks to Todd at the blog site "A Penny For…" for coordinating this blog tour. Tomorrow, the tour stops at Jeremy's Ensight blog.

Enjoy!
williams + moore

Birth of an Evangelist

There have been only a handful of books I’ve read where I was compelled to seek out the author(s) to say, “thanks.” Creating Customer Evangelists was one such book.

I read Creating Customer Evangelists in December 2002 and was so impressed with the strategic premise and with the tactical advice on how to implement the ideas presented in the book that I had to seek out the authors, Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. After making contact with Ben, he suggested (as any good evangelist provocateur would suggest) that I submit a review to Amazon. I did just that … I evangelized the book on Amazon.

From there, I evangelized the book to my then Starbucks marketing peer and current marketing coroner peer, Paul Williams. It was at that time that I left Starbucks for Whole Foods Market and Paul was left to evangelize the book within Starbucks.

With John’s recommendation, I too read the book and afterwards reached out to Ben to keep the lines of communication open in case an opportunity arose.

That opportunity came when I kicked-off a customer service focused project with a Starbucks leadership team and needed a speaker who would inspire and inform our team to the concept of … not just 'happy' customers, not just ‘satisfied’ customers, and not just ‘highly satisfied’ customers – but customers who are so enthusiastic that they are evangelical.

Ben presented the Creating Customer Evangelists tenets from the book as well as shared relevant case studies form other like-minded company to an impressed Starbucks leadership team. Following the conference, the attendees have been sharing the ‘customer evangelist’ message with their local teams by arranging field trips to visiting and witnessing how the companies profiled in the book and in the presentation deliver great service experiences that lead to creating customer evangelists.

A year after John read the book he is still spreading the customer evangelist gospel.

That's right Paul, this past January I introduced Creating Customer Evangelists within Whole Foods Market. And now, Paul and I have are continuing to spread the good word about Creating Customer Evangelists on the Business Blog Book Tour 2.

Blame it on TiVo

I’ve always been fascinated by creative sparks that generate brilliant ideas. The creative spark behind the Creating Customer Evangelists idea didn’t come in a moment but rather by series of moments.

Ben and Jackie explained it this way…

It was an amalgamation of moments. It was observing how, when we worked at a marketing agency in Dallas, we became excellent salespeople for books we were reading. How our then boss sold us on buying a TiVo in 1999 when $40 million worth of ads didn't. How the campaigns we were building and launching for Fortune 500 companies always generated an unexpected word of mouth X factor. The mechanics of word of mouth combined with grassroots marketing and passionate customers really boiled in the cauldrons of our heads.

Evangelist in the Midst

Throughout the book you give tactical ideas on how companies can implement customer evangelist strategies. But how can a company spot a customer evangelist? What do they look like? How do they act?

Jackie and Ben point out the distinguishing features of an evangelist...

As they used to say on the "X-Files," sometimes they're hiding in plain sight. Here's what a customer evangelist does:

Spreads the word.
How well are you tracking who's talking about your company, and its products and services? Who is most passionately discussing you, both positively and negatively?

Recruits new customers.
Are you tracking referrals for products and services? For smaller companies, a "buzz map" drawn on series of big sheets of paper to map how you landed new customers can be illuminating. For large companies, it can be very valuable to track your volunteer sales force as it relates to specific product and service sales. To do so requires tracking referrals, either through a paper-based system (expensive and slow) or an online system (fast, highly efficient).

Actively offers suggestions, comments.
Customer evangelists tell you when things are great or terrible. They're not shy. When new products, services, stores or people appear, the customers who provide the earliest feedback (good or bad) are probably your evangelists. Companies are wise to know who they are and continually track their feedback. Embrace the early adopters.

Defends you.
If a company's mission truly is to change the world for the better, to be a good corporate citizen and not steal from shareholders and give back immeasurably to its community, it will tend to have the largest buffer of customer evangelists imaginable. During an appearance in Seattle last year, a former Nordstrom marketing executive told me how, when she was getting ready for a new store opening several years ago, a group of fur protestors joined the large group of customers waiting outside. This worried the executive tremendously. Her boss wisely counseled her to simply wait and see. Minutes later, they watched as a group of well-heeled women customers huddled together, then confronted the fur protesters with their fists stuck out in front of them: "Don't you do anything to embarrass this store! Nordstrom is a good corporate citizen of this community and has been for many years. If you do anything to ruin this day, you'll have to tangle with us!" With that, the fur protestors fled.

Supports you.
During her trial, Martha Stewart probably felt very alone, but she had customer evangelists (many of them celebrities) who sent her letters and emails of support. This didn't help win her trial, but it signaled to everyone that many people were sticking by her. In an example we provide in the book, we describe how Southwest Airlines received hundreds of letters of support after 9/11, and many of those letters contained checks, unused travel vouchers, drink coupons - customers were saying they wanted to support the company any way they could during that unimaginable time in our history.

It doesn't require a great time of need to have customer evangelists offer their support. Some customers may believe in you so much that they ask, "Is there anything I can do to spread the word about you?" If so, don't assume they want to get paid! Be prepared to offer them interesting options for infiltrating their networks about the value you offer.

From a psychographic profile, here's what a customer evangelist looks like (thanks to research from RoperASW):

Activist-minded

Connected to at least 9 networks

Influential

Active mind; loves input

Trendsetter; experimenter

Computer savvy

Hot Evangelists Now! – How about later?

Krispy Kreme is a benchmark customer evangelist company. In Creating Customer Evangelists, Ben and Jackie profile the many ways that Krispy Kreme cultivates a fanatical customer base that extols the virtues of the Krispy Kreme doughnut experience.

Krispy Kreme is much more than just a doughnut. For many, Krispy Kreme is a religious experience. The opening of a new Krispy Kreme location is an evangelical experience where the believers joyously welcome the non-believers into the Krispy Kreme family.

So, what happens when the buzz of Krispy Kreme wears off and when the opening of the 50th location in a market becomes a ho-hum experience? What can Krispy Kreme do to continue creating customer evangelists when the irrational customer exuberance begins to wane?

Ben and Jackie have a few ideas…

Buzz has a distinct half-life, and solid buzz is invaluable for new product introductions, store openings, etc.

As a company that started in the American South in 1937, Krispy Kreme still seems like a contemporary start-up. Yet, when we talk to the company's longtime customers, their passion is deeply rooted because of the product and its solid customer service. So much of what the company does now is the result of just doing what customers want.

Like Southwest Airlines, Krispy Kreme's growth has been methodical, and they've hired extremely well. Companies that grow primarily for growth's sake have a tougher time.

That said, Krispy Kreme's future big-buzz opportunities are probably overseas. Monday's Publisher's Lunch email newsletter featured an item that the biggest line inside Harrods' during a London book fair was for... Krispy Kreme.

Not that they've asked, but if Krispy Kreme wanted our advice, it would be: Continue to build community around their stores. Make some of them community outposts, a la Starbucks.

Also, Krispy Kreme needs a Mecca - a place where the truly faithful can make their pilgrimage and extend their emotional devotion. A Krispy Kreme hall of fame or museum. In a way, many of its stores are like that now, where the manufacturing process is completely transparent. But an official Krispy Kreme Hall - that would be big.

If You Could Turn Back Time II

Hindsight is 20/20 and if Ben and Jackie could turn back time and re-write their Creating Customer Evangelists book, they would address a market that sometimes goes un-served in business books.

Ben and Jackie explain…

We would include more business-to-business (B2B) examples. They're hard to find because B2B marketing is often below the radar.

Occasionally, we hear from B2B companies there's nothing to learn from consumer marketing. That's silly. I (Jackie) worked at a huge B2B company, IBM, and I know B2B companies are often very serious or technical or both. They market primarily features and price and they're scared of buzz and emotional connection. Too many of them think boring is safe. B2B companies can learn a lot from Krispy Kreme's event marketing, or Build-a-Bear Workshop's customer experience. B2B marketers: "loosen up!"

Creating Customer Vigilantes

Just as companies can create customer evangelists, they can also create customer vigilantes. Customer vigilantes are those customers who after a poor experience and a poor interaction will disparage brands/products to any and everyone they knew. While companies are not designed to intentionally create customer vigilantes, many times their actions seem as though they are.

How does a company go about "Creating Customer Vigilantes?" Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba eschew their evangelist perspective and instead, offer ways companies can cultivate customer vigilantes.

Ben and Jackie have a four-step plan to ...

Creating Customer Vigilantes: How to foster a powerful force of vigilantes who will not stop until they rejoice at your Chapter 11 filing

Sue your customers

- it makes for widespread bad publicity and grassroots backlashes

Some recent examples include ... the recording industry for suing 12-year olds and grandmothers who download songs. Warner Bros., for suing webmasters of Harry Potter fan sites. And Microsoft, for suing Canadian high-school student Mike Rowe and his URL www.mikerowesoft.com

Be arrogant as hell

- because it's all about you!

Every week, the news is filled with stories about companies that denigrate those stupid customers. Every time a new computer virus comes out, an arrogant engineer tells a reporter, "I think it's highly irresponsible of these users to click on email attachments. They should know better by now." Be proud of how you shoot from the hip and don't care what customers think! After all, it's all about you, baby!

Ignore your customers

- Feedback? What feedback?

The most evangelistic customers often provide the most feedback, which is sometimes negative. To join the customer vigilante causeway, companies should respond to negative customer feedback in a variety of ways. The least effective way is to send customers a canned response to their passionate criticism. One step up is to ignore the negative feedback altogether, even after receiving repeated negative feedback. Arguing with the customer and telling them how their opinion is wrong is the most effective, especially if the customer launches a petition drive against you!

Be difficult.

- and don't you dare communicate to customers

You can create customer vigilantes more effectively if you make it difficult for them to contact you. After all, how can a company react to customers if they can’t hear them? Erecting communication barricades is easier than you may think. Hide all phone numbers, email addresses, executives' names from all website and marketing materials. Better yet, buy the most expensive voicemail system imaginable and make it impossible for your customers to reach a human being.

If You Could Turn Back Time

Creating Customer Evangelists has case studies of companies you’d expect – Southwest Airlines and Krispy Kreme. And companies you wouldn’t expect – Dallas Mavericks and IBM. As well as companies you didn’t know to expect – Build-A-Bear Workshop, SolutionPeople, and O’Reilly & Associates.

It has been well over a year since the book was first published and I am sure that Ben and Jackie have run across companies that had they known existed, they would have included in the book.

When asked about this, Ben and Jackie replied…

New examples pop up all the time, and that's a key benefit of a blog: it becomes a real-time companion to the hardcover book. Here's a B2B example that is worthy being told.

PaeTec is a Rochester, NY-based company that sells telecommunications services to universities, hotels, and other institutions. Launched in 1996, they're probably close to being a $500 million company now. PaeTec's marketing strategy is very grassroots.

PeaTec’s primary strategies to create customer evangelists are:

Customer appreciation dinners
Once a quarter, in select cities around the country, PaeTec invites customers and prospects to dine at a local restaurant. Other than a quick hello from the CEO or other company executive, there's no structured program. Just dinner, drinks and networking.

But here's what happens: With no prompting, current customers evangelize PaeTec to prospects. There's a real and authentic exchange of information. Because PaeTec is already so focused on outstanding customer service, there's little, if any, grousing. Even so, a little grousing probably adds to the authenticity. No company is perfect.

Customer advisory boards
PaeTec organizes local and regional customer boards to meet several times per year. The company hires an outside facilitator (PeerHQ) to ask 20+ customers for feedback, raise issues, issue challenges and brainstorm ideas. PaeTec says the feedback leads to changes in marketing, sales and operational strategies. Customers say the company listens and values their feedback, and that leads to word of mouth.

The Evangelist Responsibility

If you are reading this blog and know about Creating Customer Evangelists, then you’re on the inside.

The inside is not crowded … there is plenty of space for us all to roam, to share, to debate, to comment, and to find new ideas and new ways to solve our marketing challenges.

Being on the inside means that you are a Marketing Influential.

As a Marketing Influential, we can help shape the way our organizations and our clients approach marketing. We have that power. And with that power, comes responsibility.

The responsibility we share is to propagate the ideas presented in Creating Customer Evangelists.

Ben and Jackie have taught us how to build enduring and endearing relationships between customers and companies by developing marketing programs that engage, educate, and excite customers. What customers know about and are motivated about, they will evangelize about.

It is our responsibility to add a Customer Evangelist element to the marketing mix for our next marketing program.

It is also our responsibility to share the book with our boss, our peers in cross-functional departments, and anyone else we think would benefit from the Creating Customer Evangelist message.

If you believe in the Creating Customer Evangelist message, then you must PROPAGATE, PROPAGATE, PROPAGATE!!!

Go forth and be an evangelist!

Is More Less?

Last Friday, I read an article in USA Today that explored the topic of how Americans are becoming more enamored with CHOICE -- especially as it relates to food choices.

The article references the myriad options consumers have in choosing between 250 different flavors of Dreyer’s Ice Cream and how Tropicana used to only offer consumers two types of orange juice but now Tropicana offers 24 different kinds of orange juice. Also mentioned was how Starbucks, through mass customization, has more than 19,000 ways it can serve you coffee.

Can we, as consumers, suffer from having too much choice?

Author Barry Schwartz thinks so.

In his book, The Paradox of Choice, he argues that more is actually less.

According to Barry, the more choices we have can result in “choice overload” because having too many choices “… can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress."

Barry also writes, “… in particular, increased choice among goods and services may contribute little or nothing to the kind of freedom that counts. Indeed, it may impair freedom by taking time and energy we’d be better off devoting to other matters."

Do you think having too much choice is too much of a good thing? Because we have so much to choose from, do we sometimes end up deciding not to decide?

Me? I choose to choose. I am not willing to compromise when it comes to anything and everything I have the power to choose to do. Does that mean that I sometimes spend more time than others would to sift through choices in order to find the one choice that best meets my needs? Yes. You see, I believe choice is what makes life interesting. Without choice, complacency gets the upper hand in life and if allowed to manifest, complacency will obstruct one from achieving the possible.

Complacency bad. Choice good. Thus, I choose to choose.

Off Paco's Lips Now

Last month, as part of his book tour, promoting Call of the Mall author Paco Underhill visited our offices. He shared with us his background and a bit about his first book Why We Buy – all very interesting. However, the Q&A part of his presentation was the most interesting...

Here are a few of the interesting thoughts Paco shared… (paraphrased and in my own words…)

Paco mentioned three retail concepts that he thought had it right…
• Staples – they have a new store concept that makes finding what you want within the store very easy. You wouldn't find yourself wandering up and down the aisles unless you wanted to.
• Zara – a fashion apparel company highlighted for the way they’ve set up a network to manage inventory from the factory to the store floor
• Three Minute Happiness* – a Japanese based store with general household and houseware items. *Scroll down to the second image - This is the only link I could find… It's a Japanese site translated through AltaVista's Babel Fish Translation Service – it's difficult to understand, but you can at least get the picture - literally.

• He believes that we’re “past the age where companies are driven by a visionary general”. Where a single individual owns and drives the overall concept and direction of an organization. He said we’re in the age where empowered captains and sergeants are/should be running organizations. Where the brand DNA of the company is carried and executed by many.

• He mentioned that when customers love a product so much you could say they almost worship it… for us, he said we’re in the "worship of coffee business" (stay with me here). Paco mentioned that there are three types of worshipers: the Novice, the Acolyte and the Deacon. (This is similar to the way Ben and Jackie use the term Evangelist for a customer who is a raving fan). You need to treat each type of worshiper according to their level of experience with your product. The Deacon can easily explain the concept to others… the Novice, however, is just a beginner and my need help understanding how your concept works. (At Starbucks – the 'deacon' could order their drink using all the drink calling wording just like a barista… a novice is still trying to understand how it all works).

Paco also made reference to three forms of time. To customers time passes in three forms:
• 1) real
• 2) perceived
• 3) a combination of real and perceived

real – An episode of Gilligan's Island feels pretty much like a 1/2 hour with the commercials and all. I pretty much know it'll be a 30-minute show and that's basically how it feels…

perceived - waiting in line for 30 minutes for a fresh, hot Krispy Kreme donut goes by very quickly – you may perceive it as a shorter wait than it is. Waiting for 5 minutes at the department of motor vehicle office can feel like a lifetime.

combination – the best example I can think of is waiting in line at a theme park. A queue line may take 40 minutes (and feel somewhere between 20 and 60 depending on the temperature and who you're in line with)… The ride itself may last for 10 minutes, but may feel like 5 because it was so engaging or thrilling.

Very interesting thoughts... I recommend you check out either of his books if you haven't already.

Aspirational Shopping

Rob Walker writes a weekly piece in the NY Times Sunday Magazine about the retail experience of consumption. This week he writes about "aspirational shopping."

If you've followed the Brand Autopsy blog since we began late last year, you might remember we've written few entries (here and here) on the "aspirational gap." Our writings on the "aspirational gap" have focused more on how lifestyle brands should help consumers actualize their aspirations.

Rob Walker takes a different angle with showing how "aspirational shopping" can be for the lowest price and not for the highest status. You can find his article here (NY Times registration required) or you can click below to read the full article.

Not Smart Kmart

Justin Hitt made some good points and asked some thought-provoking questions in response to my most recent Kmart rant on the stupidity of airing television ads featuring a spokesperson who was found guilty of obstructing justice and lying to the government. Justin’s comments and questions spurred some more HMOs (hot marketing opinions) from me.

“If your brand doesn't already conjure up the images and associations you want consumers to get when they think of your brand, then you'll need to borrow those qualities from someone or something that already has them.”
Sergio Zyman from "The End of Advertising as We Know It”

That is exactly why Kmart first hooked up with Martha Stewart. Kmart lacked an identity and it deftly decided to borrow Martha Stewart’s identity to help give them an identity.

In fact, Kmart took a big risk in initially establishing a relationship with Martha Stewart. Back in 1987 Martha Stewart was just emerging on the national scene and that was when Kmart signed her as a spokesperson/consultant. One could argue that Kmart failed miserably in maximizing the relationship because it wasn’t until 1997, long after the brand called Martha became an icon, when Kmart introduced the Martha Stewart Everyday product line.

Martha Stewart’s branded products now generate $1.5 billion in sales revenue for Kmart and account for more than 5% of the retailer’s total sales (Detroit News). It remains to be seen if consumers can separate the high taste/low price image that is Martha Stewart with the image a Martha Stewart as a convicted felon. One Kmart shopper said, “I’m not buying her, just her products” (Detroit News).

To an extent, I agree with that shopper’s comments. But that is a sample size of one.

There is far too much uncertainty in how the story of Martha Stewart as a convicted felon will unfold in the media and in court of public opinion. Because of this uncertainty, I think Kmart took a HUGE RISK is running a television ad flight featuring Martha Stewart. Already, WCBS has pulled the syndicated Martha Stewart Living television show from its schedule and I am sure more affiliates will follow.

Play it safe. That is all I think Kmart should have done with Martha Stewart and their current television flight. To play it safe, Kmart should have simply chosen not to feature Martha in the commercials during her trial and subsequent guilty verdict. All they had to do was play it safe be re-editing the spots and replace the Martha scenes with maybe a little more of that Joe Boxer guy dancing down the aisles.

Back to Zyman’s comments earlier … it remains to be seen if the brand called Martha can retain its positive “juju” and it is that “juju” that Kmart needs to borrow since the Kmart brand is “juju-fee.”

There is too much uncertainty around Martha Stewart for Kmart to continue using her as a spokesperson. Play it safe Kmart. Because in this case, it is far better to be safe than to be sorry.

Kmart, you have some explaining to do.

I’ve ranted before about the marketing (or lack thereof) practiced by Kmart. But, their latest gaffe is inexcusable.

Why on earth is Kmart running television ads featuring Martha Stewart?

I just saw a Kmart spot with Martha flashing the ‘K’ sign and gleefully saying, “It's in the K!” I also just changed the channel and saw yet another television news report on Martha being found guilty of obstructing justice and lying to the government.

Again I ask, why is Kmart running television ads featuring Martha Stewart?

The marketing department at Kmart knew full well when their next media flight was to run. They also knew full well when Martha Stewart was going to be on trial. So why didn’t they pull their media schedule? Why did they decide to continue running ads featuring Martha during her trial? And why didn’t they pull the ads that were scheduled to air immediately following learning of the guilty verdict?

Who is running the marketing asylum at Kmart? Whoever it is should be found guilty of reckless marketing and sentenced to a lifetime in the “time out” room without parole.

I have no patience for marketers who are reckless brand caretakers. Its marketers like them that give marketing a bad name.

I am dumbfounded that Kmart would be so reckless in not pulling these television spots. Sure it'll cost them money to yank the media schedule. But taking the financial hit will be easier to swallow than enduring yet another massive withdrawl from the Kmart brand equity balance sheet.

Roy Disney on the DISNEY "brand"

It is often said that our company's most valuable asset is the Disney name. You'll get no argument from me. I kind of like the name myself. But, in recent times, there's been a tendency to refer to it as the "Disney brand." To me, this degrades Disney into a "thing" to be bureaucratically managed, rather than a "name" to be creatively championed. And lately I've been seeing Mickey receive this treatment too, as well as Pooh and a lot of others.

Those are the words of Roy Disney speaking to Disney Shareholders on Wednesday, March 3. His speech on how “Institutional Think” has corrupted the Disney brand resonated with me because of its poignancy, succinctness, and brilliance. (Click here to read Roy's speech in its entirety.)

I distributed this article to my team yesterday and I think we, as marketers, have a responsibility to share it with as many people as possible. This is truly one of the best pieces I have ever read on “branding.”

(Much props to David Young over at Branding Blog for first posting this. Keep up the great work David!)

Street Corner Selling Lesson #7

Today’s topic is: Developing Enthusiastically Satisfied Customers - PART 2

“No interest till 2005!” “No payments till 2005!” “Zero down, no interest.” “No credit history? – No problem.” These are common sales tactics used by high-ticket retailers in fields as varied as electronics, furniture, and cars.

Retailers selling high-ticket goods have seemingly become addicted to extending generous credit terms to consumers to secure a large dollar purchase.

The automobile industry got hooked on “zero down, no interest” deals following 9/11 in an attempt to arrest dismal sales. It worked. But, it may have worked too well. It has been over two years since the car dealers began offering car buyers lenient credit terms and it appears that they have become addicted to “zero down, no interest” deals in order to drive comp sales. These sweetheart deals are still widely used by car dealers. Some have gone so far to say that these generous credit terms have become the “crack of the car industry.”

Speaking of crack, street corner sellers have found that extending credit to buyers is a way to not only drive sales but also to develop enthusiastically satisfied customers. Dealing Crack author Bruce Jacobs tells us more.

In the world of street crack… extending the right amount of credit at the right time can forge brand loyalty and be profitable at the same time. Several sellers reportedly timed their [credit] offerings to coincide with the last week of the month, so that memories would be fresh when money became abundant the following week.

“Yeah, I give credit like around the first – if you know them and know they’ll come back. When they get their [public transfer] money, they gonna come back and spend it with me,” explained Benzo (street corner seller).

Offering credit could mean a real windfall, particularly of customers made their repayment along with an additional (and perhaps quite large) purchase. Although Fade (street corner seller) emphasized the importance of extending credit only to “specific people that won’t play with your money.”

Interest rates varied by the offender and were usurious to say the least – from the more forgiving sum of $5 a day on a $20 rock to a mafia-esque 100% - regardless of the amount involved – to be paid the following day or week.

No matter how exorbitant the interest, those caught in the throes of an all-consuming addiction, without sufficient funds to continue using, may view getting crack on credit tantamount to getting crack free. Immediate gratification is essential and can occur at the expense of rational thinking.

Street Corner Selling background reading
Lesson #1: Customer Acquisition
Lesson #2: Ten Minute Rule
Lesson #3: Procurement
Lesson #4: Merchandising
Lesson #5: Angel Customers and Demon Customers
Lesson #6: Developing Enthusiastically Satisfied Customers

Street Corner Selling – Lesson #6

Today’s topic is: Developing Enthusiastically Satisfied Customers

Businesses that focus on cultivating enthusiastically satisfied customers will typically generate a loyal customer base that will gladly refer that business to their friends and family. Drug dealers must also develop enthusiastically satisfied customers because nearly all of their sales growth is tied directly to customer referrals.

Bruce Jacobs furthers this thought in his book, Dealing Crack.

In the world of illicit street drugs, the mythic importance of a good connection cannot be overstated. Most people involved in the generic process of purchasing want the most and best product for the least amount of money, and crack buyers evaluate dealers by seeking out those who are perceived to offer the best deal.

A number of sellers attempted to target their market strategies accordingly. Selling the fattest stones, offering more product for the money than was customary, and giving credit were all geared to entice customers to seek them and them only.

“The bigger ones [rocks] you serve, the more customers you get. You don’t gotta worry about no one else getting’ the sale because they [users] want you.” Bo Joe - street corner seller

“You give’em more than what you should because they look at their competitors and know that ain’t what so and so gave me [last time].” Ice-D - street corner seller

“Everybody try to keep they own clientele. Homie spoiled a customer so much last night, he don’t wanna deal with me – only him." Duece Low - street corner seller

Providing fat stones may hook customers into buying from a particular seller, but smaller quantities – provided sometimes at reduced cost or free of charge – keeps the addiction going. Cultivation is arguably most effective (and most appreciated) when users are at their height of desperation, In the twilight of a binge, for example, even the most meager form of generosity can look colossal and reflect positively on the dealer who is “compassionate” enough to offer a free or cut-rate nugget.

“When a customer’s geekin’ … I’ll break off some pieces like give’em a fifteen for a ten, or a ten for a five, or just break off like two and three dollar pieces. I kinda feel guilty – know that they got kids. So I don’t be taxin’ like that. You’re gonna lose money, but you're gonna keep your clientele. You know they get paid at the first of the month, and they gonna keep spendin’ with me [because I did that for them]. I’m true to the smokers. That why my clientele be so high.” K-Rock - street corner seller

Street Corner Selling background reading
Lesson #1: Customer Acquisition
Lesson #2: Ten Minute Rule
Lesson #3: Procurement
Lesson #4: Merchandising
Lesson #5: Angel Customers and Demon Customers

Street Corner Selling - Lesson #5

Today’s topic: Angel Customers and Demon Customers

Sometimes your most loyal customers are not your best customers. Many business books from Angel Customers and Demon Customers to Driving Customer Equity have tackled the issue of how to select a company’s most profitable customer base and how to nurture a relationship with those customers to fully maximize sales. Drug dealers must do the same.

Bruce Jacobs writes in Dealing Crack about how street corner sellers in St. Louis would many times leave the gang-infested north-side of the city for highly profitable sales in the south-side.

Any opportunity to go south and sell to consumers who were not dependent on public transfer payments was welcome.

Jimmy Hat [street corner seller] claimed that every Saturday his brother would take him to the south side. He spoke highly of these sojourns, claiming that transactions there were for fifties and boppers [$20 rocks], that “there are a lot of people over there with more money to spend, and that police ain’t too hot.”

Jimmy Hat describe his strong desire to focus his selling efforts on the south side only, “South side, ohh man, I wish I could be there seven days [a week]! They ain’t comin with no five, ten dollars over there. They comin’ with twenty, twenty-fice, thirty, fifty dollars. Money be comin’ like this. I makes ‘bout eight-hundred fifty dollars [over a week] in the south side.”