I. Introduction
a. Thesis-Women are entering into college at staggering numbers these days. This will allow for the rapid development of an educated women’s market segment because these women will undoubtedly have unmet needs. As such, marketers need to be on top of understanding this segment and what sorts of products and services they will need.
i. More Mrs. Robinson, Please
ii. Women with Wheels
iii. We Need More Marie Curies
iv. To Be Decided
II. Body
a. More Mrs. Robinson, Please-As more women receive their degrees and earn higher salaries, they will have more control over their own lives and finances. This will allow them the opportunity to attain an independence that other generations of women have struggled to embrace. All of this will lead to a rise in women who date younger men, now coined by the term “Cougar.”
i. This is an extremely fast-growing and unique segment
1. In 1997, fewer than 500,000 women were involved with a man at least ten years younger than them. However, by 2003, 3 million women were dating a man at least six years younger than them (Penn, 7).
2. Perhaps the greatest explanation relates back to the current trend of women attaining higher levels of education at phenomenal pace. In fact, women are now entering into college at greater rates than men. While back in the 60’s very few women were independent and wealthy enough to have more control over whom they dated, today’s women have the money and the power to be choosy. And they’re choosing to go younger.
ii. It’s now perfectly clear that this trend is rapidly rising within our society, and marketers would be smart to start targeting this group immediately. These women and their “boy-toys” are going to need products and services, and they’re going to need them fast.
1. Take the entertainment industry for example. Movies and television shows have been taping into this segment for quite some time and have found it to be an extremely successful pursuit. However, literature has been much slower to catch on. Where are the fictional stories of a 40-something heroine, successful and confident, wooing a 20-something hunk?
2. Additionally, dating advice books are desperately needed for Cougars and their boyfriends. Few of these books exist today, and the market potential for such books is huge. It is clear that the dynamics within this sort of relationship are quite different from the dynamics of the usual relationship, but just how different are they?
3. Matchmaking services should look towards men and women seeking this type of relationship. Television’s Bravo has had a lot of success with its hit reality TV show, “Millionaire Matchmaker.” Now how about a “Cougar Matchmaker?”
4. According to Valerie Gibson, a sex columnist for the Toronto Sun, “A woman’s sexual peak is more aligned with that of the younger man” (Penn, 8). Victoria’s Secret has enjoyed great success with their “Pink” line targeted towards young and flirty girls. As such, they have demonstrated the power of targeting intimates at a specific segment with specific needs. However, this brings one to wonder then where Victoria’s Secret’s line of Cougar designed lingerie is hiding out at?
b. Women with Wheels- The end of 2008 marked the end of an era for automakers. General Motors found themselves kneeling before the government, begging for a bailout. And they weren’t the only ones. While the solution may seem far out of reach, is it possible that the American car industry is totally in control of its fate? Perhaps the problem comes from the underlying fact that the American car industry is currently doing a superb job of isolating its largest segment of buyers: women.
i. The fact is that the majority of car buyers today are women, and with women obtaining higher levels of education, the number of women buying cars is only expected to increase.
1. How is it then that the U.S. car industry has managed to miss the mark when it comes to women?
a. It begins with what American car makers’ current emphasis these days seem to be on: speed. Sure, men tend to love speed and adrenaline, but the average woman prefers safety and reliability (Penn, 266). In fact, the differences in women’s and men’s tastes in cars is so extreme than when asked to pick their top five car brands, none of the brands identified by women matched those identified by men (Penn, 267).
b. There have been a couple of efforts to target women exclusively, and they have been well-received by women consumers. For example, in 2004 Volkswagen created the first car designed exclusively by women for women. The car focused on features that women deemed to be important, including low maintenance and high reliability. The concept car also included a program that would send a message to a service center when the car was due for inspection (Penn, 266).
2. Outside of car design, there are many other areas that car makers can redesign to cater more to a woman’s taste.
a. Car sellers should also reevaluate the layout of their dealerships. Clutter and dirtiness do not sit well with women. They would prefer a showroom not overstuffed with models, but one with a little more room. A nice sitting area with complementary beverages is a much. Also, privacy is highly valued, and dealerships that don’t allow women to work with car salesman in a secluded office will find themselves struggling to reach this segment.
b. The American car industry also needs to seriously reconsider the current nature of its car commercials. Car commercials today tend to focus on off-roading, speed and agility. However, women want to see a commercial with women handling cars, and not necessarily speeding away at 100 mph. They want to see women with families having a picnic. For single women, they would probably prefer a commercial in which a woman is shown on a road trip with her best friends, completely comfortable in the safety and reliability of her car.
iii. We Need More Marie Curies- One area that the U.S. is especially receiving a lot of scrutiny in education is the lack of emphasis put on pursing math and the sciences. In fact, degrees obtained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (or STEM degrees) have fallen drastically in the U.S. Perhaps the problem lies in the fact that the government, educational institutions, service providers and product developers have failed to adequately market math and the sciences to the vast majority of current college enrollees: women.
1. Women now outnumber men 57 to 43 percent in terms of college enrollment, and yet women are still entering into math and science related fields at disparaging rates (Penn, 5).
a. According to experts, a lot of the problem arises from gender differences in the ways that girls and boys are brought up. One needs only to look at the various toys marketed to young girls and boys to notice a serious difference in the types of future occupations encouraged at very young ages.
b. These differences among childrearing of boys and girls is then only further influenced by differences in educational practices. Whether it is subtle or not, something is clearly going wrong from the cradle to the schoolroom for young girls. In fact, young girls and women have been found to have much lower levels of confidence in terms of their mathematical capabilities than their male counterparts, and most experts would argue that natural ability between the genders has nothing to do with it (Encouraging Girls in Math and Science).
2. It has become imperative for the government and educational institutions to begin to think like marketers. Also, product manufacturers and service providers will need to contribute to the targeting of women for math and science related programs and products. These “marketers” then need to learn to look at young girls as their potential “customers.”
a. One area that the government could especially look towards encouraging women to participate in is the aerospace field. The government should work on creating summer camps at The Kennedy Space Center and NASA Space Center for young girls from around the nation to attend and learn what a job in aerospace could be like.
b. More private magnet high schools are needed that focus specifically on math and science and cater exclusively to a female student body. For some young women, such a school could help them by allowing their separation from their male counterparts so that they can better develop confidence in their math and science competencies.
c. What we need now is for the service sector to look to the entertainment industry to create shows and movies about math and science that have women at the forefront. CSI, House and Numb3rs all feature men as the primary genius protagonists, but we also need women that young girls can identify with. We need programs with a brilliant female doctor, not primarily portrayed as a sexual symbol but as a brilliant physician.
d. Also, products are needed. Just about every Barbie imaginable has been created, but what about chemist Barbie?
iv. I’m honestly not sure what I’m going to be writing for this section or if I will even include another section at all. I have tossed around the ideas of a section on parenting, changing technology and home buying, but I haven’t settled on a favorite just yet. More importantly, I have written all of my paper except for my introduction and conclusion, and as it stands now it is already 12 pages. As such, I’m not sure if I will have the room to thoroughly explore another section. I will just have to see once I have finished editing what I have now and writing my introduction and conclusion.
III. Conclusion
a. Educated women are going to radically change the marketplace. They have unique needs that are still unmet. Ignoring this segment in the future will essentially end up being economic suicide as they will soon have the finances and independence to rule a large part of the segment. As such, marketers would be smart to begin targeting these women early on so that they can have educated women as part of their market following.
b. What I have learned from this study.
i. I have learned that I should be proud of my own accomplishments as an educated woman. I am going to have a lot of financial power, and I need to start being responsible with my purchases and identifying my needs.
ii. I have learned that this market can drastically differ in terms of their wants and desires from their male counterparts.
iii. These women are going to change and reshape the way we carry out almost every aspect of our lives. They are going to have a huge say in politics, education, relationships, consumer purchases, and just about every other area you can think of.
c. Application to customer insights-this is applicable to customer insights because by being insightful and truly learning to think like these women, a whole new market with new potential emerges. This new market will allow those marketers and companies at the forefront to achieve huge economic gains and new levels of respect.
d. Concerns-I’m having difficulty finding trade journal articles to use, but I know that we have talked about this so I will be coming to you soon for help. Also, I was concerned that my section “We Need More Marie Curies” wouldn’t be understood, but we talked about this in your office hours, and you seemed to really like it so I think that’s fine.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Emotionally Intriguing=The Challenge of Creating Something Bigger
Personally, there is little more in life that I enjoy more than a truly good commercial or a brand full of spirit beyond its clearly tangible benefits. Yes, I am a commercial nerd. While most of my peers are desperate to have DVRs that allow them to rewind through commercials, I am constantly on the search for the world’s most intriguing and successful commercials. Particularly, my personal favorite commercials tend to be those aimed at targeting the more emotional side of consumers. Over the years, this has led me to wonder: what exactly works in emotional advertising and what is lost on most consumers? To get some answers, I referred back to the film “The Persuaders” and studied the segment on “Emotional Branding.” I also looked into to a recent study surrounding this issue and informally surveyed some people on my own.
The film “The Persuaders” documented advertising’s move into the emotional segment. By the 90’s, consumers had pretty much decided that all products were fairly equivalent, meaning that each and every paper towel will clean up spills, each laundry will get your clothes relatively clean, etc. As such, brand managers and marketers became desperate to find a way to truly set themselves apart from all other companies trying to win over consumers. In an effort to “go against the tide” so to speak, companies began digging down in an effort to create a deeper relationship with consumers through emotionally positioning their brand. Such emotional positioning required emotional commercials, the very topic of my intrigue. As some companies began testing the “emotional waters” and found some initial success, more and more companies jumped on board until emotional advertising and branding where the norm. However, where as emotional branding and advertising has worked miracles for brands like Hallmark and Coca-Cola, the vast majority of brand attempting to reach consumers’ emotional sides have failed miserably. This leads us to wonder why certain brands experience so much success while others just cannot seem to tap into this part of the market. This disparity among the successes realized by various brands through emotional advertising experts has led many to be skeptical as to whether such advertising and positioning truly works. And what is the true essence of a successful emotional promotional campaign?
Perhaps Kevin Roberts, advertising expert and author of “Lovemarks” can provide at least some of the answers. Roberts has full faith in the concept of emotional advertising and positioning. He fully believes that companies can realize huge gains if they successfully implement emotional branding by ensuring that they “create loyalty beyond reason and infused with sensuality and mystery.” As an example of a brand that has done an excellent job of creating this emotional element in their positioning and promotions, Roberts pointed to one of my favorite all time commercials about General Mills’ cereal Cheerios. I couldn’t find a link to the commercial itself, but basically its clearly Christmas time and the commercial features a grandmother talking to her very young grandson. The grandson has Cheerios spread across the tray on his highchair, and his Grandma uses those Cheerios to map out where all of his family members are while the grandson vainly attempts to eat the Cheerios from her. In the end, she tells her grandson that no matter we’re they all are, “we’ll always be together for Christmas.” This is arguably one of the most successful commercials of all time, and it has become a staple in American culture. Roberts argues that this campaign works because an image of mystery surrounding Cheerios was created. However, I beg to differ. So many emotionally geared commercials and campaigns fail, causing me to think that there is something more important than just creating “mystery.” In fact, I think it’s quite the opposite. I think that what’s important is expressing what exactly is being sold, but in a manner that allows the consumer to connect with what is being sold on a higher level. The Cheerios commercial touches our hearts in its references to the importance of family and being together on the holidays. However, more importantly the commercial also focuses specifically on the cereal itself and the cereal is an intricate part of the emotional expression. This allows the consumer to be able to easily associate the emotions triggered while watching the commercial with Cheerios itself. To further understand my personal opinion, I would suggest referencing Liberty Mutual’s current commercial campaign. An example can be found by visiting the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMwoexR1evo. I love the idea behind these commercials, but I think that the execution is, at best, poor. While the commercial time and time again leaves the consumer with “warm fuzzies,” it does a terrible job of letting the consumer know early on what this commercial is supposed to be selling. In fact, unless you are a commercial junkie like myself, chances are you have seen this commercial time and time again but cannot name who the company is behind the advertisement. I cannot even begin to estimate the number of times that I have described these commercials to friends and family members, only to hear them say, “I love those commercials. What are they for again?” I maintain that the fundamental difference between Liberty Mutual’s emotionally driven commercials and General Mills’ Cheerios is that the Cheerios commercial ensures that consumers know up front what the focus of the commercial is. It is clear that the Grandmother and her Grandson are sharing a priceless moment over a tray of Cheerios, and that those Cheerios are an essential element in their conversation. However, Liberty Mutual’s commercials fail to introduce what the commercial is supposed to be about until the last couple of seconds. By that time, consumers find themselves scratching their heads wondering what this commercial is really supposed to be about. Also, because the Liberty Mutual’s brand and services are not incorporated into the commercial itself from the beginning, consumers later find themselves at a loss as to who sponsored those “warming” commercials.
Lastly, I would briefly like to discuss an interesting article that I recently read that relates to this topic. The article is entitled “Emotional, not factual, ads win skeptic consumers, study shows” and can be found at the following link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/29174.php. This article suggests that emotional marketers may have found their perfect audience: skeptics. This could be a result of skeptics’ overexposure to informational ads that have only served to disappoint them over time. It is these very skeptics that have been every advertiser’s worst nightmare for years. They distrust advertisements and never give them the time of day. Consequently, they can be an extremely difficult market to reach. However, these skeptics seem to be more trusting of emotionally appealing advertisements. With Generation Y’s well-established skeptic consumers having more and more purchasing power daily, it is extremely important that marketers and advertisers learn how to effectively carry out an emotional advertising campaigns and positioning. It will be necessary to reach this market. However, if not executed properly, it will still undoubtedly fail. As such, companies that can learn how to make emotional advertisements work for them like General Mills has will realize huge gains, especially as more and more skeptic consumers enter the marketplace.
Monday, March 23, 2009
"When You're Downtown..."
“The Persuaders” was an extremely intriguing film covering many important aspects addressed by marketers on a day to day basis. For example, in a world now overwhelmed with advertisements, how does any one company manage to break through? Also, do consumers make purchase decisions? The answers to such questions are pivotal to any company trying to survive in today’s crazed business environment. As such, marketers need to come up with specific means of gathering important marketing research data to figure out how to more effectively market to consumers. “The Persuaders” explored several of today’s marketing approaches, including the infamous Dr. Rapaille’s controversial method.
Dr. Rapaille’s believes that consumers purchase decisions are driven by natural instinct buried in our deep unconscious. For example, Dr. Rapaille questioned why anyone living in Manhattan would ever think that a Hummer intended for off-roading would be an appropriate choice of vehicle. He maintains that anyone thinking logically would never purchase a Hummer if they were living in a city such as Manhattan, and therefore, there have to be underlying factors affecting our purchase decisions. It is these underlying natural instincts and impulses that drive us to act a certain way that are the focus of Dr. Rapaille’s work. In order to identify these natural instincts, Dr. Rapaille performs a three phase experiment in which he seeks to understand our true beliefs and natural drivers. Essentially, his process is a psychic journey in which he seeks to move past participants’ more conscious emotions and into their primal cores. It is here that the doctor believes we actually make our purchasing decisions.
In the first stage, the doctor seeks to understand the participants by reaching out to their cortex. Here, he is giving participants a chance to demonstrate how smart they are and to get comfortable within the setting. For example, in the film Dr. Rapaille was trying to uncover what the true drivers of “luxury” are for consumers. As such, in the first stage he would ask participants questions like what words are used whenever someone tries to sell “luxury” to them. Then, in the second stage the doctor seeks to reach into participants’ emotions. He does this by asking participants to tell intriguing stories. For example, in the film Dr. Rapaille asked participants to tell him a story as if they are a 5-year-old from another planet. After this phase of the experiment, participants start to become confused, and the doctor likes it that way. It allows him to proceed on to the third phase of the study in which Dr. Rapaille has participants lay on the floor, relax, and go back to the mindset they have upon first waking up in the morning. Dr. Rapaille claims that respondents can then remember things they had completely forgotten about, and he uses this to help him identify our primal urges, or what he calls “reptilian hot buttons.” Dr. Rapaille then says that he can use the “reptilian hot buttons” to develop the “code” for what is being studied. This “code” is the result of these primal urges, and it is what drives us to act as we do. For example, the “reptilian hot button” uncovered by Dr. Rapaille when studying cheese in America versus France allowed the doctor to assist a French cheese company break into the American market. According to the doctor, the “reptilian hot buttons” led to a “code” of “dead” for cheese in America, but in France, the “code” for cheese is “alive.” As such, cheese in America has to be marketed and sold very differently than it is in France. For example, Dr. Rapaille says that his uncovering of the “reptilian hot buttons” for cheese in America brought upon the necessity of storing cheese in plastic bags and then refrigerating that cheese. According to the doctor, the plastic bags represent body bags and the refrigerator represents a morgue, thus correctly matching the “code” of “dead” for cheese in America.
Personally, I think that Dr. Rapaille is doing an excellent job of ripping of large corporations. He analysis of cheese and comparisons of plastic bags as the “body bags” and refrigerators as morgues was enough to tip me off that he is running a huge scam. Additionally, I have never been one for the Freud school of thought regarding urges from the subconscious. I don’t think that what attracts me to cheese versus another is whether that cheese appears “dead” to me, and I am more than happy to purchases cheeses not refrigerated and overly packaged. In fact, I prefer it. Also, Dr. Rapaille claims that by the end of the third phase, participants are able to remember things for 30 years back that they have long since forgotten. I think that participants “remember” things because they feel pressured to, much in the same way that Freud absurdly convinced so many of his patients that they had been sexually assaulted. I believe that there certainly are underlying factors that influence our purchase decisions, but I think that a lot of it has to be examined on a more personal level. We all have our own perceptions of everything we come across. This is how we define our world. It’s also how we define what products and services are important to us. In my opinion, to truly understand what drives us, you have to begin by respecting that people are individuals, and our decisions are far too complex to be summed up by a “reptilian hot button” or simple “code” word.
“The Persuaders” also spent a good time covering a then-newly created airline called “Song.” Song Airlines was headed up by parent company Delta, but the creators and marketers of Song decided that they wanted to create something vastly different from the feel of Delta for Song. After conducting focus groups and evaluating its marketing research, the creators of Song decided that a very important segment was being overlooked in the airline industry: women. Now in theory, I think that Song had a fairly good idea; however, once put into place, Song Airlines essentially destroyed itself. To begin with, the idea of creating an airline targeted at women is intriguing, but I think that perhaps it was created too early. Women are becoming more educated and more independent. Their new levels of education and independency combine to give them the opportunity to spend more money and spend more solely on themselves. As such, an airline catered to women is in theory a good idea, but I think that it’s still a bit too early to make a move for this segment. Also, although Song might have been on to something in targeting women, Song was definitely targeting the wrong type of woman. The woman identified as Song’s target customer, or “Carrie,” sounds like she would be traveling almost exclusively with her family. She doesn’t sound like the kind of person who would be making frequent business trips and thus demanding services catered towards her specifically. In fact, Song defined “Carrie” as a married mother, and as such, she will need an airline that also caters to her husband’s and children’s needs. Additionally, even if they would have gotten it right by targeting the career-driven, independent woman, they would have had trouble finding a consistently loyal customer base. Airlines make a lot of revenue by striking deals with companies to provide their travel accommodations. However, such a deal could be very difficult for an airline like Song because companies would certainly not want to encourage, or even force, their male employees to use an airline designed specifically for women. And even if Song targeted predominantly female professions and companies, there will always be male employees who will need travel assistance as well.
Aside from the target group the airline went after, the entire marketing campaign seemed to be a complete and total disaster. Worst of all were the terrible TV advertisements. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Andy Spade’s purse designs as much as the next woman. However, Andy is an expert when it comes to selling simple, classic purses and not airlines. His advertising idea to downplay Song’s features and instead search for the “soul” was awful. After all, a persistent theme in “The Persuaders” was that we as consumers are swarmed more than ever with a whole variety of advertisements. Add in the fact that we’re busier than ever and you have a bunch of consumers that just want advertisers to cut to the chase. The reality is that consumers are not going to expend the extra time and effort to research more into advertisements, and so you have to be up front with them. Also, asides from not articulating Song’s benefits, Andy’s advertisements didn’t even articulate what Song actually was. No one would have a clue from his ads that Song is an airline, and so how could the creators have anticipated anyone to seek out their services? The company even became aware of this a year into operations when it discovered that consumers recognized its advertisements, but had no idea what the advertisements were even supposed to be advertising for. Also, Song went after the wrong venues when it came to advertising for its airlines. The airline was supposedly created for a married mother that sounded like your typical run-of-the-mill housewife, and yet they were advertising at concerts and night clubs. As a marketer the most important part of your job is to assure that your marketing efforts are reaching the right target audience, and this failure to pick the right venue definitely helps explain why Song failed miserably. Additionally, the other vague and abstract marketing efforts were lost on me. For example, the book with the words “Cheer, Cry, Vomit, Bitch and Hope” printed up the spine in an effort to intrigue customers through stories that I suppose were once again aimed at showing the “soul” of Song was outrageous. As a female, I would never even be enticed to read such a book, not to mention the fact that I would never then use it when making my travel decisions. The bottom line is that Song was trying too hard. Its marketers and creators wanted to create something revolutionary, and they thought that they had to be completely revolutionary in all of their marketing efforts as well. However, in the end it was too out-there and just ended up getting lost on consumers.
Dr. Rapaille’s believes that consumers purchase decisions are driven by natural instinct buried in our deep unconscious. For example, Dr. Rapaille questioned why anyone living in Manhattan would ever think that a Hummer intended for off-roading would be an appropriate choice of vehicle. He maintains that anyone thinking logically would never purchase a Hummer if they were living in a city such as Manhattan, and therefore, there have to be underlying factors affecting our purchase decisions. It is these underlying natural instincts and impulses that drive us to act a certain way that are the focus of Dr. Rapaille’s work. In order to identify these natural instincts, Dr. Rapaille performs a three phase experiment in which he seeks to understand our true beliefs and natural drivers. Essentially, his process is a psychic journey in which he seeks to move past participants’ more conscious emotions and into their primal cores. It is here that the doctor believes we actually make our purchasing decisions.
In the first stage, the doctor seeks to understand the participants by reaching out to their cortex. Here, he is giving participants a chance to demonstrate how smart they are and to get comfortable within the setting. For example, in the film Dr. Rapaille was trying to uncover what the true drivers of “luxury” are for consumers. As such, in the first stage he would ask participants questions like what words are used whenever someone tries to sell “luxury” to them. Then, in the second stage the doctor seeks to reach into participants’ emotions. He does this by asking participants to tell intriguing stories. For example, in the film Dr. Rapaille asked participants to tell him a story as if they are a 5-year-old from another planet. After this phase of the experiment, participants start to become confused, and the doctor likes it that way. It allows him to proceed on to the third phase of the study in which Dr. Rapaille has participants lay on the floor, relax, and go back to the mindset they have upon first waking up in the morning. Dr. Rapaille claims that respondents can then remember things they had completely forgotten about, and he uses this to help him identify our primal urges, or what he calls “reptilian hot buttons.” Dr. Rapaille then says that he can use the “reptilian hot buttons” to develop the “code” for what is being studied. This “code” is the result of these primal urges, and it is what drives us to act as we do. For example, the “reptilian hot button” uncovered by Dr. Rapaille when studying cheese in America versus France allowed the doctor to assist a French cheese company break into the American market. According to the doctor, the “reptilian hot buttons” led to a “code” of “dead” for cheese in America, but in France, the “code” for cheese is “alive.” As such, cheese in America has to be marketed and sold very differently than it is in France. For example, Dr. Rapaille says that his uncovering of the “reptilian hot buttons” for cheese in America brought upon the necessity of storing cheese in plastic bags and then refrigerating that cheese. According to the doctor, the plastic bags represent body bags and the refrigerator represents a morgue, thus correctly matching the “code” of “dead” for cheese in America.
Personally, I think that Dr. Rapaille is doing an excellent job of ripping of large corporations. He analysis of cheese and comparisons of plastic bags as the “body bags” and refrigerators as morgues was enough to tip me off that he is running a huge scam. Additionally, I have never been one for the Freud school of thought regarding urges from the subconscious. I don’t think that what attracts me to cheese versus another is whether that cheese appears “dead” to me, and I am more than happy to purchases cheeses not refrigerated and overly packaged. In fact, I prefer it. Also, Dr. Rapaille claims that by the end of the third phase, participants are able to remember things for 30 years back that they have long since forgotten. I think that participants “remember” things because they feel pressured to, much in the same way that Freud absurdly convinced so many of his patients that they had been sexually assaulted. I believe that there certainly are underlying factors that influence our purchase decisions, but I think that a lot of it has to be examined on a more personal level. We all have our own perceptions of everything we come across. This is how we define our world. It’s also how we define what products and services are important to us. In my opinion, to truly understand what drives us, you have to begin by respecting that people are individuals, and our decisions are far too complex to be summed up by a “reptilian hot button” or simple “code” word.
“The Persuaders” also spent a good time covering a then-newly created airline called “Song.” Song Airlines was headed up by parent company Delta, but the creators and marketers of Song decided that they wanted to create something vastly different from the feel of Delta for Song. After conducting focus groups and evaluating its marketing research, the creators of Song decided that a very important segment was being overlooked in the airline industry: women. Now in theory, I think that Song had a fairly good idea; however, once put into place, Song Airlines essentially destroyed itself. To begin with, the idea of creating an airline targeted at women is intriguing, but I think that perhaps it was created too early. Women are becoming more educated and more independent. Their new levels of education and independency combine to give them the opportunity to spend more money and spend more solely on themselves. As such, an airline catered to women is in theory a good idea, but I think that it’s still a bit too early to make a move for this segment. Also, although Song might have been on to something in targeting women, Song was definitely targeting the wrong type of woman. The woman identified as Song’s target customer, or “Carrie,” sounds like she would be traveling almost exclusively with her family. She doesn’t sound like the kind of person who would be making frequent business trips and thus demanding services catered towards her specifically. In fact, Song defined “Carrie” as a married mother, and as such, she will need an airline that also caters to her husband’s and children’s needs. Additionally, even if they would have gotten it right by targeting the career-driven, independent woman, they would have had trouble finding a consistently loyal customer base. Airlines make a lot of revenue by striking deals with companies to provide their travel accommodations. However, such a deal could be very difficult for an airline like Song because companies would certainly not want to encourage, or even force, their male employees to use an airline designed specifically for women. And even if Song targeted predominantly female professions and companies, there will always be male employees who will need travel assistance as well.
Aside from the target group the airline went after, the entire marketing campaign seemed to be a complete and total disaster. Worst of all were the terrible TV advertisements. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Andy Spade’s purse designs as much as the next woman. However, Andy is an expert when it comes to selling simple, classic purses and not airlines. His advertising idea to downplay Song’s features and instead search for the “soul” was awful. After all, a persistent theme in “The Persuaders” was that we as consumers are swarmed more than ever with a whole variety of advertisements. Add in the fact that we’re busier than ever and you have a bunch of consumers that just want advertisers to cut to the chase. The reality is that consumers are not going to expend the extra time and effort to research more into advertisements, and so you have to be up front with them. Also, asides from not articulating Song’s benefits, Andy’s advertisements didn’t even articulate what Song actually was. No one would have a clue from his ads that Song is an airline, and so how could the creators have anticipated anyone to seek out their services? The company even became aware of this a year into operations when it discovered that consumers recognized its advertisements, but had no idea what the advertisements were even supposed to be advertising for. Also, Song went after the wrong venues when it came to advertising for its airlines. The airline was supposedly created for a married mother that sounded like your typical run-of-the-mill housewife, and yet they were advertising at concerts and night clubs. As a marketer the most important part of your job is to assure that your marketing efforts are reaching the right target audience, and this failure to pick the right venue definitely helps explain why Song failed miserably. Additionally, the other vague and abstract marketing efforts were lost on me. For example, the book with the words “Cheer, Cry, Vomit, Bitch and Hope” printed up the spine in an effort to intrigue customers through stories that I suppose were once again aimed at showing the “soul” of Song was outrageous. As a female, I would never even be enticed to read such a book, not to mention the fact that I would never then use it when making my travel decisions. The bottom line is that Song was trying too hard. Its marketers and creators wanted to create something revolutionary, and they thought that they had to be completely revolutionary in all of their marketing efforts as well. However, in the end it was too out-there and just ended up getting lost on consumers.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Experience+Expertise=An Interesting Mix
The chapter from Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink entitled, “Kenna’s Dilemma: The Right-and Wrong-Way to Ask People What They Want” definitely contained some extremely useful marketing material, especially in the interest of customer insights. Malcolm Gladwell once again provided incredible insights into how people and all of the mysteries surrounding how we as consumers make our purchase decisions. And while I found all of his lessons to be highly intriguing, I especially noticed some important marketing implications in the lessons entitled “The Blind Leading the Blind” and “The Gift of Expertise”
In the lesson, “The Blind Leading the Blind,” Malcolm Gladwell discusses why even though consumers seemed to prefer Pepsi’s taste to that of Coke’s after just a couple of sips, Coke has still remained the market leader after all of these years. Initially, these results may shock people, but the fact is that our purchase decisions are determined by more than just one sip. The fact is, our purchase decisions center around the entire experience, not just the actual product itself. We want a product that we associate as being something bigger, and consumers just seem to love the packaging of Coke. For these consumers, it’s about what that cola represents, and how it makes you feel to consumer it. This exact lesson was also demonstrated in a book I read entitled “Chasing Cool.” This experiment also involved a taste test, but among vodkas with very different pricing strategies. The experiment had consumers taste Grey Goose’s vodka and Smirnoff’s vodka, and then consumers were asked which one they preferred. Interestingly enough, consumers preferred Smirnoff’s taste equally as often as they preferred Grey Goose’s. However, Grey Goose vodka is a lot more expensive than Smirnoff and was also the market leader in terms of sales. This experiment initially left marketers baffled. Vodka can only be distilled in one way, making all vodkas virtually equal, and yet the most expensive vodka was eating up most of the market share. It didn’t make any sense, until you took in the experience as a whole. Grey Goose vodka is made in France and shipped in wooden crates. Its bottle features frosted glass, suggesting elegance and luxury. So while although they may taste very similarly, Grey Goose’s creator has worked to create a different sort of experience for vodka drinkers, one of an exquisite and exclusive experience. This validates the idea that it’s not enough just to have a good product. You have to create the whole experience. It’s about going the full 9-yards and not coming up even an inch short. Every marketer would be smart to keep this in mind while designing marketing programs and working to promote products and services. Without the experience, you end up coming up generic.
The second lesson that I found to be very insightful was “The Gift of Expertise.” This lesson talked about how we have to be careful not just to rely on how consumers react to a new product or service. The reason is that consumer often cannot articulate why they feel a certain way. As such, their “feelings” can be of limited usefulness to them if we are not careful. However, experts can easily identify their reactions to a new offering and can easily articulate why they feel the way that they do. This is why Kenna’s music was such a hit with industry experts while consumers found it unappealing in the least. Occasionally then, it becomes necessary that experts embrace their expertise and ignore the research. For instance, the movie Titianic was expected to be one of the biggest flops of all time. In fact, it was estimated that by the time the cast and crew were paid that the film would actually take on a loss. However, James Cameron knew that his film was brilliant. His expertise was enough to encourage him to take a chance, and as a result, he released one of the top grossing films of all time. This is why we have to be careful to not fully rely on marketing research results in deciding what will be big. Sometimes in taking a chance and trusting our expertise we really manage to strike it bit. However, by the same token this sort of groomed insightfulness may also lead experts to become too enthusiastic about offerings and forget to think like a consumer. For example, when Apple released the first ever PDA, it flopped big time. Industry experts were shocked because to them this was an incredible technological offering. However, what they were forgetting is that consumers are often hasty to take on a new offering, especially when that new offering is radically different and will require them to acquire new skills. As such, there became a discrepancy between the values experts placed on such an offering and the perceived value consumers associated with that same offering. This necessitates a certain degree of marketing research to gain insights. However, we have to be careful to really evaluate that research and to work harder to help consumers articulate their reactions in a more meaningful way.
While Malcolm Gladwell may not have directly intended for this chapter to relate so eloquently to marketing, he definitely did manage to incorporate a lot of deep insights into marketing’s most important aspect: people. Without a thorough knowledge of consumers and how they really think, feel and act, we cannot possibly expect to be able to successfully market anything from chewing gum to brand new high-tech electronics. It’s important to have insights enough to understand that often as consumers we cannot articulate why we feel the way that we do and that sometimes rapid change scares us. This necessitates us sometimes taking “baby steps” with consumers, especially when introducing rapidly different products and services. This also creates the necessity for further research into way consumers behave in the manner that they do and to always keep in mind that for consumers it is all about the EXPERIENCE. However, it is additionally important to remember that as consumers we are the driving forces for new products, ideas and industries. As such, it becomes increasingly important to sometimes be willing to take a chance, just like CBS did with The Mary Tyler Moore Show because it might just be that we have hit at a time when, as Bob Dylan would say, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” and we don’t want to miss our shot.
In the lesson, “The Blind Leading the Blind,” Malcolm Gladwell discusses why even though consumers seemed to prefer Pepsi’s taste to that of Coke’s after just a couple of sips, Coke has still remained the market leader after all of these years. Initially, these results may shock people, but the fact is that our purchase decisions are determined by more than just one sip. The fact is, our purchase decisions center around the entire experience, not just the actual product itself. We want a product that we associate as being something bigger, and consumers just seem to love the packaging of Coke. For these consumers, it’s about what that cola represents, and how it makes you feel to consumer it. This exact lesson was also demonstrated in a book I read entitled “Chasing Cool.” This experiment also involved a taste test, but among vodkas with very different pricing strategies. The experiment had consumers taste Grey Goose’s vodka and Smirnoff’s vodka, and then consumers were asked which one they preferred. Interestingly enough, consumers preferred Smirnoff’s taste equally as often as they preferred Grey Goose’s. However, Grey Goose vodka is a lot more expensive than Smirnoff and was also the market leader in terms of sales. This experiment initially left marketers baffled. Vodka can only be distilled in one way, making all vodkas virtually equal, and yet the most expensive vodka was eating up most of the market share. It didn’t make any sense, until you took in the experience as a whole. Grey Goose vodka is made in France and shipped in wooden crates. Its bottle features frosted glass, suggesting elegance and luxury. So while although they may taste very similarly, Grey Goose’s creator has worked to create a different sort of experience for vodka drinkers, one of an exquisite and exclusive experience. This validates the idea that it’s not enough just to have a good product. You have to create the whole experience. It’s about going the full 9-yards and not coming up even an inch short. Every marketer would be smart to keep this in mind while designing marketing programs and working to promote products and services. Without the experience, you end up coming up generic.
The second lesson that I found to be very insightful was “The Gift of Expertise.” This lesson talked about how we have to be careful not just to rely on how consumers react to a new product or service. The reason is that consumer often cannot articulate why they feel a certain way. As such, their “feelings” can be of limited usefulness to them if we are not careful. However, experts can easily identify their reactions to a new offering and can easily articulate why they feel the way that they do. This is why Kenna’s music was such a hit with industry experts while consumers found it unappealing in the least. Occasionally then, it becomes necessary that experts embrace their expertise and ignore the research. For instance, the movie Titianic was expected to be one of the biggest flops of all time. In fact, it was estimated that by the time the cast and crew were paid that the film would actually take on a loss. However, James Cameron knew that his film was brilliant. His expertise was enough to encourage him to take a chance, and as a result, he released one of the top grossing films of all time. This is why we have to be careful to not fully rely on marketing research results in deciding what will be big. Sometimes in taking a chance and trusting our expertise we really manage to strike it bit. However, by the same token this sort of groomed insightfulness may also lead experts to become too enthusiastic about offerings and forget to think like a consumer. For example, when Apple released the first ever PDA, it flopped big time. Industry experts were shocked because to them this was an incredible technological offering. However, what they were forgetting is that consumers are often hasty to take on a new offering, especially when that new offering is radically different and will require them to acquire new skills. As such, there became a discrepancy between the values experts placed on such an offering and the perceived value consumers associated with that same offering. This necessitates a certain degree of marketing research to gain insights. However, we have to be careful to really evaluate that research and to work harder to help consumers articulate their reactions in a more meaningful way.
While Malcolm Gladwell may not have directly intended for this chapter to relate so eloquently to marketing, he definitely did manage to incorporate a lot of deep insights into marketing’s most important aspect: people. Without a thorough knowledge of consumers and how they really think, feel and act, we cannot possibly expect to be able to successfully market anything from chewing gum to brand new high-tech electronics. It’s important to have insights enough to understand that often as consumers we cannot articulate why we feel the way that we do and that sometimes rapid change scares us. This necessitates us sometimes taking “baby steps” with consumers, especially when introducing rapidly different products and services. This also creates the necessity for further research into way consumers behave in the manner that they do and to always keep in mind that for consumers it is all about the EXPERIENCE. However, it is additionally important to remember that as consumers we are the driving forces for new products, ideas and industries. As such, it becomes increasingly important to sometimes be willing to take a chance, just like CBS did with The Mary Tyler Moore Show because it might just be that we have hit at a time when, as Bob Dylan would say, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” and we don’t want to miss our shot.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Educated Women: A Marketing Force Not to be Reckoned With
For my research paper, I would like to thoroughly explore a segment that is growing at an unthinkable pace: the market of educated women. Over the last few decades when have begun to pursue higher levels of educational attainment at unprecedented rates, and this trend is expected only to continue to rise at an increasing rate. As such, there is a huge opportunity and market out there in need of goods and services tailored to their unique needs. Those marketers that tap into this segment first will reap in huge rewards, but those that isolate or fail to recognize this segment will find themselves struggling. I really want to research this segment because I’m actually approaching membership into this segment as I will be receiving my college degree next May. I think that as a member of this segment, I should be able to have an advantage in targeting this segment and uncovering some truly interesting insights.
I would like to approach this report by splitting it up into specific segments, addressing how women are changing these areas and then providing recommendations for organizations that could potentially profit from these changes. For examples, I have so far that I want to focus on the dating/relationships, parenting, large ticket-item consumer (i.e. the purchasing of homes and cars), and entertainment catered specifically to the new-age strong, independent, and educated woman.
One of the articles that has inspired me to pursue this topic is actually a chapter entitled “Car-Buying Soccer Moms” from the book Microtrends by Mark J. Penn. This chapter reveals some truly insightful information regarding car buyers, including the shocking statistic that women are actually the largest segment of car buyers. And, with more and more women putting off or abstaining from marriage altogether, this segment is only expected to increase. However, the car industry has been slow to realize this fact, and it is apparent in nearly every car commercial out there. We’re constantly faced with men billowing down rocky mountains and rugged terrain in massive trucks with tires designed to crush anything smaller than 10 feet. It’s a testosterone fest, but unfortunately it’s completely alienating the largest segment of car buyers and their vastly differing car needs. Women today care more about reliability than speed. We don’t want something that’s going to require a lot of repairs, and we want to ensure that it will safely get us from Point A to Point B. Women also have different preferences in car brands then men do, and we are much more likely to be interested in a Hybrid car than a high-tech sports car. Thus far, only Volvo has really seemed to “jump the gun” on this one. In 2004, they released a concept car designed completely by women and for women, with a campaign focused on the unique car needs most women have. For instance, the car was set up so that there were very little maintenance concerns for women, including the absence of a hood and an automated messenger designed to let the dealer know when it needed to be inspected. These findings are huge, and if car companies could learn to focus on designs similar to this one, they may just find their days of pleading for governmental funding would be over.
I would like to approach this report by splitting it up into specific segments, addressing how women are changing these areas and then providing recommendations for organizations that could potentially profit from these changes. For examples, I have so far that I want to focus on the dating/relationships, parenting, large ticket-item consumer (i.e. the purchasing of homes and cars), and entertainment catered specifically to the new-age strong, independent, and educated woman.
One of the articles that has inspired me to pursue this topic is actually a chapter entitled “Car-Buying Soccer Moms” from the book Microtrends by Mark J. Penn. This chapter reveals some truly insightful information regarding car buyers, including the shocking statistic that women are actually the largest segment of car buyers. And, with more and more women putting off or abstaining from marriage altogether, this segment is only expected to increase. However, the car industry has been slow to realize this fact, and it is apparent in nearly every car commercial out there. We’re constantly faced with men billowing down rocky mountains and rugged terrain in massive trucks with tires designed to crush anything smaller than 10 feet. It’s a testosterone fest, but unfortunately it’s completely alienating the largest segment of car buyers and their vastly differing car needs. Women today care more about reliability than speed. We don’t want something that’s going to require a lot of repairs, and we want to ensure that it will safely get us from Point A to Point B. Women also have different preferences in car brands then men do, and we are much more likely to be interested in a Hybrid car than a high-tech sports car. Thus far, only Volvo has really seemed to “jump the gun” on this one. In 2004, they released a concept car designed completely by women and for women, with a campaign focused on the unique car needs most women have. For instance, the car was set up so that there were very little maintenance concerns for women, including the absence of a hood and an automated messenger designed to let the dealer know when it needed to be inspected. These findings are huge, and if car companies could learn to focus on designs similar to this one, they may just find their days of pleading for governmental funding would be over.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
"Metro" or "Retro"? How About Neither.
Last Saturday a couple of my friends and I decided that we would bravely venture into the heavily “estrogenated” world that we are supposedly a part of by going to see the newest chick-flick, “He’s Just Not that Into You.” Now admittedly, I got a huge kick out of it and found the film to actually provide some pretty interesting points of view. However, what I truly found interesting was that this movie very clearly articulated the dilemma illustrated in the “Secrets of the Male Shopper” article. The entire film perfectly grouped men into one of two categories. They were either depicted as 1. the “metrosexual”, or 2. the “retrosexual.” Talk about type-casting. I couldn’t help but reflect back to this article and become seemingly annoyed at just how black and white the men were being portrayed. In doing so, the writers showed that they too suffer from a lack of knowledge about the true diversity of the “male” market, thus paralleling the struggles facing modern day marketing. Consequently, my lone guy friend that decided to venture to see the film with us was left unable to identify with any of the male actors in the film as he falls into the strikingly broad “middle of the road” male market segment. After gauging his feeling of isolation, I began to realize just how important it will be for me as a marketer to get a better grip on the male market; a market divided into more than just “metrosexual” and “retrosexual” men.
To begin with, male shoppers vary greatly in their purchasing behavior depending upon what age segment they fall into. “Secrets of the Male Shopper” continually highlighted the younger male’s segment as being more willing to venture into product categories not previously purchased readily by their older counterparts. For example, boomer dads are a lot more likely to shop for diapers and groceries then their dads ever were, and today’s teen boys are more willing to shop for specialized hygiene products then their dads have ever been. I have grown up with two brothers, and watching their purchasing patterns in contrast with my father’s never ceases to amaze me. Whereas my dad is much more likely to make a run to the store for milk than my grandfather ever was, my brothers are much more likely to shop for and buy their own clothes then my dad has ever been. My brother also uses a specialized scented “Axe” body wash in the shower, but my father would sooner die than go near the words “body wash.” My brother actually cares enough to schedule his own haircut and you will never find him with dirty nails. And yet it is important to note that my brother loves his baseball, and there is nothing cooler than “Medal of Honor” on Playstation thus clearing him altogether from the threat of “metrosexuality”. He’s a more “modern male,” and his purchasing interests differ greatly from our father and grandfather’s, but he is certainly not “girly.”
This alone demonstrates the sheer vastness of differences among men just based on their ages. You then have to start considering differences in levels of education, income and marital status. As a result of more women pursuing higher levels of education, the traditional age at which people marry has been pushed back significantly. As such, there is now a large market for late 20-early 30-year-old males that never existed before. These men need homes, furniture and neighborhoods targeted to their needs. They’re less likely to care about the number of kids in the neighborhood and more likely to care about access to pools, parks and other recreational activities when looking for a home. They also tend to care more about garage size and spend more time in the living room than the kitchen. With this in mind, home builders and land developers would be smart to vary up their offerings to cater to such male shopper needs. They’re also more likely to want access to activities and facilities that allow them the opportunity to meet women but also hang out with “the guys.” Also, this could open up a whole new segment for the house cleaning segment to target. These single, “fab” guys will likely have a 1000 other things they’d rather do then tidy up, and the cleaning industry would be smart to tap into that.
Additionally, it will be important for grocery stores to start catering more to male needs. For example, perhaps they will want to consider adding a “tools” section along with beauty products largely targeted exclusively towards female shoppers. It would also be a good idea for makers of baby suppliers and parenting products to start taking a more proactive approach in targeting men. Today’s men are more involved in the family life than ever before, and with an increase in women working full-time, they’re going to have to be. Parenting magazines should look into featuring ads and articles targeting both sexes, and Gerber should consider featuring more dads feeding children on their commercials.
All in all, the acknowledgment of the existence of such a diverse market will open up marketers to countless possibilities. We just have to be careful not to shut out a segment that may help us rise to the top.
To begin with, male shoppers vary greatly in their purchasing behavior depending upon what age segment they fall into. “Secrets of the Male Shopper” continually highlighted the younger male’s segment as being more willing to venture into product categories not previously purchased readily by their older counterparts. For example, boomer dads are a lot more likely to shop for diapers and groceries then their dads ever were, and today’s teen boys are more willing to shop for specialized hygiene products then their dads have ever been. I have grown up with two brothers, and watching their purchasing patterns in contrast with my father’s never ceases to amaze me. Whereas my dad is much more likely to make a run to the store for milk than my grandfather ever was, my brothers are much more likely to shop for and buy their own clothes then my dad has ever been. My brother also uses a specialized scented “Axe” body wash in the shower, but my father would sooner die than go near the words “body wash.” My brother actually cares enough to schedule his own haircut and you will never find him with dirty nails. And yet it is important to note that my brother loves his baseball, and there is nothing cooler than “Medal of Honor” on Playstation thus clearing him altogether from the threat of “metrosexuality”. He’s a more “modern male,” and his purchasing interests differ greatly from our father and grandfather’s, but he is certainly not “girly.”
This alone demonstrates the sheer vastness of differences among men just based on their ages. You then have to start considering differences in levels of education, income and marital status. As a result of more women pursuing higher levels of education, the traditional age at which people marry has been pushed back significantly. As such, there is now a large market for late 20-early 30-year-old males that never existed before. These men need homes, furniture and neighborhoods targeted to their needs. They’re less likely to care about the number of kids in the neighborhood and more likely to care about access to pools, parks and other recreational activities when looking for a home. They also tend to care more about garage size and spend more time in the living room than the kitchen. With this in mind, home builders and land developers would be smart to vary up their offerings to cater to such male shopper needs. They’re also more likely to want access to activities and facilities that allow them the opportunity to meet women but also hang out with “the guys.” Also, this could open up a whole new segment for the house cleaning segment to target. These single, “fab” guys will likely have a 1000 other things they’d rather do then tidy up, and the cleaning industry would be smart to tap into that.
Additionally, it will be important for grocery stores to start catering more to male needs. For example, perhaps they will want to consider adding a “tools” section along with beauty products largely targeted exclusively towards female shoppers. It would also be a good idea for makers of baby suppliers and parenting products to start taking a more proactive approach in targeting men. Today’s men are more involved in the family life than ever before, and with an increase in women working full-time, they’re going to have to be. Parenting magazines should look into featuring ads and articles targeting both sexes, and Gerber should consider featuring more dads feeding children on their commercials.
All in all, the acknowledgment of the existence of such a diverse market will open up marketers to countless possibilities. We just have to be careful not to shut out a segment that may help us rise to the top.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
"Everything was Better Back when Everything was Worse."
The week before I came back to UT for the start of this semester, I made a trip to my hometown HEB to pick up some groceries for school and in the end left empty-handed and frustrated. Why you ask? Well, after listening to Barry Schwartz’s “The Paradox of Choice” podcast, I figured out that I made a huge consumer mistake…I started in the bottled water section. It used to be that one would enter the bottle watered section and pick up whichever water was the best deal. But not anymore. Oh no. There are now entire AISLES dedicated solely to water. Why? Because it would be humanly impossible to display the now innumerous bottled water options on a few meters of shelf space (as used to be the case). To my utter astonishment, I was greeted by every type of imaginable so-called “water” concoction. There was kiwi-strawberry, mango peach, lemon, and chocolate-mint flavored water (not even kidding!); there were vitamin and mineral enhanced options, special filtered options and even options claiming to enhance energy and performance levels. Add to that your plain-Jane options and throw in new packaging options (seriously?!) and you have a consumers worst nightmare. All that was missing were speed and strength enhancement water, and even the average Joe could have claimed Superman-like powers. I felt overwhelmed and could no longer use my same criteria to evaluate my water purchases. Disgruntled, I left empty-handed and decided to put off my purchase until I had time to clear my head.
That being said, I found this podcast extremely insightful. I couldn’t agree more with Barry Schwartz that we as consumers are constantly overwhelmed in the marketplace. With the sheer volume of options allowed to us, the capability to get the best products/service increases, but it also leaves too much room for us to make mistakes in choosing. With that knowledge, we become incredibly uncomfortable making purchase decisions and can never truly enjoy the consumption of our goods and services. Instead, we are constantly left to fight with our contradicting thoughts as to whether we made the best choice. This could explain why Gen Yers (the generation that’s the youngest to be exposed to such a large selection of similar offerings) tends to be the most skeptical of advertisements and marketing efforts. Perhaps Gen Yers have just been exposed to so much frustration over actual points of differences among offerings that we are quick to distrust advertisements and the like. After all, we have been battling this pattern of consumer doubt and frustration pretty much since the time we first had money to spend. Additionally, we now have to expend even more time and energy just to make simple purchasing choices (have you seen the variety of toothpastes these days?) often causing us to avoid new purchases altogether. This very idea was articulated by the Endowment Effect in the “Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers” article. All too often, marketers and product developers assume that more is better, but perhaps we’d be smarter to focus more of breadth of available products and services as opposed to depth. This would allow businesses to focus more on being truly innovative and perhaps open up whole new marketing ventures and industry opportunities.
On a separate but similar note, I believe that it’s this wide array of choosing that essentially forces us to form an identity. When buying bottled waters offers seemingly limitless possibilities, just imagine the variety offered in fashion and lifestyle choices. Even the variety of majors available at universities is rapidly expanding. And while these nearly limitless choices allow us to more clearly define our preferences and thus allow us the opportunity at individuality, it also creates the very consumer paralysis described by Barry Schwartz. My water bottle incidence is proof of just that. Additionally, to be quite honest, the whole reason I initially selected business as a major was for its generalness. I couldn’t seem to be specific enough to focus on Radio, Television, Film or Corporate Communications. I wasn’t ready to make such a significant choice and so I chose one that offered some extra insulation. In the end, I was pretty lucky that I get so much enjoyment out of marketing because as it turns out, I essentially hate every other aspect of the business profession. Along this line, I predict that as marketers, we can expect this similar type of decision making pattern among consumers in a whole array of areas. As marketers, communication efforts will become even more important as we actively work to articulate our position in the market and why consumers should feel assured that our offers are best then any previous or current offers out there. Additionally, when it comes to products and services, we may want to operate by the simple principle that sometimes, “less is more.”
That being said, I found this podcast extremely insightful. I couldn’t agree more with Barry Schwartz that we as consumers are constantly overwhelmed in the marketplace. With the sheer volume of options allowed to us, the capability to get the best products/service increases, but it also leaves too much room for us to make mistakes in choosing. With that knowledge, we become incredibly uncomfortable making purchase decisions and can never truly enjoy the consumption of our goods and services. Instead, we are constantly left to fight with our contradicting thoughts as to whether we made the best choice. This could explain why Gen Yers (the generation that’s the youngest to be exposed to such a large selection of similar offerings) tends to be the most skeptical of advertisements and marketing efforts. Perhaps Gen Yers have just been exposed to so much frustration over actual points of differences among offerings that we are quick to distrust advertisements and the like. After all, we have been battling this pattern of consumer doubt and frustration pretty much since the time we first had money to spend. Additionally, we now have to expend even more time and energy just to make simple purchasing choices (have you seen the variety of toothpastes these days?) often causing us to avoid new purchases altogether. This very idea was articulated by the Endowment Effect in the “Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers” article. All too often, marketers and product developers assume that more is better, but perhaps we’d be smarter to focus more of breadth of available products and services as opposed to depth. This would allow businesses to focus more on being truly innovative and perhaps open up whole new marketing ventures and industry opportunities.
On a separate but similar note, I believe that it’s this wide array of choosing that essentially forces us to form an identity. When buying bottled waters offers seemingly limitless possibilities, just imagine the variety offered in fashion and lifestyle choices. Even the variety of majors available at universities is rapidly expanding. And while these nearly limitless choices allow us to more clearly define our preferences and thus allow us the opportunity at individuality, it also creates the very consumer paralysis described by Barry Schwartz. My water bottle incidence is proof of just that. Additionally, to be quite honest, the whole reason I initially selected business as a major was for its generalness. I couldn’t seem to be specific enough to focus on Radio, Television, Film or Corporate Communications. I wasn’t ready to make such a significant choice and so I chose one that offered some extra insulation. In the end, I was pretty lucky that I get so much enjoyment out of marketing because as it turns out, I essentially hate every other aspect of the business profession. Along this line, I predict that as marketers, we can expect this similar type of decision making pattern among consumers in a whole array of areas. As marketers, communication efforts will become even more important as we actively work to articulate our position in the market and why consumers should feel assured that our offers are best then any previous or current offers out there. Additionally, when it comes to products and services, we may want to operate by the simple principle that sometimes, “less is more.”
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