retail

Marketers Strive for More

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Those working in marketing are quite familiar with the relentless pursuit of market share, brand awareness, conversion rates, and the list of metrics goes on… Yet, amidst all of these metrics, there are some that are particularly interesting such as the race for claiming association with specific occasions, shapes or even colors.

Let me refer to some familiar examples: Consider the clash of brands competing for association with particular occasions. Kit-Kat claims the “break occasion,” while Coca-Cola stakes its claim on the “meals together occasion.” Then there’s the struggle for dominance in the realm of colors. Mondelez, with its iconic Milka brand, champions the color purple, while Reckitt Benckiser endeavors to be synonymous with pink with their Vanish brand. Lastly there is also the battle for recognition based on shapes. When one thinks of the egg shape, Kinder reigns supreme as the most closely associated brand.

So if you consider the Easter occasion, the imagery of eggs is top of mind… and the egg-shape is traditionally owned by Kinder. What would you do if you were Mondelez, and color purple is your strong asset?

This pursuit of association gave rise to a stroke of genius in packaging.

I noticed this ingenious packaging of Mondelez’s chocolate eggs breaking the clutter in shelves, simply by nesting their chocolate eggs in an iconic purple carton (yes the one that real chicken eggs are sold in). In one shot Mondelez asserted ownership over not just the color purple, but also the iconic egg shape and hence the Easter occasion itself. Great move!

Happy Easter to all the witty people out there!

Marketers Strive for More

Meticulously breaking down the Customer Journey

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Delivery services are frequently overlooked when it comes to the Customer Journeys in retail stores. As marketers, we often discuss about awareness, consideration and the conversion part of the journey and the support, retention and advocacy steps after the purchase.

This is why I particularly appreciated the rent a trailer service at Praktiker Greece. There is nothing more frustrating than delaying the handyman’s work because the delivery service should be scheduled during the following day or the materials purchased cannot fit in your vehicle.

True to the nature of their Customers (avid DIYers ), with minimum investment and a clear communication, pricing and procedure the Retailer managed to increase Customer satisfaction and… nail this!

Meticulously breaking down the Customer Journey

Market a Solution, not a Product

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How many times have you encountered that familiar phrase, only to find a rare gem of an example that truly brings it to life? Couple this with some skillful copywriting, and… voilà! You’ve got a compelling point of sales communication!

During a leisurely wait before my flight at Athens International Airport, I stumbled upon a clever bookshelf encouraging passengers to select a book based on their flight duration.

Next time you find yourself at the Greek capital’s airport, ensure you “book” your flight according to your anticipated time in the skies. As George R.R. Martin once eloquently expressed, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies… The man who never reads lives only one.”

Solution Marketing POS messaging @ Athens International Airport

Market a Solution, not a Product

A handmade brand story

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What is the role of marketing claims when you are purchasing a product? Why are you buying one product vs. another at the decisive moment in front of the shelf?

Marketing claims are there to generate demand for a certain item (or service if you like). However, most importantly, brands would like to provide you with an emotional benefit (through a brand story) coupled with their product, in order to earn your preference. Handmade products are a special category in this, as they try to tell a unique story that’s also greatly connected to the person who actually made the product.

In this frame I particularly liked the below practice from Lush, a cosmetics manufacturer and retailer that make their products using only vegetarian or vegan recipes. I found out that 100% of their products are handmade by people who mix up fresh batches of materials everyday. I got a hold of a Lush product and the package looked quite ordinary at first. Nothing but the claim “handmade” on top of the pack to stress that this product was indeed handmade but… wait a minute… as soon as I flipped the cream container; I noticed a face sticker at the bottom of the package. This is the cartoon version of the person who actually made the product! His name is Dada (!) and his cartoon version looks a bit like me. What a fantastic twist having this kind of visual information on pack. Knowing who made the product and looking at the graphic version of his/her face, gives you a warm feeling and bonds you with the product. This practice conveys a unique story, as soon as this handmade product by a unique individual reaches your hands. In this “uniqueness relay”, the final receiver of the product cannot help but feeling unique and taken care of!

I’m closing with a quote from the company’s website, on why they insist on offering handmade products. This encapsulates their beliefs, constitutes a beautiful brand story and is indeed a very strong element of their USP. “This way, we can ensure that everything we use is of the highest quality and has been ethically sourced from beginning to end. Ever since our humble beginnings, handmade has been a part of our story. It’s not just part of our name; it’s part of who we are.”

Great stuff! What is your brand story that conveys your unique selling proposition?

A handmade brand story

Hit while the iron is hot

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Covid19 has a tremendous negative impact on the economy so far. However, as all wise people would argue, every coin has two sides. For financial services corporations like Visa, Covid19 has been a main driving force for even wider adoption of card payments and more specifically contactless payments. It seems that contactless payments are indeed on a sharp rise worldwide, especially during the last months. What should financial services companies offering contactless payments do in such an occasion? Should they lay back and enjoy the favorable side effect of a pandemic or ride the wave and try to establish both contactless payments as well as themselves as leaders in this field.

Visa decided to do the latter, and hit while the iron is hot. I noticed the below table tent in a gelateria in the center of Athens. I particularly enjoyed the straightforward messaging (Visa contactless preferred) as it was the shortest message possible, with the brand mentioned first and the word “preferred” serving as a nudge rather than an obligation or an option. The artwork was uncluttered and the placement of the table tent on top of the ice-cream vitrine could not be better. I paid using my contactless Visa.

Well played Visa, well played.

Visa Point of Purchase advertising material

Hit while the iron is hot

Showing you Care, is the Best Customer Care

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There are several commercial stores located on a central street of my neighborhood. On the side of the street where stores windows face southeast, the sun during the summer morning hours is definitely strong and it happens to be no shade whatsoever. A store bathed in light is fantastic… unless you are a poor customer waiting in queue outside of it due to Covid19 precautionary measures.

It was very disappointing to realize that the branches of two banks left their customers waiting in queue under the burning sun. On the other hand, I felt relief when I noticed that the retail store of Vodafone had already set up two large umbrellas outside the store, so that their customers can avoid unnecessary tanning…

Why did the British telecommunications company place the umbrellas, when the banks failed to do so? Is it because of their prior experience with F1 Grid Girls holding umbrellas, or is it because they came up with self-defense umbrellas in India?

I’m just joking… I guess the answer lies somewhere between the three points below:

  1. They have a customer-centric approach, whereas the banks have a process-centric approach
  2. The store manager is empowered to take initiative and the Company is built in such a way where initiatives can be realized in a timely manner
  3. They quickly seize an opportunity, as they understand that a pair of red umbrellas can very well serve as extra branding on a high traffic street

There are many exotic tools for going the extra mile for your Customer… However, you do not necessarily need AI, personalization, Computer Vision and emotion analytics for providing excellent Customer Care…

Demonstrating you care, can prove to be the best Customer Care.

Showing you Care, is the Best Customer Care

Towards a more sustainable and affordable future

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Every time I unwrap a luxury item (actually not very often) the amount of packaging waste really blows my mind. The higher the price/volume ratio for a product, the more the packaging waste…

Speaking of this, while shopping in a personal care and beauty shop, I noticed the below “fountain” device from Mugler Fragrances where customers can refill their favorite perfume. It immediately stroke my sensitive ecology chord…

Photo: Mugler Source

A bit of background to the story… as I later read, Mugler perfumes Angel and Alien have been around for quite some time, with Angel launching back in 1992 (yes that is prior to the millennium!!!). It is considered an iconic fragrance as at it was the first “gourmand” fragrance (= a perfume consisting primarily of synthetic edible/gourmand notes, such as honey, chocolate etc.) that shocked the perfume industry with this innovation. Current annual sales estimates of Angel along with its companion scent Alien account for approximately €250 million!

I asked the salesperson about the price difference between purchasing a 50ml bottle or refilling one. The answer came as a surprise to me. Purchasing a bottle would cost ~€73 while refilling one would cost ~€39 (both options were on discount at that moment). This is a great deal of saving for either a loyal customer or a younger, cost conscious person who is relative new to the franchise.

Could it be that solutions like the above, hit two birds with one stone? On one hand with such small actions, Mugler Fragrances show that they care about the environment and on the other hand, that they provide to their customers a more cost efficient way to enjoy the brand (and finally stay in the Mugler franchise).

On a closing note, one thing is certain to me… it takes more than offering a great, even breakthrough at a time, perfume to stay relevant for 28 consecutive years.

Towards a more sustainable and affordable future

On Naming Your (Soap) Product

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Nowadays, following the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, we wash our hands several times a day. Since I was looking for a milder alternative for washing my hands, I drew some Marseilles soap bars from the cupboard, which I had purchased from France some time ago.

Marseilles_Soap_Bars

While smelling their scent for picking one of them, I noticed that the names were not descriptive but rather conceptual: Je t’aime, Masculine, Nuit d’Orient.

Amidst negative news on the virus, even while just reading the soap names, I experienced for an instance a warm feeling. I believe it is a great idea, to tie your product name with the feeling you want people to have when using it. Product names should indeed create positive associations and evoke an emotion. Naming your product in the right way, can build a story that affects how customers perceive the value of it.

Stay home, stay safe, stay calm and wash your hands.

On Naming Your (Soap) Product

Marketlikes – L’édition parisienne

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Paris, France. The city of love, the city of lights, the city of fashion. Whatever you call it… you are probably right. Paris est magnifique!

However, very few talk about the retail in Paris. By retail, I do not necessarily mean the top notch Champs-Élysées fashion windows, but rather the great merchandising and retail practices you meet in many shops in the French capital. If you work in retail, you would better take a closer look at Paris, since things there are getting vibrant.

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Marketlikes – L’édition parisienne

Looking for hints = market insights

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Few days ago I experienced two events in synchronicity. This is exactly the kind of magic happening and occurrences click in your mind.

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Looking for hints = market insights