Articles
Strategies for tighter times
The right marketing and sales messages for today’s customers
by John GrahamThere’s no absence of words to live by. They range from offering good
advice, “On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape
key” to the deviously practical, “By the time you can make ends
meet, they move the ends.”
Sales and marketing professionals, who must do battle in an economic environment
where all types of buyer are bedeviled by financial pressures, can benefit from
words to work by. Here’s a checklist of eight words that send the right
message to today’s customers:
1. Security. Avoiding unnecessary risk is on everyone’s
mind. Today, even seemingly small mistakes can lead to unemployment.
You know the environment is treacherous when high visibility CEOs head
for a last limo ride.
“What are the implications if I make this buying decision?”
is the common question. That’s why addressing it with customers
is key to closing sales. It’s a lesson straight out of the IBM
playbook of the late eighties and early nineties. Because the brand was
so highly regarded, buyers felt safe buying IBM.
It’s also why the Toyota Matrix has outsold the Pontiac Vibe, even though
they came off of the same assembly line. The Toyota brand is held in higher regard.
From the get-go, work on helping customers understand why it’s safe to
buy your product or service.
2. Agility. In Blown to Bites, the authors
point out that a lack of “legacy systems, legacy assets and a legacy
mindset”
gives companies the advantage today. Contrary to how it might seem, two
of the most agile industries are real estate and restaurants. Rather
than stand by and hope for the best, both responded quickly and creatively
to the economic slowdown.
Instead of trying to talk consumers into change their thinking about the housing
situation, real estate companies changed their advertising almost instantly.
In print and on the Internet, ads featured much lower priced homes in many communities.
They didn’t need headlines to say that prices were dropping; they portrayed
the story.
So, too, from fast foods to fine dining, restaurants began advertising interesting
menus at lower prices. They created buzz by bringing consumers something “new
and different” without discounting.
Instead of wait and die, the strategy should be to move quickly and survive.
3. Productivity. “In the coming era,” writes Kevin
Kelly, Senior Maverick at Wired magazine, “doing the exactly right
next thing is far more fruitful than doing the same thing twice,” which
may be the only definition of productivity that really makes sense today. It
suggests that the “doing it right”
mentality is dangerous, dead-end thinking. It inevitably leads to the
conclusion that once we get it right (whatever that happens to be) is
enough.
There’s a powerful message here for marketing and sales. Namely, position
your product or service in terms of continuous productivity improvement. “We’re
not only going to help you increase productivity now, but here’s how we
are going to help you over the longer term.”
A dramatic example of this approach is the Apple iPhone. From the start, it has
been portrayed as a self-improving product, rather than “here’s the
latest and the greatest gizmo,” which is the usual approach.
4. Convenience. Inchworm shoes
for kids are actually three sizes in one shoe. When the shoe is shown
to a group, everyone with children asks, “Where can I get them?” No
one asks about the price. The Inchworm message is clear: convenience,
no more running to the shoe store every six weeks.
With time in as short supply as money, anything that helps eliminate inconvenience
sends a powerful message to buyers.
5. Leadership. It didn’t take long for auto manufacturers
to jump on the hybrid bandwagon. But so far, Toyota, the first to come
out with dual-energy vehicles, is the perceived leader, with its Prius
taking 51.2% of the segment’s market share in 2007.
Toyota hybrids deliver on the promise of greater fuel efficiency, illustrating
that leadership is all about performance. When it comes right down to it, we
recognize leadership when we see it, not when someone talks about it.
Whether it’s delivering on promises or helping buyers be more successful,
the task is to draw a picture of leadership that captivates customers.
6. Savings. Whenever we buy from a salesperson, there’s
a gnawing fear that the purchase will benefit the person making the sale
more than the buyer. In tighter times, this fear seems far more pervasive.
Unless a salesperson makes a point of addressing the cost saving benefits of
the purchase, the sale is probably in jeopardy. Take computer monitors as an
example. Surveys reveal that no matter how you measure productivity, adding a
second monitor gives workers a productivity boost of 20 percent to 30 percent,
according to Jon Peddie Research. In any size office, the savings mean more work
from fewer employees.
The goal today is to help customers understand how making appropriate purchases
can be the right step for reducing their total operating costs.
7. Reliability. Whether it’s a trend is not clear,
but some companies that jumped into outsourcing help desk services overseas
a few years ago are bringing them home and for good reason: customers
complained that the service was unreliable.
In the same way, Circuit City fired its competent, well trained and highest paid
hourly salespeople to cut costs, the backbone of the business. They replaced
tested employees who were adept at serving customers with young, poorly trained
part-timers. Is there a connection between the arrival of an unreliable work
force and the company’s serious financial problems?
Whether it’s the reliability of equipment or service, showing customers
that they can count on you is the key to continuing sales.
8. Value. A man whose father died when he was a kid
looked back on his childhood with some amazement. “My mother and
I were poor by any standards,” he relates. “Yet, she bought
me expensive Selby Arch Preserver shoes. She said they were better for
my feet and don’t wear out so fast.” Even when many people
are buying down, there is a significant segment who relate to value.
They want their purchases to last.
Apple’s computer sales figures are a case in point. NPD Market Research
data shows that Apple’s share of the PC market grew from 9% in February
2007 to 14% a year later, just at the time when there was both a decline in overall
PC sales and, most importantly, prices. Yet, Apple’s prices are higher
than other brands, particularly with laptops.
It’s easy to be seduced into believing that price is all that customers
care about. It isn’t true. It’s what price represents that makes
the difference.
Words count because they often symbolize crucial issues and words that capture
what customers are thinking can help keep us focused on the right issues–if
we want to make sales in even tighter times.
John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm. He is the author of The New Magnet Marketing and Break the Rules Selling, writes for a variety of business publications, and speaks on business, marketing and sales issues. Contact him at 40 Oval Road, Quincy, MA 02170; 617-328-0069; jgraham@grahamcomm.com.