Calling All Un-Handymen: Craftsman Sets Its Sights on a Different Type of User

July 6, 2011 Leave a Comment

Craftsman—America’s most trusted tool brand—has traditionally targeted handymen and do-it-yourselfers. This strategy, of course, makes sense considering that it is typically a good idea to market your product to those who have a need for it. That’s why Iams targets pet owners. And that’s why Gerber markets to parents of newborns and infants.

Now Craftsman is turning it’s attention to those of us who can’t be trusted with power tools and are totally screwed when it comes to DIY projects. (I say us because I too am tool-challenged)

This summer, the tool brand will be launching SCREW*D, an online reality show where Craftsman will take one tool-challenged individual and make them the ultimate handyman (or woman). For 10 weeks, the chosen individual will be put through a series of intense tool and survival challenges with a chance to win up to $50,000.

Here’s what I love about this idea:

1. Those of us who aren’t so handy would love to gain the know-how to complete DIY projects. I would love to know how to build a deck or remodel my kitchen…heck I would be ecstatic just to learn what certain tools are used for. This contest/ video series will help people like me learn and in an engaging way.

2. The second thing I love about this idea is that it also appeals to Craftsman’s core-users. Ryan Ostrom, VP for digital marketing for the Craftsman brand, explains in the New York Times “The No. 1 attribute of our core users is that they love to share their knowledge and to teach other people.” In addition to appealing to the non-handy, this series will also engage the handy. The challenges will be broadcasted live through Facebook, where DIYers can interact by sharing their knowledge with the contestant in a live-chat format.

SCREW*D is Craftsman’s attempt to solve one of the most difficult challenges in marketing—how to attract new customers without alienating your base. If they are able to execute this idea, I have a feeling that SCREW*D (and other similar events) will bode well for the 84-year-old tool brand.

Filed under Branding, Marketing Tagged with , ,

The Two Sides of the Deals & Discounts Story

June 22, 2011 Leave a Comment

Deals and discounts are a big draw for customers, but at what expense to retailers?

Kohl's Department Store

A while back I wrote The Double Edged Sword of Discounting in which I warned brand marketers and small business owners about the danger of relying on discounting to attract customers. In short, deals and discounts will breathe life into your short term sales, but can lead to detrimental long term effects.

My perspective on discounting, though, is continually challenged by the consumer in me. You see, I have this whole Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde thing going on. As a marketer, I am a big proponent of adding value (as opposed to discounting). But as a consumer, I am always on the lookout for coupons and deals.

No one brings out the Mr. Hyde “Deal Hunter” in me quite like Kohl’s department stores. To say the retailer is highly promotional is putting it mildly:

  • New charge card customers are offered 20% off entire purchase the day they open an account.
  • Kohl’s offers extra discounts to charge card holders ranging from an extra 15% – 30% off all regular, sale, and clearance merchandise.
  • Regularly send “$10 off everything” coupons.
  • Frequently offer $10 in Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent.

This discounting strategy has helped Kohl’s cope better in the recessionary environment than many of their competitors (see below)

Source: NRF 2010 Top 100 Retailers ¹

Kohl’s success, however, has come with a steep price.

As a consumer, I love the deals. But as a marketer, I am concerned for the retailer’s future. Why? Kohl’s has essentially made discounting and price promotions their sole marketing strategy, which, as history shows us, is neither smart nor sustainable. The retailer has trained their customers to shop on price….and that’s never a good thing.

¹ 2010 Top 100 Retailers

Filed under Branding, Marketing, Pricing, Strategy Tagged with , , ,

The Importance of Consistency: is Your Product ‘Like a Box of Chocolates’?

June 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

My momma always said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” –Forrest Gump

For the past seven days, the subject of consistency has weighed heavily on my mind.

In fact, I have been reminded of it every time I look in the mirror; that’s because last week I was the recipient of the dreaded “bad haircut”. Even though I pay the same amount every time, I never quite know what I’m going to get when I go to the salon…sometimes a great cut, other times a pretty bad one. Oh, what I would give for consistency.

This idea of consistency often gets lost in the shuffle, especially among small business owners. This is surprising because consistency really is the key to success. Even with a mediocre product, you can be tremendously successful if you are consistent and reliable.

Just look at McDonald’s. Their food is average at best, however they have found nothing but success over the past 50 years. Why? Because they are consistent. Whether in Tokyo, New York, or London, you always know what you are going to get when you eat at a McDonald’s.

More than a great product, customers long for a consistent product. They want the same quality, the same service, and the same experience every time they come to your business.

As a business owner, you should create processes so that you can deliver this consistency. Make it impossible to be inconsistent and make it impossible for your employees to make mistakes. This example from Andy Sernovitz sums it up best:

How do you prevent your dental assistant from frying herself with X-rays all day?

The “on” button is OUTSIDE of the exam room.

There is no way to do it wrong. You have to leave the room to turn the machine on.

Filed under Brand Touchpoints, Customer Experience Tagged with , ,

Solve the Right Problem

May 31, 2011 Leave a Comment

Solutions generally come pretty easy. It’s finding the right problem to solve that is often the hard part.

From a one man start-up to billion dollar conglomerates, focus is put on finding solutions to the customer’s problems. In this Entrepreneur Thought Leader Lecture at Stanford University (video below), Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom shares his thoughts on why finding answers for problems is the easy part, whereas the hard part is finding the right problem to solve. In this short clip Systrom tells about how he and his co-founder went about identifying the problem they wanted to solve around mobile photo sharing.

This idea that “answers are easy, finding problems are hard” can radically change your approach to business and marketing. It leads to what Dan Greenberg describes as “marrying the problem, not the solution”.

Let me give you an example of two very similar, yet contrasting companies. One married the solution, the other the problem.

Kodak Failure to ChangeFor nearly a century, Kodak was the leader in photography. In fact, its name is still synonymous with photography – print photography that is. Since 1999 the market value of the Eastman Kodak Company has dropped a staggering 95.5%. This, of course, can be largely attributed to the fact that Kodak was married to the solution (film) and missed the digital photography boat.

Contrast Kodak’s unwillingness to change to another well-established brand, IBM. Like Kodak, IBM was the uncontested leader in their respective industry throughout much of the 20th century. Similar to Kodak, IBM also ran into some significant strategic challenges and shifts in the marketplace. IBM, however, married the problem, not the solution. During the early 90’s “Big Blue” began the evolution from hardware to service and innovation.  As a result, IBM ranks second on Interbrand’s annual Global Brand Rankings, with brand value of nearly $65 billion.

**A big thank you to Neil Perkin over at Only Dead Fish for inspiring this post**

Filed under Brand Development, Category Development, Strategy Tagged with , ,

Here One Day and Gone the Next – is Brand Loyalty Fleeting?

May 17, 2011 Leave a Comment

Talk to any business, large or small, and they will tell you how important customer loyalty is to their company. From Main Street to Wall Street, loyalty is the lifeblood of building a successful brand.

This is the goal of many marketers and managers, to earn the loyalty of their customers. They hold the misconception that customer loyalty is lasting; an unbreakable bond – a marriage of sorts. It is not. A person’s loyalty to a brand is fleeting; it is temporary and can be lost at any moment.

People are not loyal to a company, a product, or a service…at the end of the day they are loyal to themselves first.

They act in their self interests and continuously re-evaluate their decisions as a result. It is a mistake for brands to forget this.

Let me give you an example.

Earlier this month I switched from Firefox to Google Chrome. Just typing that just doesn’t feel right, because I was a brand evangelist for Firefox. For the past six years, I used Firefox and loved every minute of it. I was passionate about the brand, and I went out of my way to sing its praises and convince other people to switch.

What happened? Why did I switch internet browsers? Because it was in my best interest, of course.

I recently upgraded to the latest version of the browser, Firefox 4. I was initially excited to see the new features, but it turned out to be an awful decision for myself, and for Firefox.

  • It was slow and repeatedly crashed.
  • The interface and layout was completely different.
  • I had to spend a substantial amount of time learning how to “customize” it in order to give it some semblance of my previous versions of Firefox.

One day, while I was waiting for the crashed Firefox to reboot, I gave into temptation and began trying out the Chrome browser. It did what an internet browser was suppose to do–it was fast and didn’t crash. The interface was a little different from my previous Firefox versions, but hey, I was going to need to learn the new Firefox 4 interface anyways right? They also made it super easy to switch by importing all of my Firefox passwords, history, and bookmarks. I made the switch and the rest is history.

Remember that loyalty is fleeting. Getting the devotion of customers is easy; keeping it is the hard part.

Filed under Branding, Competition, Marketing Tagged with , , , ,

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