A Speed Camera Lottery? Bake a Little Fun into Your Customer Experience

December 13, 2010 Leave a comment

Everyone hates traffic cameras, but how would you feel if you got paid for driving the speed limit?

Let me introduce you to the Speed Camera Lottery, where law abiding drivers have a chance to win money contributed by speeders.

This initiative is the latest idea from the Fun Theory. The Fun Theory was started by VW with the thought that fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better.

The challenge for this project was can you get more people to obey the speed limit by making it fun to do? The answer, as it turns out, is yes. The average speed before installing the Lottery Camera was 32 kilometers per hour. During the Fun Theory experiment, 24,857 cars passed the speed cameras with an average speed of 25 kilometers per hour, a reduction in speed of 22%.

I have written about the Fun Theory before, but I don’t think this question can ever be asked enough:

What are some “fun things” your brand could be doing to influence your customer’s behavior?

Oftentimes these are simple…even silly ideas. For instance, the toy store Imaginarium has a double doorway, one for grown-ups and the other for the little ones.

Though many of us adults might not think this is a big deal, you better believe that kids get excited. This small gesture prepares kids for a great experience that is tailored toward them. An excited child equals good news for the toy store and bad news for parents checkbooks.

Never underestimate the power of building fun into your brand and appealing to your customers emotions. People buy with their hearts, not their minds.

Filed under Branding, Customer Experience, Marketing Tagged with , , , ,

Limited-Edition Products Create Marketing Buzz

December 7, 2010 Leave a comment

For the past few weeks, I feel like I have been barraged by limited-edition this or limited-edition that. From the Red Nintendo Wii that celebrates Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary to the latest limited time release from the Disney vault, Beauty and the Beast. After doing a little research, this limited edition craze is more rampant than I thought; a search for ‘limited-edition’ over at Amazon brings back 148,331 search results.

So what exactly is the benefit of offering a limited-edition product? The easy answer would be that limited-edition specials give the consumer that little bit of extra motivation to purchase the product, and at a higher price. Though I believe this to be partly true, I think the greater value lies in the fact that they energize people to talk about you. The goal is to get people to talk about your product more rather than buy more.

Selling less helps you sell more. It’s counter-intuitive, but it works.

Here are some limited-edition products that have cashed in on the strategy.

McDONALD’S McRIB

McDonald’s likes to play hard to get.

Micky D’s BBQ pork sandwhich, the McRib, has gained a cult-like following thanks to it’s scarcity.  Much like those White Castle loving fellows Harold & Kumar, there are passionate McRib hunters, who have built a McRib Locator site to find stores offering the sandwhich.

With so much fandemonium, why does’nt McDonald’s add the McRib to it’s everyday menu? According to an interview in AdAge – “To keep it relevant and appealing to our customers, it will continue to be offered as a limited-time promotion.”

Now that is discipline! Passing up guaranteed short term profits for long term buzz and talkability.

NABISCO MALLOMARS

These chocolate coated marshmallow treats were first introduced in Hoboken, NJ, in 1913. Because Mallomars melt easily in summer temperatures, they have always been a seasonal product sold from early October to April. Even though refrigerated trucks could easily keep the chocolate coating from melting, the brand maintains its tradition of ‘limited time only’.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

TIM TEBOW SHOE

Back in August, Nike and EA Sports teamed up to unveil a new, limited-edition shoe inspired by Tim Tebow’s career at the University of Florida.

Tebow, who of course was drafted by the Denver Broncos, has undoubtedly been the hottest brand in recent years. Nike could have easily sold 100K+ of these orange and blue cross-trainers, but instead they released just 500 pairs of the shoe.

The result? The shoes sold out in less than 5 minutes and created an enormous amount of buzz for Tim Tebow, Nike, and EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Filed under Marketing, Promotions, Word of Mouth Tagged with , , , , ,

Why Nice Guys [and Brands] Always Win

July 23, 2010 Leave a comment

I don’t get it. Why is it so hard for businesses to see the value of being nice, honest, and going the extra mile to actually earn the business of customers? I don’t care what line of work you are in, if you don’t treat your customers with respect, it’s going to come back to bite you.

If Jesus was in marketing, all he would preach is the gospel of Word of Mouth. It rewards the righteous and is the downfall of the wicked. Nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles.  The same is true in business, good actions can never produce bad results; bad actions can never produce good results.

Treating people right is more than the ethical thing to do; it’s simply good business. The old adage “a happy customer tells a friend, an unhappy customer tells the world” has never been more true. With blogs, social media, and review sites like Yelp, unhappy customers have an ever-growing voice.

One brand who embodies this idea of treating customers right is Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Every Ritz employee carries a 1.5-inch-by-2.5-inch accordion-style foldout that contains the hotel chain’s service values. The very first service value states: “I build strong relationships and create Ritz-Carlton guests for life.”

How do they create “guests for life”? By treating them with respect and earning their business. They give every employee the authority to spend up to $2,000 at any time to help a customer resolve an issue. This customer-focused approach has worked well for the hotelier;  not only are they one of the most respected brands in the world, but about 15% to 20% of their customers come back because of the people working there and the relationships they have with them, not the product.

Filed under Word of Mouth Tagged with , ,

Don’t Target the Many. Target the Few Who Influence the Many.

June 11, 2010 Leave a comment

When consulting with small businesses, the biggest marketing blunder that many make is they try to market to EVERYONE.

Mass marketing using newspaper advertisements, direct mail, as well as radio and TV commercials.

A waste of money if you ask me.

Instead of targeting the masses, why not target the few who influence the masses. For instance, don’t target the entire church congregation, target the pastor or priest.

This is the same with your business, you should be investing your marketing dollars targeting influencers.

» If you do wedding catering, you should target planners.

» If you sell sports equipment, you should target coaches.

» If you sell dance shoes, you should target dance instructors.

Don’t worry if there is no real influencer for your target market. Think back on the church example; outside of the minister, who interacts and communicates with church goers most? Greeters. We call these people talkers; those people who are most likely to tell a friend about what you do. Talkers can be anyone; bowlers, bloggers, stay at home moms.

So stop wasting your valuable marketing dollars. Identify your influencers and talkers, and let them do the marketing for you.

Filed under Advertising, Business, Word of Mouth Tagged with , , ,

Chocolate Bonds: The Investment that Pays Chocolate Returns

June 1, 2010 Leave a comment

Luxury chocolate maker and retailer Hotel Chocolat, which currently operates more than 40 stores in the UK,  US, and Middle East, recently announced that they will be raising £5 million to expand to over 70 stores. But rather than going the traditional “fund raising” rout by turning to big banks and big investors, the chain is instead turning to their customers, offering bonds that pay chocolate returns.

CEO Angus Thirlwell explaines “Rather than borrow in the traditional way and pay interest to a big bank, we would much prefer to provide a return to our customers – in chocolate – through a Chocolate Bond.”

The chocolate maker will be offering two values of Chocolate Bonds: £2,000 and £4,000. Holders of the £2,000 Chocolate Bond will receive six free tasting boxes a year worth £107.70 per year which is equivalent to a 5.38% return. Those holding the £4,000 Chocolate Bond will receive 13 free tasting boxes for a 5.83% return.

Here’s the best part, after three years bond holders can redeem their bond for a full return of their investment or they can decide to continue to hold the bond (and continue receiving the boxes).

This initiative offers a simple, yet important lesson for all brands. Your customers are your greatest allies. They want you to win and they want you to thrive. Whenever you have a tough decision to make or need help, don’t miss the chance to get you customers involved.

Filed under Promotions, Word of Mouth Tagged with , ,

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