Tapping into your customer’s fears!
Posted by Grant Brewer on 01 Aug 2006
Having recently had a baby, I have had the opportunity to experience the whole range of consumer and experience marketing in the baby industry. And it teaches one a lot about marketing.
The baby industry is interesting because it appears to have high margins (although I haven't checked that out with any product suppliers or retailers) and it seems like an easy sell to anyone that can afford to be a buyer. The suppliers and retailers of baby products and services are masters at exploiting consumer emotions. Interestingly, in my experience, it was only the hospitals that didn't seem to understand how to capitalised on these emotions - there is definitely an opportunity for them. The industry is interesting because of its exploitation of fear as an emotion to create action. Who would want to deny their child every opportunity? Who wouldn't want to buy anything imaginable that might increase their child's motor skills or intellect? Worse, who would want to be responsible for an injury to their child because they didn't spend enough on the right car seat or furniture? Walk into any baby store and you will see hundreds of products sold on the basis that you could set your child back in some way if you don't buy the products.
Parents are fearful of not providing for their baby
What is interesting is that the retailers and suppliers have convinced parents that they need externally purchases things to allay these fears. Previously, parents looked inward to themselves and their own interaction with the child to, for example, develop intellect, motor skills and deal with safety. Today, parents are encouraged through the clever marketing of these products to seek external solutions - therefore you need to buy Baby Einstein or your child may not develop the right skills. And as parents that are already deeply emotionally tied into their children, you're a sitting duck for smart marketing that plays on your fear of failure or of doing the wrong thing or of depriving your child of something. Very clever marketing because if you can afford it, it isn't to hard too persuade a parent to choose the high margin product because "you know, you just want to be safe and sure".
The baby industry isn't the only one playing to fears - what about the retirement savings industry? You don't want to be a burden to your children when you're old, so you should buy this product even if it is expensive and not the most effective way to save. Marketing to consumer's fears has been going on for a long while. It sometimes happens in more subtle ways, such as when peer pressure to associate with a group gets everyone buying the same gadget - you don't want to be the only person that doesn't have an iPod do you?
Get the fear marketing wrong and it will probably backfire. The Democratic Alliance seemed to have suffered some of this during their last election campaign (although it depends on who you ask, and I have no intention of entering into a political debate here!). For some people, the DA playing on the fear of what would happen if there was an ANC majority didn't encourage support and made them sound like complainers. You want to scare people into action, not into submission or alienation. The consumer needs to feel that they're still empowered to do something to quell the fear - that is the emotion that can create action.
The flip side of fear, is marketing to remove the fear of failure or of an incorrect decision. Most consumers suffer some kind of post purchase anxiety after making a major purchase. Companies should go beyond conventional marketing to ensure the whole product experience alleviates this anxiety, reassuring the consumer that the money spent is well spent.
Ongoing customer service is inseparable from the product experience
Quite often one gets the sense that once the purchase is complete a company turns its service focus to the next new customer, forgetting that they should make the initial product or service experience exceptional and allay the post purchase dissonance - particularly if they're to make a lasting impression and encourage work of mouth. And making the initial experience remarkable is difficult. Previous columns discussed ideas on how integrating design into business strategy can make a difference.
There are surveys that highlight the influence of the initial experience in using a product on it's ultimate success. The quality of the user experience really matters. BMW would be doing no good if having sold the car to you, your initial driving experience didn't fill you with "sheer driving pleasure". The negative word of mouth would spread rapidly.
About fifty years ago David Ogilvy, the guru of advertising, wrote that "all advertising should…connect an individual person's needs to a business that can offer that individual value." That is still true today, with the added nuance that the product experience is now the brand. In the past, the brand was really the product.
Organisations still need to focus the marketing message on the individual and their specific needs. But the empowered customer of today also needs to experience the product and that means that instead of a shrinking industry, marketing and design are converging with traditional corporate strategy to bring new perspectives of reaching consumers and establishing product or service success.
Tapping into your customer's fears was published in Intelligence Magazine as Strategym #40 in August 2006.
Categories
Essays | Strategy | Intelligence Strategym
Tags
retirement (1) | fear (1) | baby (1) | product experience (1) | democratic alliance (1) | marketing (1) | customer service (1) | life industry (1) | children (1)
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Comments
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30 August
2006Hi Grant, good article/s at the latest intelligence mag. and in your website. I was your collegue at ISAAS. Proud to read your articles.
— Posted by Johanna Tshili
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28 September
2006Johanna
Nice to hear from you. And very glad that you’re enjoying the articles.— Posted by Grant Brewer
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07 February
2007Hi Grant, a rather interesting reading and it also kinda reflects on how most financial institutions are focusing on creating a customer experience that suit each defined segment.
Always enjoy your article
— Posted by Jovi Chen
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