Atomic Ideas - Helping You Sell More Stuff!

Black Friday illustrates the perils of "price-only" differentiation

Well, it's two full weeks until Thanksgiving and retailers are already jockeying for postion on Black Friday. Since they are all competing on price, and prices can only be cut so far, the only tool they have left is to try to start their sales sooner than their competition.

Instead of sales starting at an ungodly early hour on Friday morning, Black Friday has crept into Thursday. Target has announced that their Black Friday will start at midnight on Thursday.  http://www.target.com/c/Target-black-friday-2011/-/N-5q0f2.  So...not to be outdone, Wal-Mart announced that their sales start at 10pm Thursday http://www.walmart.com/cp/black-friday-2011/1076614.I say we just take off the gloves and start Black Friday today...at lunchtime!

This is a microcosm of companies that rely on price to differentiate their brand. They put themselves at the mercy of a fickle consumer who will bolt the second they can find a lower price somewhere else. A brand, whether it is a product, a retail store, or a service, needs to stand for more than a low price. 

Wal-mart and Target understand this. They can't offer much lower prices around Thanksgiving, so they offer something else, availability. But since their competition is trying to differentiate themselves the same way, this can only go so far! I mean, Black Friday can only be pulled up so far before it becomes Black Monday, or further back and becomes Black November, or Black Autumn starting September 1st, or heck, a Black Year starting at 11pm New Year's Eve!

At Atomic Ideas, one  of the first questions we ask a potential client is: "If every one of your competitors had the exact same price, why would customers come to you?" If you don't have an answer to that question, you are doomed to compete on price...and your brand is simply...doomed!

 

 

Atomic Ideas Creates New TV Campaign For Belle Tire.

Working in close collaboration with the marketing team at Belle Tire and production company Rare Medium, Well Done, and based on research and consumer feedback, Atomic Ideas created three new commercials to highlight the fact that tire shopping really isn't that much fun. 

The new campaign capitalizes on Belle Tire's commitment to providing an unexpected and extraordinary customer experience for tire and automotive service customers, and introduces the new tagline "Better At Every Turn."

The spots contrast the alternate reality of a universe where people live for the day they have a flat, or their car breaks down, with the reality that those events are about the last thing a normal person looks forward to. Take a look and let us know what you think!

 

Atomic Ideas is an idea factory for marketers that need a boost.

We offer businesses strategically sound ideas to accomplish their business objectives, and then we execute them. 

The results are compelling selling conversations that connect companies with their best customers, both internal and external, offline and online....aligned.

When that happens, our clients sell more stuff.

 

A Lesson in Good Old-Fashioned Customer Service, Gone Bad.

Try getting an estimate from Hansons Windows here in Southeast Michigan without both the man of the house and little woman present and you'll be in for a fight.

Let's take a trip back to the 1950s.

When my wife Laura, Atomic Ideas' time-stressed, always working President, called to get an estimate to replace our gutters, they essentially (albeit pleasantly) refused to come out unless she could assure them I (the aforementioned man of the house) would be there, too.

Laura, dealing with impending deadlines to get the gutter job done, told them that would be unlikely and that dealing with her alone would be just fine. Hansons, in turn, still refused to come out unless the big guy (me) would be there, too. After several follow up phone calls from Hansons to see if she had arranged for me to be present, Laura politely (and repeatedly) told them it was her or nothing. After more rationalization and push-back from the Hansons rep., Laura was not only mad, she was insulted by their stubborn "Father Knows Best" attitude. She told the rep. she was no longer interested in talking to them.

Bottom line, In the time it took to get three other estimates, Hansons annoyed the heck out of Laura, refused to adapt to her needs, and therefore lost a potential customer... probably for life.

To us in the branding and advertising world, Hansons steadfast refusal to alter a business service model that smacks a little bit of the 1950s, seems a tad ridiculous. 

Sure, we understand that they probably have a higher close rate when both the husband and the wife are present. But let's face it, in the 21st Century, that's asking a lot. Business need to adapt to the circumstances of their customers.

Times have changed.

These days, women initate and make most of the purchasing decisions in the houshould. Then there's the fact that the number of dual income married couples is up to around 54%; households where the wife and hubby are both separately up and on the go from dawn until bedtime juggling work, kids, and what little free time they have left. Unfortunately, just trying to get mom and dad at the dinner table together with the kids these days is a tough proposition.

It's hard to believe that we're the only folks who have been put off by Hansons tactics. In our opinion, their model is flawed and just a little bit insulting. Laura, like all working women (and stay at home moms, too) is perfectly capable of handling the estimate and discussing the information with me so we can both make a decision. Honestly Hansons, that kind of thing really does go on in 2011.

In our case, you can be sure we'll never call Hansons again... a customer lost forever. With everything Hansons has to offer for homeowners, that's a potentially huge price to pay for being intractable. They are still calling us though, offering gift cards and all kinds of other things to try to get us both together for an appointment. Apparently, "too late" is something they don't understand either.

To Hansons we say adieu, and think on this... in today's global consumer landscape, women rule! In other words:

 It is better to have estimated than to not have estimated at all.

                                                                       ~ Anonymous Rocket Scientist

Atomic Ideas and Belle Tire Launch New Real People, Real Stories Commercials.

A.I. recently teamed up with production company Rare Medium/Well Done and Director Steve Witham to shoot a new three spot package for Belle Tire featuring real customers and their stories. Editorial was completed by the competent gang at HD Studios/Grace & Wild.

The commercials range from heartwarming to dramatic and are recreations of stories told in letters sent by customers to Belle Tire thanking them for going above and beyond their expectations. The actual customers introduce and narrate each commercial.

The first spot just hit the airwaves and we're proud to showcase it right here, right now!

  

Could you just make the logo bigger?

My friend Russ pointed this story out to me last week from Ad Age: apparently The GAP redesigned their logo and slipped it onto their site last week. It seems, the online public noticed it quickly and vigorously voiced their opinion of the change: they hated it. People thought it was uninteresting, average, uninspiring and lacking in any direction. Also, the question of “why?” came up a lot. What was broken that had to be fixed?

Well, since that story broke, The GAP listened and pulled the new logo and returned to the familiar white type in a blue box logo. GAP North American president Marka Hansen admitted, in so many words, they had made a mistake. She also said that they would not evolve a new logo through “crowd sourcing,” – a plan that was initially offered last week to help ease Gap fans’ logo dislike.

How does something like this happen? Why change the company logo that’s been around for over twenty years? They changed it to an upper/lower helvetica bold in black and floated a small gradated blue box to the right, behind part of the p. (see above) On the Gap site last week they said, "We chose this design as it's more contemporary and current. It honors our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward." Talk about gobbledegook- the little blue box represents heritage? Heritage?

Does The Gap Inc., which is part of Banana Republic and Old Navy, do any market research? Couldn’t they have done a focus group to see if logo change was even warranted? And most importantly, will a new logo help them sell more stuff? 

Tell us what you think?  

Here are a few big companies that have made logo changes over the years, (they’re usually quite gradual).

 

 

 

How Apple Wowed Me With Customer Service and Turned Me Back Into a Fan.

This is the tale of how one great customer experience (mine) can instantly reverse bad feelings (also mine) about a brand.

Up until yesterday, the core of my devotion to Apple and their products was indeed becoming a tad rotten. I'm sure I don't need to rehash the problems associated with the iPhone 4. Needless to say, I had them - along with a few others that weren't even publicized. 

My biggest problem however, was the unexpected crippling of my less than one year old MacBook Pro. All of a sudden, in the middle of an important project (which of course I had neglected to save for over an hour), the damn thing inexplicably slowed to a crawl. Then the gaily colored "beach ball of death" started spinning and wouldn't go away (gaily colored, I'm sure, because they want you to feel good and smile when you know you're screwed).

 

Curse you Apple! The only solution was a reboot, and the loss of over an hour's worth of work. 

Long story short this eventually started happening about every half hour, effectively rendering my computer and me useless.

In desperation, and without much hope of an inexpensive resolution, I logged on to apple.com and made an appointment to see an Apple Genius at the closest store. Just one hour later (WOW), the Genius was working on my laptop. And only one hour after that, he had identified and solved the problem (WOW)... an out of control system app called Mingler associated with MobileMe syncing (also sounds like some sort of evil superhero who hangs out at cocktail parties and spikes people's drinks... "beware The Mingler").

My experience at the store was outstanding. The Apple Genius never seemed to be in a hurry, showed me everything he was doing and explained it to me as he went through the steps. And he made it clear to me that he would stay at it as long as it took, as long as I had the time (WOW). And the best part? It didn't cost me a dime (double WOW!). I was fully expecting to pay for the service. But when I asked the Genius (and by this point, I believed he really was one) how much I owed him, all he said was, "Just come back and buy another computer from us someday." And you know what, based on this experience I probably will.

I don't think I'm unique. WOW Customer service is one thing you really can work on and control. It can make new customers fans of your brand  for life, and keep current customers coming back... even if they've become a little jaded. Like me. What's your opinion?

Friday Flashback -- Emo Phillips 1987

At Atomic Ideas, we believe that working with your advertising agency should be the most fun part of your week. But we have yet to work with some of our loyal blog readers, so we bring you something to make your work week more enjoyable. It's our Friday Flashback featuring one of the funniest and most original comedians of the 1980's, Emo Phillips.  Enjoy....then get back to work! 

 

 

With Social Media, Everyone's a Critic

Companies across the planet are waking up to the fact that Social Media is not the marketing panacea or "free" advertising many once thought it was going to be. Sure it's effective, but it takes time to do right and more importantly, it requires a strategy. Doing it "because everyone else is doing it" is not a strategy.

But for all the growing pains that Social Media has lived through, one thing is clear. Companies need to focus on providing a great customer experience. Because any idiot with a PC, I-pad or smartphone (me, for instance) can reach thousands of their potential customers with a negative comment about their product or service. And in this economy, full of people scared to spend their hard earned money (or soon to run out unemployment checks), one negative review could be enough to cost a company hundreds or thousands of dollars in sales. 

You'd Think Struggling Post Office Would Deliver Better!

The beleaguered U.S. Post Office is fighting to remain relevant in the face of e-mail, e-billing, e-blasts, e-marketing, e-facebook and even old fashioned faxing. As they fight for support to continue their delivery service, you'd think they'd well, deliver! 

Now I understand that mail is delivered by humans and, by definition, that can result in the occasional error, but...Yesterday I received a magazine whose address number didn't even match the first three digits of mine, and was for a house on a totally different street whose name neither resembles nor sounds like my street name in any way. That smacks of indifference...and prompts the question "What wrong address are they delivering my mail to?"

In this age of transparency, where any idiot (that's right, like me) can post a blog, tweet at will, and put a bad face on a product or service on Facebook, the Post Office, like all service industries, needs to step up it's game. The rewards of "wowing" a customer with good service are well documented. See our post: Proof Positive... Wow Your Customers and They Will Pay More. 

In the case of the Post Office, customers might not actually be willing to pay more, but they may use the mail more...or at least vote to have it subsidized. But not if I keep getting Mr. Wixstead's "Lake & Stream" and Mr. Grunt keeps getting my "pre-approved credit card" solicitations.

 

Atomic Ideas on: "Confession is good for the sales."

It took guts for Domino's to admit right in their own advertising that people thought their pizza sucks.Then right there on TV, they took their lumps like a big boy, and fixed their apparently sucky product with a new recipe. And what do you know? America seems to love a contrite marketer, because sales for their new pizza pushed revenue up nearly 25%.

Of course, if it worked once, it should work again, right? So Domino's has started looking around for other stuff they could really suck at just so they could admit it publicly, then pledge to fix it, and hopefully spike sales again. And here it is....a pizza delivered stuck to the roof of the box. 

Will it work?

Well, part of being a contrite (or a successful marketer in general), is being upfront (sharing marketable truth) with your customers. If they start to get a whiff (like I did with this commercial) that you're starting to pander, the magic is over. Also, when you start making too big a deal about about all the stuff you do wrong (or that could go wrong), you will turn people off, no matter how contritely you say you are going to fix it. 

Too much of a bad thing is just....bad.