birddog

What You Sell -v- What Customers Buy

Our heartbeat quickens, our pulse races, our palms and brow sweat a little… that’s the change we experience when we’re buying a new car. According to Ian Armstrong, Manager of Customer Communications at Honda UK, the science of car buying is every bit as important as the art. Ian was the guest speaker at a recent Brand on the Run event and I was interested to speak to him about the day to day marketing activities that happen behind the scenes of the more glamorous Honda TV advertising. I think Honda has been delivering great television advertising for years now. They’ve had consecutive successes with ‘Hate Something, Change Something,’ ‘Cog’ (the parts/domino ad) and ‘Impossible Dream’.

Honda TV ads however, are a long way from the ‘Swiss Tony’ stereotypical style of car selling I recall from walking in to a car dealership many years ago to buy a car. Thankfully most car brand dealerships have evolved somewhat. Although now that it’s mentioned, I was slightly taken aback recently when I went into a BMW dealership only to find that I couldn’t actually look at the cars until I had ‘reported to reception’ and been ‘announced’ to my very own personal Swiss Tony. But that’s another story for another day. For Honda at least, there seems to be the recognition that even if the ad works, it can only take prospective customers as far as the doors of the showroom. There’s still plenty of work to do to ensure a vehicle is sold. Honda doesn’t seem to be leaving anything to chance.

The car brand has been undertaking extensive testing of both sales people and prospective customers within dealerships to monitor the physiological changes they go through during the process of buying a car. The research shows that our immediate ‘gut instinct’ is the primary response mechanism that people use when going through the car buying process. The ‘facts’ (car performance statistics for example) are outweighed by how we ‘feel’ about the purchase.

Honda has discovered that customers are most relaxed when dealing with a sales person who delivers exactly the customer experience they say they’re going to – not one that over promises then under delivers, and not even one that under promises then over delivers. The sales people and customers are most relaxed when they’re telling and being told the ‘truth’.

There’s an excitement attached to buying a new car too. The smell of the leather, the clunk of the door, the rev of the engine. The sales person and the customer both feel exhilaration when a car is being bought.

Unfortunately, not at the same time.

Honda’s research shows that the customer is most excited about their potential purchase about 10 minutes before the sales person. That’s when they’ve made the decision that they’re going to buy the car and want to complete the deal and part with the cash. The sales person, however, doesn’t recognise the physiological changes in the customer (because they’re pretty hard things to see…) and continues selling for another 10 minutes longer than the customer wants. The sales person only gets excited when the contract is on the table and the customer is about to sign it. The danger of course is that during the 10 minute period of unnecessary selling, the customer becomes disappointed, annoyed and leaves without buying the car. The impossible dream just becomes the impossible.

In a B2B context, the analogy needs almost no further development. Whatever business market we’re in, the potential to oversell, undersell, or worst of all, not sell at all, is pretty clear. Brand guardians of every B2B market sector would do well to ensure their brand promise is properly aligned to the customer expectation and that the message is delivered to the customer in the way and in the time it is required. Not too much, not too little, just right. We should all make some changes…

Scot McKee
Managing Director
Birddog Ltd.
+44 (0)20 7323 6666

The Santa Brand

It’s perhaps worth remembering at this seasonal time of festive joy and goodwill to all men that Santa Claus was invented by Coca Cola. Well, OK, maybe not ‘invented’, but the perception we have of the jolly, rotund fellow in a red suit with white flowing beard – the Santa ‘brand’ – is effectively Coke’s.

From 1931 to 1964 the artist Haddon Sundblom shaped the image of Santa that we know and love by illustrating him in various festive scenes, clasping a bottle of Coke for his troubles. The red suit, the belt and buckle, the shiny black boots, the rosy cheeks, the white beard – it’s all the result of Coke advertising and its widespread circulation within the magazines of the day. Bummer huh? Well, maybe.

Prior to Coca Cola’s adoption and re-creation of the jolly, fat gift-giver, there were numerous, fragmented views of Santa Clause around the world. Some depicted him as a wild Norseman a bit like the ‘Thor God of Thunder’ Marvel comic character. Other characterisations would have us believe that he was more of a wood-cutter/native/pagan-type. If you look really hard, you’ll find Santa as an elf dressed in green robes (not red) with Mr Spock pointy ears and everything.

Whilst there are still many variations on the Santa theme today – for example, we still can’t seem to even agree on his name (Santa… Santa Claus… Saint Nicolas… Father Christmas…) – the jolly red cherub is predominantly the unified perception. That unification was achieved with a brand. The Coke brand. It’s taken almost 80 years, but hey, who’s counting?

This is not a criticism of Coke or commercialism by the way – the very opposite in fact. It’s really quite an achievement. Taking an already established brand – Santa – and reinventing him to become the widely accepted norm around the world is no small feat and is worthy of congratulations.

When you consider the outcome as a ‘brand strategy’ – it is almost exclusively positive. The Santa brand is an icon throughout the western world. It is recognised by all audience segments across all socio-economic demographics, rich and poor, old and young, black and white. It is instantly associated with giving (not taking). It creates an emotive response and engenders warmth, happiness, and goodwill to all men. By association, it triggers fond memories of the past and offers hope for the future through your kids. There is no competition. The Easter Bunny doesn’t come close.

Now hold your own business brand up to the mirror and compare and contrast it to the Santa brand. If it doesn’t appear quite as sparkly and festive by comparison, you wouldn’t be alone. So how good are you feeling about your brand strategy now? Mmmm. Well, it’s understandable that perhaps you don’t have such a high achieving brand considering the length of time that Coca Cola has had to develop the Santa brand – an awful lot can be achieved in 80 years after all and it’s perhaps unfair to draw the comparison. Ehh, or is it?

Here’s the thing. Take your existing brand strategy, take the path your brand has followed for the last few years, take the path it’s on now and project that path forward a few years. What the hell, live a little and project it forward 80 years. Now ask yourself the question, ‘Will the brand strategy for our business achieve even a fraction of the success and positive brand attributes associated to the Santa brand?’ If the answer is, ‘Oh…’, or, ‘Oops…’, or, ‘Mmmm…’, or, ‘Fek…’ you need to change the plan, change the brand strategy. You could always try hanging up your stocking and making a wish on Christmas Eve. Alternatively, you know where to find me. Christmas wishes to you all…

Scot McKee
Managing Director
Birddog Ltd.

Purchasing Department – Friend or Foe?

I was called ‘inflexible’ the other day. Now, I’ve been called a godly number of things in my time, but ‘inflexible’? Really? I thought I was a pretty relaxed kind of a guy (in a two steps from a coronary kind of a way…) I strive for ‘cool’. I may or may not achieve the goal consistently, but strivingness is next to godliness… ‘Inflexible’? Really? If I’ve learned anything in the world that we like to call B2B marketing, it is to be bendier than the bendiest bendy thing when it comes to client requests. Not in the biblical sense. Obviously. ‘Inflexible’? Moi?

I was visibly upset. At the time of the effrontery, I was accused of not responding quickly enough to the client request to kick-start the inaugural project. That ‘first project’ is always an important one. Its success or failure is likely to shape the ongoing client relationship, so to hear that I’d been inflexible at this early stage was a concern. Getting that initial project started was my responsibility. I was ‘inflexible’. And devastated.

So I delved a bit deeper. How had I been inflexible? “Well…” the client began, “…you refused to start the project before we had issued you with a Purchase Order.” Right. But where was I inflexible?, I pressed. That, it transpired, was the full extent of my inflexibility.

“All of our other agencies just get on with it”, the client continued, “We don’t have time for Purchase Orders – if we had to wait for Purchasing for every requirement, we’d never get anything done.”

Gosh I was angry. But I didn’t let it show. Well, apart from using the ‘With the greatest respect’ line which everyone knows really means, ‘You twat.’

“With the greatest respect,” I said, calling into play everything I had gleaned from my government subsidised distance learning NVQ in Anger Management, “I submitted a Proposal that I would have been happy to action with a handshake until you insisted that I would have to ‘go through Purchasing’. This I duly did – the consequences of which were protracted negotiations and the terms of which required me specifically, in writing, NOT to undertake any work without a signed Purchase Order. Those were your terms. Not mine. It then took you three weeks to sign the Purchase Order causing a project delay of, unsurprisingly, three weeks. So I did exactly and precisely what you asked me to do… and that makes me ‘inflexible’?”

“Yeah, but you know what I mean”, he replied. Erm, nope, I’m afraid I skipped the Telepathy class at Hogwarts. “We just needed to get on with it,” he said. “Well, you should have thought of that before invoking the Purchasing Protocol,” I replied. “These other agencies that ‘just get on with it’,” I continued, “do they ever actually get paid?” “Now that you mention it, that’s a bit of a problem actually – it’s those people in Purchasing – they’re a nightmare”, he said. “Or maybe they just need everyone to quote a Purchase Order Number?” I offered, helpfully. “Just like I did. Just as you asked me to. Just as I should.” “Mmmmm…”

At that point, I felt the flexibility returning to my inexplicably tense shoulders and I particularly noticed the dexterity of my index finger as I poked the client firmly in the eye.

But even as he sat there, wiping the tears from his streaming eye, I had the impression that he still didn’t get it. I’m no big fan of the Purchasing or Procurement Department, but I also recognise that, particularly in larger companies, they facilitate the business of business. Long before the initial engagement and long after the excitement of the creative presentation or the final client approval, the Purchasing Team in all its many guises keeps the wheels turning. And that means if they exist and they need a Purchase Order Number – I’m happy to build that into the project requirement and I’m happy to wait three weeks for a number to be provided because however important my direct client contact is, he’s not cutting the cheques.

We all want to ‘just get on with it’, and keeping the client happy is clearly a priority, but, ‘with the greatest respect’, so is the mortgage.

Scot McKee
Managing Director
Birddog Ltd.

‘Get inside their heads’ – Direct Marketing best practice for SMEs

B2B Marketing Magazine has published an October Supplement focusing on Direct Marketing for the Small to Medium size Enterprise (SME). I was asked to contribute to the feature and thought you may like the comments. This is as the article appeared in the magazine, so they’ve edited out all my swearing. Again. Bastards. I’ve omitted the comments from the other losers, naturally.

Harnessing The Power of Post

SMEs often feel less able to afford expert help for DM campaigns. B2B Marketing has collected the advice of a number of industry experts on best practice DM for these organisations.

‘Get inside their heads’ – by Scot McKee, MD, Birddog

“The single most effective way to improve the response from direct marketing to the SME sector is to get inside the heads of the particular audience from which you’re trying to elicit a response. Few companies succeed – not because it’s difficult, but because they haven’t tried.

“The term ‘SME’ is part of the problem – it’s a catchall that covers a multitude of sins. Up to 250 employees, £50m turnover – those are the standard classifications. But there’s a world of difference between what’s going on inside the decision making heads of a 5-person company and those of a 250-employee team. Truly small companies expect instant response.  They have with no ‘budget’, but have the ability to spend on anything they believe to be important right now. Larger companies have reporting lines, management structures, procurement processes, planning cycles – with significant budgets for those able to engage with the process and stay the distance.

“So the data has to work hard here – a generic SME list isn’t sufficient. Segmentation is vital in identifying smaller more targeted groups that are likely to deliver a better response level. Spend time breaking the list down and looking closely at how you can squeeze value out of the individual sectors.  Don’t be afraid to exclude the ones less likely to deliver that improvement – you’re never going to be able to sell to everyone effectively. The place to start is your existing customer base. You’re far more likely to sell to new prospects that closely resemble existing customers. Have the ambition to grow the market by all means, but focus the message on those most likely to spend.

“To do that you don’t have to look much further than the last few customer contacts. The way your existing customers engage with your brand should influence the DM communication with prospects. The tone of those conversations, the queries being raised in the emails, the willingness of the customer to take your calls – all of the ‘real-world’ experiences should affect the concept, content and message for your DM campaign(s).

“Knowing your audience isn’t difficult, but it’s usually forgotten. All too often the communication focuses on the product functionality: ‘Our widget does this that and the other’. So what? So do any number of other widgets from other competitors. ‘We understand that you have a specific problem, so we’ve come up with a widget to make your life easier’, is a far more compelling proposition. It not only allows considerably more creative and conceptual expression, but understanding and help are things that people want. Widgets they can take or leave.

“Start thinking of your audience as people and not as an audience or a segment or a job title or an SME. Use the classifications, yes. Then leave them behind and look at how those people get through the day. What makes them smile, what makes them happy, what makes life easier, what makes life difficult.  Then shape your communications around the things your customers need to hear rather than simply what you want to tell them. Most companies never look beyond the initial classifications. Most direct marketing never reaches the audience.”