The 4P’s RIP?

Traditional marketing theory has for years been based on a fundamental principle known as the 4P’s. It was all something to do with Product, Place, and the Price of fish if I remember correctly.

We’re in a different world from the one when they emerged. It’s now the ‘age of abundance’, massive customer choice, overcapacity, 24/7 connectivity, multi-media, global competition, rapid change, information overload, and significantly greater market transparency – the customer now has much more control.

I honestly think that it’s time to forget those 4 P’s – In my humble opinion, the original 4 P’s are Passe, Past it, ‘kaPut’ and Pointless.

So I offer you a new set of P’s for the ‘age of customer control’, and conveniently, I’ve come up with 4 (pity this isn’t a podcast, because you’d have 4P’s in an iPod!).

Anyway, here they are:

Permission
Today’s successful marketeers recognise that it means getting ‘permission’ from prospects and customers. This means making stuff relevant and interesting, it means targeting and building relationships with people who WANT to do business with you. Forget unwanted intrusive, mass marketing to huge databases or frantically giving out and collecting as many business cards as possible at your next networking meeting to build a huge mailing list. Remember, size isn’t everything!

Participation
Today’s customers want dialogue, not diatribes. 76% of people don’t believe companies tell the truth in advertisements. Forward thinking businesses are having ‘conversations’ with their customers and prospects.

Performance
Winning businesses think in 3D – they are Dramatically and Demonstrably Different. In this world of endless choice, being the ‘same as’ gets you nowhere. Consistency in ‘Performance’ develops ‘trust’ and ‘trust’ creates a bond. This not only means improved customer retention and loyalty, it also produces greater referrals and recommendations.

Proliferation
Good news (and bad) spreads quickly. Remember, word of mouth only works if there’s something worth talking about.  Today’s successful marketeers have a strategy for maximising  ‘proliferation’ – not by overt ‘marketing hype’ but by energising their market place, becoming part of the community, by standing out from the crowd, and creating that buzz – a lot of it comes back to that ‘Demonstrable Dramatic Difference’!

If you want a bit more than this, feel free to read my latest article on the Management Issues website.

In the meantime, may P’s be with you.

Mixed Messages – An Arresting Situation!

Here’s an interesting example of the ‘new world we live in’. A man has been arrested for jokingly tweeting that he was going to blow Doncaster Airport up! The snow looked like delaying his flight plans to Ireland so he joked to his friends “Robin Hood Airport is closed – You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!”

According to The Telegraph he was arrested under the Terrorism Act and banned from the airport for life! Apparently he had to explain to the police who came to his house to arrest him what Twitter was as they’d never heard of it!

I know, it’s all about context, and on the surface, it looks very ‘funny’, but there is a lesson there. What you send out there isn’t always heard in the way you say it! I’m not just talking about Twitter and all this ‘new fangled stuff’. I’m talking about core marketing messages – do your customers (and potential customers) ‘understand’ what you’re saying and how you’re saying it?

Stand Up And Out From The Crowd

We had friends up this weekend and we visited our local ‘tourist attraction’ (yes, we do have them up round here!), The Tropical Butterfly House, Wildlife and Falconry Centre , in Dinnington. It’s a great place  for all the family and one of their latest features is The Meerkat Mansion, where, yes, you’ve guessed it, there are some meerkats!

The meerkats themselves were very sweet, but that wasn’t the thing that made an impact on me. I was amazed as I watched them playing. EVERY SINGLE PERSON who came up near them sang or said something related to, or made reference to comparethemeerkat.com - and I mean ‘everyone’! Little kids, teenagers, adults and grandparents!!!!

Now, I know it doesn’t prove anything in terms of ’spend’, but if there was an ever an example of being ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’, then meerkat Aleksandr Orlov is certainly up there. He’s got films, videos, a facebook page with 647,959 ‘fans’, he ‘tweets‘ and has a ‘real’ family history!

According to a report in the Guardian, the Comparethemarket.com website is now the 4th most popular price comparison website – way ahead of it’s ranking in the low teens in a very crowded market only a couple of years ago, so it’s certainly had an effect. Interestingly, when you do ‘lead the way’, others try to ‘follow’, but not always as successfully’. Go Compare’s response, the fat opera bloke was apparently voted as the single most irritating advert of 2009 by consumers in Marketing Magazine.

Marketing is not all about ‘hype’, but part of it is certainly about getting noticed.  Mr. Orlov has certainly ’stood up and out’ – and that’s a great start. ‘Simples!’

Yo! Engage With Your Customers!

I made my own lunch yesterday. No, this isn’t another one of those blogs where I bore you stupid about what I ate and how I feel about Celebrity Big Brother. We went to a Yo! Sushi and learnt how to make the stuff!

The whole experience was a great example of ‘engaging’ customers. Richard, our chef, was a brilliant representative of the company’s brand and values, we learnt loads about the products, the business and much much more ( I never realised how big tunas can grow to, and how much some people in Japan are willing to pay for them!).

Of course, Richard ’sold’ to us – not in a heavy way – and reinforced the Yo! Sushi offer – much of that was done simply by entertaining and educating us. We had great fun and, by seeing what actually goes in to producing the stuff, we appreciate much better how impressive it all is, especially when you compare it to the bits we ourselves made!

The end result? An even stronger ‘buy in’ to Yo! Sushi from us, a definite willingness to go back again for some more, and of course to tell others about our great ‘experience’.

The key lesson for all of us is that we can all do more to ‘engage’ our customers. Why not ‘invite yours in’ to see your business, meet your people, find out what you do, how you do it – let them get to know you. Educate them, explain and reinforce your ‘Dramatic Difference’….. be ‘human’ (see below!).

The Customer Learning Curve

Here’s an interesting presentation on the Customer Learning Curve  by Tamir Berkman (you can tell I’ve been on spending some time on Slideshare over the New Year!). the basic concept is that your customers have a different perception of you as the relationship develops and it’s key that you don’t treat them all the same. It also talks about helping them move along that curve.

Simple stuff, but well worth a look.

Free ebook – (Re)Thinking in 3D…..

I’ve written a new book! It’s all about Thinking in 3D – That means creating a business that’s 

‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different‘! 

Basically, it’s a short set of ’rants’, raves and ideas aimed at engaging, stimulating and challenging you. 

If you enjoy the blog, I’d like to think that you’ll enjoy this too. The main reason being that there will be a few bits and bobs you’ve read before here on the site – see it as ‘going back to the gym’ – you still need to work those muscles!

I’ve called it:

(re)thinking in ‘3D‘….. and the best bit is it’s FREE!

 

If you like it please send it on to others….. and let me know what you think about it too please!

You can

download it here!

Hope You Have a ’Delightful’ Christmas!

A Dramatically Different Gift Voucher

 We were in the diy store B&Q yesterday (don’t ask!) and Jill spotted this – a gift voucher ‘personalised’ for dads. It’s a very simple way of ‘enhancing’ a core offer. There was also ‘you’re moving’ and ‘new home’, plus a few others.

My point? ‘Differentiating’ a relatively mundane thing appealing to specific customers is a great way to stand out.  What can you do to be more ‘creative’ about what you offer? It’s not about ‘hype’ or ‘rehashing’ stuff, but thinking about your customers and what appeals to them, and then ‘differentiating’ it to suit.

A simple idea and a nice example of 3D – Demonstrating a Dramatic Difference (albeit, on a very simple ‘product’).

Needless to say, Jill bought one, but, shhh – don’t tell her dad, it’s for Christmas!

Get Ready For Some ‘(F)luxury!

‘Urbany’, ‘(f)luxury’, ‘mass mingling’ and ‘embedded generosity’ are just some of the consumer trends predicted for 2010. Of course they’ve not been predicted by me (who as you know had never heard of Peppa Pig!), but by the fabulous guys at Trendwatching. As ever, they’ve produced a fascinating insight into the world of consumers in 2010 - as they see it. It’s called ‘10 Crucial Consumer Trends For 2010′. You can download the report here.

I’m particularly interested in their view that we’ll be ‘networking’ offline and back in the real world much much more – of course, social media will be used to maximise its effectiveness – they’ve called it ‘mass mingling’. They also predict an upsurge in ‘Tracking and Alerting’ – that’s all about consumers obtaining regularly updated information on what they are buying or looking to buy – a thrust  of even more power to the customer.

If you don’t already subscribe to Trendwatchings’ monthly briefings, I really think you should. They’re free and you can do that here.

What are your predictions for marketing, customers and competitiveness in 2010?

Which Tribes Work For You? Get ‘Trotting’

I was introduced to a new ‘brand’ yesterday. I’m sure for many of you, it’s not news, but Peppa Pig is awesome!!!! She attracted thousands into Sheffield yesterday to switch the Christmas lights on. Seth Godin talks about the power of Tribes, well the Peppa Pig tribe is strong and powerful, even if the vast majority of them are female and under 6!!!

The number of pink coats and bobble hats sat on top of Dads’ shoulders was amazing. OK, they may not have the specific spending power themselves, but I can’t help thinking that they have huge influence, and judging by the thousands of families wandering around the City Centre, it’s quite clear that they are not scared to use it!

Lots of other businesses seemed to be benefitting too, and that was a key learning point for me – which ‘brands’ or ‘tribes’ can you benefit from through association, or even ‘partnership’? I don’t mean just ‘hanging on’ to someone else’s ‘glory’, but a proactive win – win association.

So, a little question:

• Who are the ‘tribes’ that you should be targetting?

More importantly,

• What do they want
• How can you give it to them?

So, start sniffing around and get ‘trotting’ to find them!

Can Get Some Satisfaction

Some customers are relatively easy to please – the result is that it’s easier to get ’satisfaction’.

This ‘brief’ from Mick Jagger to Andy Warhol for the design of an album sleeve back in 1969 sets out his ‘expectations’ very bluntly.

The great thing about knowing your customer’s expectations is that it’s easier to meet and even ‘exceed’ them! Imagine a ‘delighted’ Mick Jagger as a customer!

It has been said (sung, even!) that ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ – the challenge is to find out what your customers do want.

•  How clear are you about what your customers want and what they don’t want?
• What can you do to find out?

After all, the last thing you want is your customers shouting ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’!

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