Don’t Forget Impulse Buyers in your Marketing Plan

Fall is in the air and merchants are already displaying the upcoming holiday season items. I often wonder if consumers are really thinking about Christmas shopping before Halloween. Part of the magic of shopping for any holiday item is shopping in the season not pre-planning the purchase months in advance, but purchasing that terrific impulse item that fits the recipient of your gift perfectly. Oh the anticipation and excitement of watching an impulse gift being opened. Doesn’t get much better than that does it?
The art and science of creating marketing/advertising campaigns for impulse purchases is often overlooked or minimized by items displayed at the checkout line. However, when you get right down to it, impulse buys make up a large portion of Retail Company’s bottom line and they are not all small ticket items. The tricky part is how to segment the impulse buyers from the pre-planners by season, price point, demographically and geographically. What is appealing to impulse buyers versus the buyer that does their research ahead of time and only goes into the store to purchase one or two items. Marketing to these unique profiles should be part of your marketing plan and marketing message. Assessing buying behaviors in the past will help predict buying behaviors in the future thus help support the ROI of your marketing campaign. So next time you are out shopping and throw a few extra items into your buggy, remember a profile of your buying behavior can be determined and marketed to.

Stop Being So Secret

I don’t know about you, but all too often people claim to have the secret answer, secret ingredient, the magic bullet or whatever else they won’t tell you how they do it.

As a kid I can remember watching a magic show and being amazed by the silver rings that were so shiny and apparently solid construction, only to be surprised when the magician was able to “magically” separate them in an instant. This is great for kids, but bad for marketers. Clients don’t want magic tricks, or smoke and mirrors, they want answers and strategies that are based on a solid analytical foundation and yield great results.

Recently I stayed at a Ritz Carlton and had an amazing meal to which I commented to the waitress how good it was – her response, would you like the recipe? I was flabbergasted, here I was enjoying something new and delicious and they were going to provide me with the step by step process to enjoying the meal again and again.

Imagine if you had a relationship with your business partners, wherein they would explain the recipe to you and help you to replicate the results over and over. That would be the definition of a long term partnership - and it would be delicious.

At Blu we believe in the process of walking through challenges with our clients and answering the 7 questions that surround every marketing challenge and in turn serving up great results for our clients.

Bon Appetite.

Customer Needs and Wants vs what you are selling

I just got back from a business trip in which I spent a good deal of time in the airport world. People watching is a favorite past time of mine, as I enjoy analyzing human behavior and apply the key findings of my observations to my every day life and the advertising marketing world in which I work. While the business of travelers moved around me, I had about 45 minutes of people watching. As I watched people move in and out of shops and boarding lines, it occurred to me that all people really want out of their purchasing power is for you give them what they want, not what you think they need. As I pondered this concept , I wondered what sort of analysis could be performed for a company to assist them in this marketing endeavor. Times are hard and money is limited, so how do you make a marketing budget truly impact the bottom line? The logical answer is a thorough analysis on your customer base so that Identifies the drivers of profit, hooks that help retention, and markers to find more profitable clients. I know it sounds simple, but the reality is most companies don’t have the resources to dedicate to finding out what really is working, and most importantly what is not working. If you think about what really drives your own buying behaviors, I suspect you will find that you are drawn to companies that have what you want (fulfilling your need), have excellent delivery channels (can buy it on-line, in person or by phone), and you are endeared to their brand at some level. In my life, there are many times where my emotional wants and desires trump my logical needs. It really is the world in which we live.
As part of the Reflex blu team, we understand the need to know your customer, know what drives profit, and how to market through multiple channels to get your message heard. Don’t settle on marketing what you think the consumer needs, find out what they want and fulfill the need. Long-term profits will be the return on your investment, when you marketing to the right person, at the right time, with the product or service they need.

“SO WHAT”

Do you ever watch or read an advertisement and immediately think to yourself, “So What”. It happens to me all the time. The “what’s in it for me factor” is left out of most advertising these days. The basic rule still stands that the consumer must be able to see the benefit to them before a purchase is made. Seems simple enough, however it escapes most campaigns. So did the marketers get so caught up in the ad campaign that they simply forgot about what makes the consumer buy?

Developing marketing campaigns is like putting a puzzle together, you have to have the right pieces in the right place to see the whole picture. In order to see the whole picture you have to ask the right questions to develop a campaign that draws the consumer to your brand and product. At Reflex Blu the process is called "7 Questions, 1 Answer". This 7Q1A process is the foundation and path to successful marketing campaigns that drive ROI. We work with clients across all industries and the “So What” to us is bottom-line results. We believe that by asking the right questions we can deliver the right results for you time and time again.

Have we become accustomed to settling for mediocrity?

When was the last time you were in a situation where you thought someone had exceeded your expectations? Quite frankly, it has been a long time for me. It seems people are willing to just do the minimum and are happy with the results. I looked up the word mediocrity to see what the dictionary said and, sure enough, it confirmed average and second rate as the definition. Have we become so accustomed to “average” being the norm that we have forgotten how to expect excellence? Is excellence and giving 150% a bad thing? Especially when we look at it in the context of generating revenue to the bottom line. When did we start settling for mediocrity?

What is the difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary? That little “extra” right? Extra-ordinary is alive and well at Blu. You might then ask, “That sounds good but, what is so extra-ordinary about Blu?”

> Extra-ordinary respect for our clients
> Extra-ordinary passion to serve our communities and in communities around the world
> Extra-ordinary blend of logic and creativity
> Extra-ordinary ability to produce great results (and quantify them as well)

We deliver exceptional results for our clients because we refuse to settle for mediocre ideas. If you feel as though you are in need of extra-ordinary, step out of the ordinary and into the Blu.

Give 'em what they want

Apple has done it again. They released a much-anticipated product that sold 300,000 units…on Day 1! Some fanatics pre-ordered theirs on-line. Others stood in line in the wee hours of the morning for the privilege of being one of the first few lucky owners. And what did they get? A crossover product. A hybrid. Something that bridges the gap between laptop, eReader and iPhone. It’s portable, lightweight and app-driven.

Apple has earned a reputation for creating products that are useful, simple and sleek. Visual appeal and sound clarity set their products apart from the rest. First, it was the iPod. With it came iTunes (even my 67 year old father uses it). Then came the iPhone. Now, the iPad. And with each new product, there’s a newer version waiting in the wings to keep the momentum building. We have seen it time and again from Apple – iPod classic, iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs. The next hot version of the iPad WiFi version that was just released – the iPad 3G. The brand loyal innovators and early adopters get these products moving off the shelves. The late majority (this is where I fit in), who are willing to wait for the bigger, better version with all the bugs worked out, keep them moving.

How did Apple do it? Like they always do. They created a buzz, started by a demonstration from Steve Jobs. They rolled out a few press releases, a couple of TV commercials, did some on-line advertising and used iTunes as another channel. But the bulk of their advertising was done virally. Pre-release, everywhere I looked there were articles and reviews by more “experts”. Some loved it and some didn’t get it. But chat rooms and tweets were full of people trying to determine if it was a must buy.

Apple listens to its customers – then develops. They know the demographics of their audience. They cross-sell that audience into products that move them to the next most logical product. We’ve all heard the saying, “the devil is in the details”. Without question, the details are in the demographics. Apple doesn’t try to push products that people don’t want. It doesn’t work. Look at the Palm Pre. It’s about to drag Palm into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Apple dominates the marketplace.

Do you know WHO your customers are? Are you giving your customers WHAT they want? Do you know WHEN and WHERE they want it? Do you know WHY they want it? WHICH channels of communication should you use to reach them? HOW do you know? Reflex Blu can take you through the 7-question process to unveil the answers.

How loyal are you?

Has poor customer service ever caused you to take your business somewhere else? You’re not alone. According to a recent survey of over 1,000 U.S. adult consumers, a single negative experience with a customer call center would likely cause 68% of the respondents to take their business elsewhere. Survey results also revealed consumers expect excellent service in return for brand loyalty: 87% of people felt they had a right to a better contact center experience if they regularly spend money with a company or stay loyal to a brand. 51% of people said the main reason for their dissatisfaction with a company is poor customer service or a bad contact center experience.

Here are recent examples of car salesmen behaving badly… Three years ago, I entered into a lease agreement on a car. I planned on purchasing it at the end of my lease and had built up quite a bit of brand loyalty due to a good track record with the car and the dealership’s service department. As my lease was nearing the end, I set out to negotiate the purchase price of my car (I discovered that the residual value was higher than the current market value, according to Kelley Blue Book). So, I called the dealership to discuss my options. The salesman really wasn’t interested in selling me my car- he wanted me to purchase a new one. After much back and forth, he asked me what number he needed to get to in order for me to buy. When I told him, he said, "you're really working me hard” and that he really didn’t know what I wanted him to say. I told him “nothing and thanks.” Initially, I had no intention of getting rid of the car – but I decided to go check out the competition.

That weekend, I went to a different car dealership. After test driving a couple of automobiles, the salesman promised to call the next morning with some figures (since it was near closing time). When it became late afternoon the following day and I had still not heard back, I contacted him. He said that he was off work that day and would need to call me back in the morning. The next day, he had someone else contact me who really didn’t know all the details originally discussed. The pricing he gave me was ridiculous. Frustrated, I called (or e-mailed) a total of 6 dealerships to get price quotes. Here are the results: 66% of the dealerships didn’t follow up when they said they would and 50% of the dealerships e-mailed price quotes back but were way out of line with where I told them I wanted to be.

But, one dealership was different. Not 10 minutes after I pressed “send” on the online request for quote, my phone rang (and it was 8:43 pm!). This salesman was extremely helpful, polite and came up with several options right off the bat. During the next week, we negotiated the details over e-mail (rather than wasting a lot of time sitting in the car dealership). He came up with multiple pricing options, sent a credit application via a link to their secure site and was always quick to respond.

It’s clear that companies who communicate through the RIGHT CHANNELS, provide SOLUTIONS and are in tune with the importance of EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE will ultimately prevail over those who don’t. The original salesman finally called back and got to the figure I was looking for - but it was too late.… So guess which one got my business?? Oh, and they also took care of my car tag - it’s being mailed to me. :-)

WHY you should go see a 25 Foot Snowman!

During the recent snow “events” in the Northeast, including Snowmageddon, I noticed a very unique and well crafted snowman. Having grown up in the northeast, I am no stranger to snow, and have spent considerable time constructing snowmen with my children. However, during the recent storms, I noticed that one of my neighbors had constructed a 25 foot tall snowman. I am not even certain how this was accomplished, but I imagine some heavy machinery may have been involved. What struck me was the impact that this snowman had on the community. The owner of the property had created something unique, unlike every other snowman in the neighborhood, and by doing this he separated himself as a unique brand – and as marketers, that is what we all must do. The key to the WHY is making your creation something that must be seen/read/viewed/emailed - creating something unique, that stands apart from the competition, and is unlike any of the hundreds of similar snowman on the block. Within days of being built, I had mentioned this creation to friends and family, who in turn mentioned it to their friends and family, and eventually the 25 foot snowman went viral via Facebook and Twitter posts. People were coming from all over to see what essentially was a big pile of snow – but not one to be missed. With all the challenges of getting noticed in the marketplace today, the WHY is key. WHY is your product or service better than the others, WHY should I invest the time to learn more or ask questions. WHY would I want to become a customer?

The story remains that if you build something unique, people will seek out your brand. If you have the tools to push the uniqueness of your product to the right people at the right time you will succeed and you need to do it now, before your great idea melts into just another puddle of water. The WHY audit is just one part of the seven question approach to successful marketing that Blu has created. We have used our WHY audit to help health insurers, banks, car care centers, energy companies and other customers invent success. We also have many BIG IDEAS for other verticals as well.

The Art and Science of Needs Based Selling

You know the old saying, “you get one chance for a first impression”? How true this still is even when we are inundated with marketing efforts across all different marking channels. There seems to be a shift these days from the old school approach of needs based selling to selling the item of the day. While the item of the day may impact the bottom line temporarily does it grow your customer base and provide long term value for your company? The Art and Science of gathering information from clients through a needs based analysis seems to make the most sense in impacting revenue for the short and long term. If profit is a result of customer behavior then how do you get the customer to behave in a way that is profitable? The answer is as it has always been, ask the right questions, put the customer in the right product that suits their needs, and grow the relationship through your marketing efforts.

It’s obvious that everyone needs revenue and profit today. Deviating from the “Stimulus” framework of our government, we believe that there is significant danger in focusing only on Today. The trick is driving traffic for the day as part of a methodical migration process from the long term.

A wise man once told me that a man who can only see the tips of his shoes and not the road in front of Him is bound to trip or get lost. Don’t let that happen to you.

Synchronized Multi-Leveraging

It's a rather large mouthful we know, but what does it mean?

Synchronized Multi-Leveraging is Blu's way of using multiple communication channels to convey the same message to a target audience. It usually takes 3 to 7 message touches to positively influence the target audience's mindset to react desirably to the sender's offer.

But how do you know which channels to use? The number of channels, and channels within channels, literally grows by the thousands daily (think blogs, web sites, etc.). So how are we able to clearly select the appropriate channels with any more success than finding a needle in a haystack? The key is in understanding that each segment of the population listens to a different channel mix. Blu's analytical process combines an understanding of WHO your most profitable targets will be, and WHICH channels they most likely will listen to, so that our customers' messages are heard loud and clear by the people WHO can put the most money on their bottom line. Sounds good doesn't it?

If you still are a little unclear, maybe a simple analogy will help. When I started dating my wife, Evie, I really wanted to know her better. So did I just send her a card and hope that would do the trick? NO! I "synchronized multi-leveraged" her by:

1) Sending her a card
2) Having flowers delivered with a note attached
3) Called her
4) Had mutual friends deliver positive messages about me
5) Went to see her so that she could see my intentions were firm

5 channels, the same message, and lucky for me, she (my "target audience") reacted positively to my offer of "let's go out tonight". It is truly how people have always communicated, Blu just knows how to do it across an entire customer base, by segment through a myriad of channels.

WHY Roses?

A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but you would not be able to sell it for the same price. Why? Centuries of art, literature and smiles from wives receiving the "flower of love" have built equity into the name "rose". It is just a flower like all of the rest of them in terms of composition, but the rose has an elevated spot in our minds, much like many brands.

Don't let anyone tell you brands and brand names are not important. The brand name and feel is the personality of your buying proposition and to consumers, it is the reason WHY they prefer your companies goods and services over similar ones from your competitors. Discovering WHY people are attracted to your brand, and using that feedback to shape future product and marketing messages will keep your profit margins up and your customers loyal. Discovering lapses in your brand promise is also important. If you can quantitatively discern that you have a failure, it is imperative to identify and repair that issue before you lose credibility on a long term basis.

Discovering the good and bad of WHY people choose or reject your brand or offer is critical step in shaping a profitable marketing plan. We call that a WHY audit and when you combine it with the other six audits (questions) it will deliver one big idea that drives profit to your bottom line.

Changing Channels

Growing up in the 70's and 80's, I vividly recall the Van Halen and ACDC posters that filled the walls of my room. Back then,new music was introduced through radio stations, cool posters and sampling at music stores, and of course concerts. Browsing the aisles of music stores was how most Americans narrowed down the search, and eventually purchased tracks they wanted to hear.

You are on ultra safe ground to assume that my taste of music has changed since the days of Rock'n' Roll. Occasionally if you are near,you might hear a classic like "Dance the Night away" or "Back in Black", but it will be coming from my Ipod. About the only thing that has kept pace with the changes in music itself, is the way music is purchased. CNET reported that in August of 2009, 25% of all music sales were through Itunes. That number is growing daily and has changed forever the venue and mode of music sales. Why? Data tags and intelligence combined with algorithmic search engines give you what you want, when you are looking for it. Even better, it invents desires for artists and songs you have no knowledge of, by using data to accurately predict music you will like.

Marketeers have learned the beauty of using data intelligence, and everyone is in a rush to apply that across all media channels. Especially, the on line channel, because it collects and implements data intelligence on the fly as consumers' key strokes unveil clues of their desires. If you asked a Music company CEO ten years ago, "How will you use the web to market your business?", most would have replied, "we will get a website up to direct people to our stores." Many are left wishing they would have thought that through a little more. They relied on old school channels instead of harnessing the right one.

It is no secret that the web channel is exploding and reaps a heavy ROI for those who know how to use it. Let me throw a stat at you though: some 2/3 or American wealth is in the hands of the boomers and their elders and they are the least tech savvy group. So what does that mean? There is a different channel mix for each unique segment in the overall consumer universe. Using data Intelligence as a guide to select, apply and manage the correct marketing channel mix is critical going forward. We call that a "Which" audit, defining which channels you need to use to influence your unique profitable customer segments. Tracking shows that it takes three to seven positive messaging touches, across multiple media channels to stimulate the desired behavior. Finding the correct mix of "Which" marketing channels to use and implementing them in a consistent, systematic way is a huge part of marketing in 2010.

Changing the channels is something we all need to think through.........

The WHEN is NOW!

Recently on an overnight business trip to Winston Salem, N.C., I was craving a fresh, spicy tuna roll. I had never been to Winston Salem, and had not done any research prior to my arrival, so I was completely ignorant of any local restaurant information. Around 7:00, as my hunger mounted and demanded action, I whipped out my Blackberry and texted "sushi, Winston Salem" to Google. Within ten seconds, Google magically served up three tempting choices. Linking to the websites I was able to check out the menu, price range, user reviews and exact location of all three choices so that I was able to make a well informed decision that, in the end, was extremely satisfying. This entire, "sushi research project", occurred in the length of time it took to walk from my room, ride the elevator down to the first floor, and walk to the front lobby of my Hotel.

Why is this important? Marketing has changed. As marketeers, we had better be serving up hot messages when our customers are thinking about consuming the products, services or cause that we are representing. The web, messaging apps, and all forms of viral, social and immediate media are literally retraining consumers on how and when the "spend evaluation" process occurs. The consumption and donation process is now a more informed and reflexive action, and that trend only seems to be strengthening. Need more proof? Look at the American Red Cross' latest campaign, "text Haiti to 90999". In the wake of such a disaster, when media outlets across the world have awareness of the needs in Haiti sky high , the campaign was clever in the sense that the rallying cry became the desired action of the message. Smart, simple, affective and most importantly, placed so that people would see it during the height of awareness, the campaign is a huge success. If the campaign would have occurred a year ago would it have worked? I think not. And yes, there was still an extreme humanitarian need in Haiti long before the earthquake.


Identifying windows when your target audience is evaluating your product and service will be extremely profitable for you. We call that a "WHEN" audit. The WHEN audit is just one part of the seven question approach to successful marketing that we created. We have used our WHEN audit to help health insurers, banks, car care centers, energy companies and other customers invent success. We also have many BIG IDEAS for other verticals as well.

Don't forget, the WHEN is NOW.

The art and science of influencing behavior?

What does that mean? We are glad you asked!

Influencing behavior in 2010 is truly both an art and a science. Make no mistake about it, influencing behavior is the core function of all marketing efforts. To truly impact your audience, it takes heavy duty right brain creative activity matched with intense left brain research, modeling and logic to move the most profitable target audience towards a desired action.

If an incredible brand is splashed throughout the wrong media channels, broadcasting an undesirable offer, it will not work. Conversely, if you have rifle like precision in targeting efforts but are unable to communicate brand promises in your communication efforts, you are pretty much left to trading commodities.

Like the tin man of Oz, we believe that any company, charity, product or service can have a heart beat. If something has a heart beat, it has a personality and a dynamic and unique distinction that can then be used to systematically drive results.

If you are feeling like you might be missing the art or the science of influencing behavior, we are here to help. Now more than ever results truly matter.