Ordinary to extra-ordinary

In the current marketplace where a lot of products are trying to get our attention, it is easy to notice there aren’t a lot of those that really make us excited. Just today, can you name 5 products or ads that sort of leave a deep impression? Chances are, minimal or nothing. The challenge for successful brands is to either stand out or be reminded of all the time. It’s survival not luxury. One of the reasons you are constantly reminded of Starbucks is because it wants to become your ‘third living space’. Your home, your workplace and you guessed it…Starbucks. They are trying for the state of coffee brand ubiquity. At one point, Suntec shopping mall alone has three. Starbucks? McDonald's? See the connection?

We know the Starbucks way is very, very expensive (McDonald’s too). Unless you have millions, chances are most of us needed to get around it or just keep reading this post.

These days, we just have too many things to mind and too little time to take it all. Research has proven that an average working adult will be exposed to hundreds of ads each day. The brain can’t handle all these ‘noise’ and we automatically start to filter or ignore. This instance, ignorance is bliss for our sanity sake. I do that all the time. From any marketer, it’s their worst nightmare. The only other way is to shine through winning design experiences or be simply extraordinary.

Take a look at this device on the left. Most of us would be unable to guess what this is or what it does at first look. Is it a lamp or even a star trek collectable? The moment you ponder, you stick around (much cheaper and more effective than 5 seconds of TV ad space). It is a bladeless fan that sucks in air and throws it out at very fast speed to cool you. It’s called the Dyson Air Multiplier, retails from US$299.99 onwards. Yes, it is just a fan and works exactly like one. Turn it on, close your eyes, you probably can’t tell the difference from a regular bladed one. However, if you put the Dyson along with the other fans in a store, it will be outstanding. I even want one myself. I should have written this before my 30th birthday. For more information on the Dyson fan, click on this link.


Picture taken from Dyson website.

Lets recall a recent trip to a hair saloon. Remember how they always try to sell us hair products? How about doing so while saloon customers are horizontal, staring upwards, having their hair washed. These customers can only look upwards at the ceiling (unutilized ad space) and that is where they should be placing their hair product ads! Throw in some sales talk from the hair stylist; I am sure hair care product sales will go up. What customers get is instant gratification of the products being advertised to them at the same time. Ordinary service, extraordinary effort to increase sales.

One of your brand consultant goals must always be to allow your brand or products to be nothing short of stunning. Keep your eyes on not only appreciating extraordinary things (hard to ignore) but also keep a lookout for the ordinary (try not to ignore) and make it extraordinary.

The key aim; reinvent the ordinary that upscale product or service experience. Create a brand tribe (Bladeless fan fans) that follows it and start profiting.

Please leave your comments if you have any.

How to leverage on consumer stardom.

The thing about You-tube and consumer self expression has been pretty well established with the growth of social networking. You saw the VISA dancing guy in different countries, Susan Boyle etc. You probably can name a few more. The fact is that normal people like you and me have a stab at becoming 'stars' is not fantasy. The internet has provided the right medium to do so easily.

Question is, how can brands leverage on this consumer trend? Making your customers feel like a star for them to express their individuality and tastes is not far fetched. In fact, you should do it as a brand owner. To allow your customers to express themselves in their desired form (good or bad) and at the same time creating an unforgettable experience, why not? Look hard and probably the opportunities are around. A dose of creativity helps. Here are my observations.

A recent trip to a popular local KTV chain has prompted some opportunities for such consumer stardom. First, my congrats to them for having a wonderful intuitive, all-in-one remote to select songs and even food at a few button presses. For the song belters who are totally into giving their best shot holding the microphone, why not bring it one notch higher. Having a mini platform stage, mini stage light and a voting system from the audiences (yes, your teasing friends). Quite sure this will create a different experience and a differentiation from competitors.

What about retail? A local, immensely successful shoe chain can also leverage on it without spending more than their frequent renovations to refresh their store experience. Women love shoes. Its about how many brand X can sell to them. Having a proposition of affordability without sacrificing quality and design hit the right spot. On average, I notice local women will try on average of 3 pairs before buying X number. Say 3 is the most desirable, 0 is worst. But it is not a lost cause if you know how to turn it around. How? Have a dedicated shoe corner with the right mirrors and lighting for the women to whip out their camera phones (most got one) to take pictures of the 'considerations'. They can take it back and ponder, think, imagine, fantasize or better, show their friends, post it online etc. Bottom line is, it creates pre-purchase intentions and word of mouth for that brand. You can imagine what happens next? Probably a few more purchases. What does it cost shoe brand X? Not much but an elevated shopping experience with possibly more return visits. If brand X is afraid of shoe copies, they have not understood the concept of continuing innovation. Pity.

Car test drives. Perfect for consumer stardom again. What about having a mini film of you test driving the vehicle you always wanted. Car brand Y could have these delivered to you after a few days of testing driving in a nice 'Thank You for visiting and testing our vehicles' card, enclosed a mini-DVD of the footage of you driving that hot hatch. No sales? Car brand Y just added value to the brand by elevating customer experience using consumer stardom. Some months down the road, that customer would still be talking about it I reckon.

I can think of a few more but lets leave it here for now. Please feedback or comment if you want to.

Please don't make me look at the back of your monitor?

Yes, we all don't like the back of it but how often customer service experience are exactly like that. Have a look around telco customer service counters and travel agencies, you get what I mean. The crux of the problem really lies in having business process taking over customer service. Service reps are more concern about filling out their forms or looking for the information you want rather than looking in your eyes (you, me, customers) and engaging you. Reps should be spending more percentage understanding your needs, chit chat, engage you to make you feel special etc. Deep down, we all want to be noticed and talked to.

There is nothing wrong with business process. In fact, without it, things will be messy and even chaotic. However, we need to be mindful that flexibility needs to be exercised by employees. Wait a minute, where is the floor manager? Perhaps in the back room performing one of his business process?

To attain better customer experience, there are a few ways. In the case of over the counter service like travel agencies, the monitor could be shared rather than back facing the customer or enquirer. This way, there is a common ground which both parties are engaged. What is there to hide anyway? Destination, price? Not happy, click or next destination. I am sure this potential customer is more than willing to tell you his/her plans for the next trip. Great starting point for conversation.

Another is to let the employee not be blinkered by these processes. Training them well is crucial as they are the interface or frontline with the customers. Bottom line, don't let the front or back of a PC monitor (business process) hinder great customer service experience. Flexibility is key.