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Posts Tagged ‘marketing strategies’

Give Me Less Choices

15 Apr

via David Castillo Dominici/freedigitalphotos.net

Let’s start this post by playing a game; let’s say you want to buy yourself a pair of jeans, and let’s assume that you headed to a store you are visiting for the first time, meaning, you do not already have preferred styles in that store. Which of the following situations you would find more appealing:

  • If the store provided you with about 20 different styles of jeans to choose from.
  • If the store provided you with only 6 choices.

Think …

There is a chance you leaned toward the more options choice because you thought it would give you more room for considerations and making a better, well informed buying decision. Sorry to break this to you, more choices means less buying!

Although it has dominated the consumers’ behavior understanding for so long, giving your customers more options does not mean you will guarantee more sales. You are skeptical about what I am saying , go ahead and read this research paper. In one of its experiments, a free tasting booth have been set up in a grocery store. In the first week, 6 different jams were presented for testing, on the second week, 24 jams were presented.

In the week of the few choices, 40% of customers stopped for tasting, while on the week of the huge number of choices, 60% stopped.

Before you start saying ‘Ahhaa … more choices are better’

The surprise came after analyzing the buying decisions. In the week of the few choices, 30% decided to buy jam, on the week of the huge choices, 3% only decided to making the transaction.

Now that’s a considerable difference.

Simply put, giving many options is overwhelming, confusing, and sometimes paralyzing. Customers may feel that they no longer can decide which option is better, and even if the buying decision is made, there is a huge chance of a ‘buyer’s remorse’  to occur, it is when a customer feel that he made a mistake taking the buying decision. He will start second guessing his choice, wondering if there was a better one!

However, sometimes, more choices make a lot of sense. Researchers call such situations the ‘preference matching’ contexts. That’s where customers are looking for something they are already familiar with. Something like going to an Italian restaurant, you already love the Italian cuisine and you would like to see more options to choose from.

So businesses out there, more is not always better. Limit your choices and make them more approachable and easy to understand. I cannot help but thinking about the telecom industry in Saudi. They are offering huuuuuge variety of options that are really hard to wrap your head around. You do not believe me, write down what you do think are the features of your current subscription contract with the your telecom provider. Now compare them to its website. I can bet that you will find a lot of differences!

Simplicity is good.

* Image Source

 
3 Comments

Posted in Marketing

 

TV with or without Commercials

16 Jan

Via freedigitalphotos.net/Ambro

If I ask you if you prefer to watch your favorite TV shows with or without commercials interruptions, you most probably would say “of course without the commercials.”

I have a bit of a surprise for you, according to the study of Leif Nelson (its results published in Harvard Business Review, Oct. 2010), people enjoy programs that have commercials interruptions more!

Interestingly, the study also shows that the type of commercials is not responsible for the additional enjoyment, it is all about the interruption itself, it is a phenomenon called adaptation.

To understand adaptation, think of it in this simple way: when you do something you like, you get used to it, you adapt, but once interrupted and went back to it, you re-trigger that initial enjoyment.

The same goes into watching a TV show, a movie, or even beyond that; it is a universal phenomenon. We are all used it without even noticing, think how riding your new car felt different and special at first, and then, it just another car. Think how that long trip felt so exciting at the first few days, and then, it is the same hotel, same places, same people!

Moreover, as starting over something you enjoy would re-trigger the enjoyment, starting over something you do not like would re-trigger the same annoyance you felt at the beginning. Think of that dull 90 min. meeting that kept running longer because of the so many interruptions!

The point I want to emphasis here is that these findings of this study could collaborate to the findings we already know about commercials. If we established that interruption could participate in increasing enjoyment, why don’t inject those interruptions with something enjoyable yet valuable to advertisers too, say more targeted or personally tailored ads as a starter. I see this very interesting and yet challenging to marketers and advertisers everywhere!

* Image Source

 
4 Comments

Posted in Advertisement, Marketing

 

Al Baik Restaurant; Revisited!

07 Nov

Image via: jscreationzs/freedigitalphotos.net

Almost two years ago, I wrote this postabout Al Baik; believe it or not, this post is the most successful post I have ever written in terms of comments, responses, and search engines inquiries. There is not a single week passed since I wrote this post without me having some kind of response on it, through emails mostly, or having it attracting more visitors from Google. Most of the notes I am receiving are wonderful memories of those who have been to Jeddah and tried it and now missing it, or those asking me why it is not expanding in their home countries (including USA!) and if they could win a franchise deal, and of course there are those who are asking me about its garlic recipe!

So I decided to revisit Al Baik with another post today, the first one was mostly discussing their strengths, so let’s discuss their weaknesses!

  • Superb Customer Service … is cutting back! 

As I have indicated in the first post, Al Baik has always been known for its fast services, servicescape design, and cleanness of their restaurants environment. Its management maintained all of those up to a certain level of high quality. However, the in-store experience started to decline and becomes seriously annoying recently. Standing there to request your order is like standing in a middle of an old style car auction where everyone is shouting and having some kind of shoulders fights! It is like the whole idea of queuing and standing in line is yet to be invented! Maybe it is harsh to say this, but it is a truly uncivilized scene to see and be part of! I know that Al Baik cannot be blamed for such behavior because it is somehow part of the whole public culture that does not respect waiting in lines and order, but I am blaming Al Baik for encouraging such behavior and not developing some kind of  system to organize the in-store experience. There are different and easy solutions out there that could bring back the peace and order to Al Baik visits.

  • Location … location … location!!

It is not a surprise we all have at least once wondered why Al Baik has not yet expanded locally, regionally, or even internationally! You cannot hear but rumors in this regard because nobody actually knows the true reasons but Al Baik management themselves! There are numerous models and examples already in the market where they could have learned from and improved to suite their strategic goals! I truly believe that they have lost a lot in form of lost opportunities! And I am sure they have received a lot of comments and inquires from fans all over the world … yes from all over the world!

*Image Source

 
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Posted in Branding, General Management, Saudi business

 

Most Valuable Luxury Brands in 2011

22 Aug
via: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As it is few days to Eid, and most probably you are on a shopping spree buying new stuff to pamper yourself and gifts for those special ones, you may want to know what the most valuable luxury brands in 2011 are!

 Of course you need to consider how ‘fat’ your wallet or purse is before attempting these places even for a tour! Wallets on diet or purses trying a more healthy financial status are not welcomed!

Despite the weak economical conditions all over the globe, these luxury brands are not doing bad at all. Most of them witnessed a
considerable increase in brand values. For example, Hermes scored more than 41% increase in its brand value.

You can find more about top brands in different categories in this report.

Happy Eid you all …

Position

Brand

Brand Value $M

Brand Value Change

1

Louis Vuitton

24,312

23%

2

Hermes

11,917

41%

3

Gucci

7,449

-2%

4

Chanel

6,823

23%

5

Cartier

5,327

34%

6

Rolex

5,269

11%

9

Fendi

3,422

7%

10

Burberry

3,379

N/A
*image source

 
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Posted in Branding, Marketing

 

Brand Slogans

15 Jul

#BrandSlogan is the hash tag created yesterday by Ibrahem Al Suhaibani (@ibrahemsu), the blogger and the owner of (http://isuhaibani.com/blog/). For every marketer and marketing researcher, especially in this part of the world, this is a must read hash tag.

Coming up with a brand slogan (known as a tagline as well) is not an easy exercise as it might seem. Yes, it is a line of few words, but these few words should capture the soul of the brand. In one way of another, it is like pressurizing the feeling, the meaning, the mission, and the value of a brand in just a few of words. Slogans once printed on packages or distributed on marketing materials, they will be the messengers reminding customers of the premise of the brand, they will be the signs showing that the brand exists, and that it is alive!

Going through this hash tag would definitely bring back a lot of memories, which is interesting in itself. Why such slogans, although some have been already replaced by its producers, have managed to stick in the consumers’ minds and hearts?

There are many elements of a successful brand slogan, I have chosen two reasons that I find most important, and you can relate to most of the slogans mentioned in the hash tag:

  • Successful slogans are usually produced to the public as a part of a successful marketing campaign (a successful marketing campaign is a story of its own!). Meaning, it is not like the brands owners came up with these slogans and  printed them on some bags and flayers and … that’s it! No, they have been integrated into a whole banding activity.
  • Successful slogans somehow managed to capture the consumer experience of the brand and added it to the value and purpose of the brand itself. Take Jarir bookstore as an example to clarify this point. The slogan is (Jarir is not only a bookstore); the message of the brand is that we are providing you with all your business/personal art, entertainment and stationary requirements, we are not only a bookstore. The customer experience is that you can find more than only books in Jarir, it is your one stop shopping experience for most of your books and stationary requirements, again, it is not only a bookstore. This customer experience factor is critically important in any slogan because through it, the consumer engagement-with and feeling-of the brand is created!

 

 

 

 
3 Comments

Posted in Branding, Branding, Communication, Marketing

 

Social Media Revolution

23 Jan

Despite the fact that Muammar Al Gaddafi declared that the Internet, social media in particular, is leading us all astray, it is very hard to dismiss the role social media is playing everywhere in the world nowadays. The revolution that took place in Tunisia is still fresh in the hearts and minds and it is just a few days old and it can be considered as the first successful revolution in history that was mainly covered through social media outlets. Yes, the revolution had its own reasons to spark and its own reasons to keep its momentum, the role social media played in the events was unmistakable. At least for those following its events up and interacting with it even with mere support and excitement.

So what is this political start should do in a blog that talks about marketing and business?! I will tell you the reason …

If social media is now able to be part of a major political and national events, business owners, CEOs, marketers, … etc, should be seriously worried about their businesses.

The social media marketing started to be, you could say, conceptualized, about three years ago. And this date is supported by my own observations although there a lot of authors who push the beginning of social media marketing further back in time! It started with the boom in Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and Youtube. Some companies started to notice the shift in consumers behavior and decided to ride the wave before it is too late. Nowadays, the online interactions between family members, friends, or even people who never saw each other is a fact as far as any fact can be actually a fact, if that makes kinda of sense! People are sharing their experiences with different brands and customers service encounters almost momentarily. Before going out, they ask their online friends or followers about the best restaurant, the best shop, and best offer. Having a good product or a service, or bad ones, their news could be on a link shared somewhere, a tweet that hundreds are re-tweeting, or on a video that can go viral.

So where are the Saudi companies form all of this? … mmm … you know, by asking such question, you could be disturbing their sleep!!!

I have written a post about this same topic in Oct. 2009 (here, there is a link to an interesting study that you may want to check as well) and the change is … almost nothing!! Go ahead and visit any Facebook page or Twitter account of most of Saudi companies, if you are lucky and you found one! and you will be surprised by how poorly maintained these accounts are!!!

Sad, isn’t!! :(

I will be more than happy to be proven wrong, so if you know any known Saudi organization that have a remarkable online presence, please share it with the rest of us!

 
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Posted in Marketing, Saudi business, Social Media

 

Good Stories and Bad Ones

25 Nov

Seth Godin, call him one of the modern marketing gurus if you like, is always preaching that good brands are built on good stories; stories that have the ability to live, inspire, and appeal to people. I guess I will take this a step further and say that even poor brands are surrounded with stories.

The good brands might generate those good stories, they have a hand in distributing them, they might tell them in ads, in media, etc. Bad stories about bad brands are usually distributed by customers; word of mouth, blogs, social media outlets.

Even if you have never tried a certain brand, the stories you heard about it will keep playing in your head whenever it comes cross your road. You will always want to try the good ones, you will always want to run away from the bad ones!

Let me give you an example; I’ve never been to the States so I never been on the Southwest Airlines but I’ve always come across plenty of stories about their exemplary, pleasantly surprising, and creative customer service; so what do you guess my first choice would be if I ever been to the States?! Note that all what I have are stories about the brand, so I do not know how real and accurate they are. but I want to try the brand. That’s the power of good brand’s stories. And as long as we are at it, check this video out of one of the Southwest stories!

On the other hand, guess what stories would come to your mind when I say Saudia, the local carrier! I can confidently bet that even if you have never tried it, you will never want to just because of its stories; you know, messed up schedules, flights delays, below average ground and air services, not so cooperative staff, and so on. I dare you if you ever lived in Saudi and never heard a punch of bad stories about Saudia?!!! That’s the power of the bad stories on a brand!

My free-spirit-statement before you leave; all the opinions mentioned in this post are mine and never been influenced by anybody else!

 
6 Comments

Posted in Branding, Marketing

 

If Saudi Women Are Allowed to Drive

13 May

For those not familiar with Saudi Arabia; It is unfortunate to say YES, Saudis are still debating the idea of allowing women to drive!

Anyway, this is not what this post is about, but I felt it was a mandatory introduction!

Now, let’s assume that the decision popped up and women are suddenly allowed to drive. From business and marketing points of view, what kind of change or new opportunities that could come up as a result of the new situation? Here are some points I thought of:

  • Automobiles Selling Tactics: Car dealers should really change, or at least introduce new selling tactics and marketing campaigns targeting women. Many researchers have argued that the way men and women approach the final purchasing decision is remarkably different. For that, ways to target segments divided based on gender should be different as well. And believe it or not, such studies have already started to take place in Saudi Arabia once the driving debate started to heat up few years ago, at least this is what a marketing manager in one of a prominent Saudi car dealer told me.
  • Car Accessories Shops: Women, at least of a younger age, will be definitely looking to have distinguished cars; exactly like their counterparts males. So I won’t be surprised to see car accessories shops opening whole sections specifically for ladies. Or even better, complete new accessories shops for ladies only, operated by ladies only!
  • Pimp-her-Ride: This could be related to the pervious point, but with those who have some extra cash to spoil themselves, and their cars!!
  • Segregated Car Service: Whether we are talking mechanic shops, car cleaning, oil change, etc, There is a huge opportunity to create women-only shops. If someone would argue here that allowing women to drive will ease the segregation between men and women we are currently seeing in the society, I would respond by saying yes but still. At least at the beginning, such women-only shops could flourish because it would give women a sense of freedom freedom they are enjoying in their closed communities. You know, taking off their Abbayas and enjoying chit-chat with friends in a closed area while their car is serviced. That will definitely be much better than waiting in line in most-of-the-time dirty oil change shops! So it could turn out to be a good idea after all! Even further, the existence of such shops could be a factor of helping some conservative families to make the decision of allowing their wives and daughters to drive. They will be dealing with women most of the time, right!

It does not matter how strange, funny, or shocking, these ideas might sound to some of you, because such a decision will definitely takes its toll on the society. New challenges, new obstacles, and new opportunities usually come out as results of change. Taking all that and blend it with the Saudi market status and the Saudi consumer behavior, I am sure interesting outcomes will be generated.

what do you think?

 
9 Comments

Posted in Culture, Marketing, Saudi business

 

The Psychological Cost

25 Apr

I have a confession to make. and if, by any chance, Steve Jobs is reading this; I am sorry!

I have been a long time advocate of Microsoft and I hated the gut of Apple before even trying it!

My reasoning was simple, we would not know the world as we know it today without Microsoft Windows and Office, and that is partially true even after my confession. In other words, I was feeling gratitude toward Microsoft more than being happy with its system quality. I was not looking at its shortcomings, I was looking more to its role in my daily life.

Anyway, before this get very sentimental … this post is neither about Microsoft nor Apple. It is about our psychological attachments to certain brands.

There is something in marketing called ‘the switching cost;’ They are the costs a person, or even an organization, has to pay when deciding to choose another product, supplier, service, etc. The cost here should not be only thought of in terms of financial means. Beside money, there is time, efforts, and there is physiological costs as well. And to make things clearer, think of switching from a phone brand to another. You have to spend some time learning and getting familiar with the new brand.This is a switching cost right there and some people might not be willing to deal with.

Psychological switching cost or barrier, plain and simple, is anything a brand does in an attempt to relate to its customers. This will turn into feelings such as admiration, respect, love, …, etc in the customer minds. And eventually, customer will get attached to the brand because of these feelings. The touch of a product, the smell, the quality, or customer service, all these are examples of investments that can be made to create the required psychological switching barrier.

So the next time you are drafting your branding strategy, or planning an advertisement campaign, you better not only think about customers buying more of your products, but how customers will never think of switching to your competitor. Not only having more customer attention through the ads, but having more customers relating to your brand through these ads.

Now, If you look around, you might find something that you are psychologically attached to; maybe the perfume that makes you feel sexy and mysterious when wearing it, a clothing brand that adds elegance to your personality, what about the brand of your laptop, or the type of the car you are driving.

So, do you have any confession to make :) … share it with the rest of us …

 
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Posted in Branding, Marketing

 

What were they thinking?

31 Mar

From my iPhone

This question is directed to the producers of the light snacks known as “Loozeen”. To the marketers of Western Bakeries Co. the subsidiary of the Saudi giant company “Almarai.” Seriously guys, what were you thinking choosing this image for your campaign? What is the brand message that you were trying to deliver?

The campaign has been launched a couple of days ago and it is meant to raise the awareness of the fact that “Loozeen” has added more stuffing into its products. You know, more cheese, more chocolate etc. The execution of the idea, assuming that there is an idea to begin with!, is one of the poorest campaign that I have ever seen in the Saudi market. And these are the reasons:

  • There is no apparent relation between the campaign and the message they wanted to deliver. So you have more cheese in your snacks; how that is related to the homeless looking guy featured on your ads everywhere!!!
  • Even if we forced ourselves to accept whatever message they were trying to deliver, the picture is poorly taken and has no appealing, no personality, no innovation, and no artistic touch.
  • Now please explain this to me; this is a food related product, right? So why the picture is soooooooo disgusting? What kind of a mental association were they trying to leave on their customers’ minds? And how is that freaky looking homeless has been chosen to represent and carry a message of a food brand anyway?

What is really striking is that “Loozeen” has a quite good position in the market already. I can even go further and claim that they do not have a serious competitor in this particular category of the market. Moreover, their earliest campaign with the tagline of ‘have a snack … have Loozeen’ was so successful to the point that you would hear people say it whenever the idea of having a snack comes across their minds! That’s definitely a huge and extraordinary brand positioning success. So why ruining all that with this poorly executed campaign?

Finally, my ‘free spirit statement,’ although I have a brother-in-law working in Western Bakeries, he had not influenced this post in anyway possible, and I really hope that he will not get mad at me if he ever read this post :)

What do you think? And you could start by stating the first thing that came to your mind when you saw the ad picture?

 
42 Comments

Posted in Advertisement, Branding, Marketing

 
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