Economic conditions affect marketing and advertising in very interesting ways. Seth Godin's piece on value fractions brought to mind the subtle difference between benefit and perceived benefit. Given the simplistic equation: value = benefit/price, in tough economic times, there are two options for staying afloat. Reduce price or increase benefit. But most times, it isn't cheap to increase benefit. And especially for products that do not have a pool of resources to dive into - it's more economical to increase perceived benefit.
Push your marketers to the limit and squeeze the most you can out of the benefits your product offers. If possible, add a few really simple and cheap add-ons to your product - especially if it increases the perceived benefit to the consumer. Products that have multiple features have a leg up on the competitions. For example - I own a camcorder that is also a camera and an mp3 player. I don't know why I bought it, it's a piece of junk. But if marketed correctly, such a product can be attractive to consumers looking to save some money in tough economic times.
Push your marketers to the limit and squeeze the most you can out of the benefits your product offers. If possible, add a few really simple and cheap add-ons to your product - especially if it increases the perceived benefit to the consumer. Products that have multiple features have a leg up on the competitions. For example - I own a camcorder that is also a camera and an mp3 player. I don't know why I bought it, it's a piece of junk. But if marketed correctly, such a product can be attractive to consumers looking to save some money in tough economic times.
In essence, you are swindling the customer -- just what we need in this economy, Great!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteVery true, IF done irresponsibly, this comes down to nothing but a scam. That's where responsible marketing comes in. It is always possible that there are benefits your product has that a marketer never thought of during the initial campaign. For example, there may be new ways that consumers have begun to use the product that you never imagined. During tough economic times, marketers need to tap into those sources. Even the camcorder example, I don't like that product - but maybe someone else who can't afford all three of its capabilities (separately) would love it. Perceived benefits should not be interpreted as lying because at the end of the day, they are still benefits to the consumer.
ReplyDelete