Voices: the CMB Blog

If you live in Eastern New England, I am willing to bet you’ve seen a Jordan’s Furniture ad. Like Giant Glass (1-800-54-Giant!) and Bernie and Phyll's (quality, comfort and price—that’s nice!), it’s a brand we New Englanders recognize instantly. For those of you outside the Northeast, Jordan’s is a 5 store chain in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.  And while they are known for their creative ads, the store's core message is always the same:

• We have a wide variety of products at low prices

• We’re local and we serve the locals

• We offer “shopper-tainment”—an experience above and beyond a typical store

Our work with brands at CMB tells us that defining the brand promise and how it matches up with a customer’s experience is more effective than measuring satisfaction in a vacuum. And when CMB works with clients to measure and understand customer experience we take the components of the brand’s value proposition and measure them for all the possible ways customers experience the brand—from how customers research products, to the promotions, to the in-store shopping experience. 

A recent trip to Jordan’s with my husband and 2 year-old, had me thinking about the multiple elements that make up the customer experience. I hadn’t been to Jordan’s in years, but I remembered a lot of activity, including a trapeze.  Back then, I walked right by and did what I needed to do.  But this time the “activity,” which was a bit distracting the first time around, was a welcome addition for entertaining my daughter. There’s an enormous Wally the Green Monster, mini-cars for the kids to drive, ice cream, and a ton of other fun stuff that allowed me to shop – dare I say—leisurely.  

My trip to Jordan’s highlighted how the different elements of shopping have changed for me over the past few years—I’ve gone from single girl to married with a 2 year old and another baby due any minute. Long gone are the days of casual shopping.  But now the experience is a greater consideration for where I will shop, and the shopping experience is something Jordan’s has mastered.

I can’t ignore the big question, did I buy anything? Not this time, but let’s just say that Jordan’s is high on my list the next time I need to shop for furniture. Would this type of experience deter the singletons who could do without the trapeze and fountain show? Maybe, but, Jordan’s knows their market, how to speak to them, and how to deliver. They kept their brand promise and have increased my likelihood to return. Well done.

Tara Lasker is Director of Project Operations at CMB, she welcomed a brand new baby boy on Monday, and will no doubt have many more opportunities for buying furniture in the future.

Customer feedback is a popular topic these days, and it makes me think about my own experiences and how companies’ responses continue to shape my perceptions.  I might have ongoing positive experiences with a company, which, clearly, results in fairly positive perceptions.  So what about when I have a negative experience?  What then? 

Recently I had a really good customer service experience that resulted from giving some pretty negative feedback.  I purchased a laptop bag at what I felt was a reasonably high price, but I loved the bag so it was worth it to me.  Imagine my disappointment when after only 2.5 months, it broke (under very normal wear and tear).  Imagine my further disappointment when I found out that the warranty was only good for 60 days… I was so frustrated!  So I thought about it, and decided to write to the company.  I politely explained the situation, acknowledged that the warranty was expired, and told them my goal was really just to communicate the issue and my disappointment—I paid good money for a bad product, and I really hoped that they would strive to develop a better quality product in the future.  

To my (very pleasant) surprise, not only did I receive an apologetic response, but they also acknowledged some recent manufacturing issues they had recognized due to ongoing customer feedback.  The company had actually decided to change manufacturers to address the problems customers were facing.  That response alone would have been sufficient for me…they were proactively addressing the problem.  But then, in addition, they offered to replace my laptop bag once the shipments arrived from the new manufacturer.  A great bonus! 

The more I thought about it, the more I realized what this company did right and what stood out:

-          They responded

-          They used manners (thanked me for my business, apologized for the problem, etc.)

-          They offered a resolution

I realized how much of an impact those three little things had on me.  I felt really good about the service I received and, despite the problems I experienced, felt better about the company I was working with.  At the end of the day, I was ultimately less focused on the problem I had experienced and more focused on the resolution… knowing that this company was listening to their customers, and acting on the issues.  Their actions made me want to continue purchasing from them and supporting their products. 

What it comes down to is that companies are, at the core, human… product development, customer service, and all the other pieces of the companies we love (and sometimes hate) are human, and they do make mistakes.  What matters is what they do about it.  So what good is my customer feedback?  In this case, it’s what is keeping me loyal. 

Posted by Dana Vaille. Dana is a Senior Project Manager with CMB's Financial Services & Insurance practice. 

For more on our Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty offerings click here.

On Sunday, The New York Times Magazine published a piece: How Companies Learn Your Secrets, by Charles Duhigg, author of the forthcoming The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.  It’s an interesting article, especially for market researchers, and I recommend everyone take the time to read it.

Consumer "habits” are a big focus of the work we (market researchers) do as we seek to understand consumer behavior. From the perspective of the article, a large part of what we do is identify behavioral habits to help marketers find ways to insert their product or service into people's habit processes. 

In this blog, I want to focus on the insights the story shared about predictive analytics. Much of Duhigg's article looks at how Target conducts advanced analytics to identify data within their CRM system to predict whether a shopper is expecting a baby.  From a business process POV, and how we think about using predictive analytics, it’s important to point out a few relevant facts for market researchers:

1. It wasn’t a “fishing expedition”: The analysis started with a clear marketing benefit as the outcome – Target wanted to begin promoting itself to expectant mothers before the baby is born. As the article points out, by marketing to these families before the baby becomes public knowledge, Target can get beat the flood of marketers that begin pitching a range of products and services once the birth is entered into public record.  It was the marketing team that came to the analyst with a high-value opportunity.  The analyst did not create the winning marketing idea (“Hey! Let’s market to expectant mothers before the baby is born!”).  Instead, the analyst looked under every stone and in every corner of the data to find the key to unlock the opportunity.

2. The research didn’t stop with finding the key: The application of these insights required a lot more research to determine the best method of implementing the campaign.  For instance, Target ran several test campaigns to identify the best offers to send to the expectant mothers, and cycled through several messages to find just the right one in order to avoid revealing that Target was prying into the data.  Although the predictive analytics found the key, Target still relied on a comprehensive plan to make sure the findings were used in the best possible manner.

3. Don’t let this story increase your expectations: The Target approach has had a big impact on how the company markets to a highly valuable segment of shoppers.  It's a great success story, but it's also something that happened ten years ago.  While I’m sure the Guest Market Analytics team achieves many victories along the way, they also spent a lot of time reaching “dead-ends,” unable to find that magic key.  And most of the time, the predictive solution yields valuable but incremental gains, these high-profile stories are few and far between.

The article shares many interesting ideas and insights; the story about the re-positioning of Febreze highlights another great research success. I'm looking forward to reading Duhigg's book, and if it covers more of these thought provoking business cases, I expect we will be seeing Charles Duhigg’s name popping up in other discussions on market research.

Did you read the article? What do you think?

Did you miss our latest Webinar? Learn how Aflac Unleashed the Power of Discrete Choice, Positioning their Brand for the Future 

 

Posted by Jeff McKenna, Jeff is a Senior Consultant at CMB, and the creator and host of our Tools and Techniques Webinar Series.

 

 

Seems like everywhere I turn I see a QR code. From product packaging to billboards in the airport, those funny little black and white designs are popping up all over—even on T shirts.  So we set out to ask consumers what they think about the 2D bar codes known as Quick Response or QR codes in our latest Consumer Pulse: Scan Me-9 Things To Know about Consumer Behavior and QR codes.

There is no doubt it’s a very cool tool brands and companies can use to engage and share information with consumers, but even the coolest  tools and applications need to provide meaningful information to be successful.  Just like Twitter, Facebook and other social media marketing tools it always comes back to insightful content that consumers will value. The success of QR codes will depend on the content behind the scan.

What do consumers think?  CMB partnered with iModerate Research Technologies to see why consumers scan QR codes and what they expect from the little black and white squares.

As a marketer here are a few facts that stood out to me. Watch This:

Nearly 1 in 5 who scanned a QR code made a purchase after scanning (Tweet this)

81% say they’ve seen a QR code, but only 21% knew what they were called (Tweet this)

Half of smartphone users have scanned a QR code (Tweet this)

70% of those who scanned QR codes, said it was very easy (Tweet this)

Results are mixed on QR codes' usefulness, 41% say the information they got was useful (Tweet this)

Magazines and newspapers are the most common QR source for those who’ve scanned a code (Tweet this)

46% of those who’ve scanned a QR code did so because they were curious (Tweet this)

We found smartphone owners and non-smartphone owners alike are curious about QR codes for information and for discounts, free gifts and exclusive deals, and they find the process of scanning to be really easy. But as more and more consumers get smartphones and the ability to scan, marketers must go beyond the novelty of the application if they expect customers to scan again and make it a regular part of the purchase process.

I’d love to know, are QR codes part of your 2012 marketing plan? Will QR codes gain steam in 2012 or fizzle out?

Download the full report here.

 

 

Posted by Kristen Garvey. Kristen is CMB's VP of Marketing, a mom of two, and thinks QR codes  can be as useful as the content behind them, and that they will have their place in the marketing toolbox for 2012.

 

 

Just as the news of Wegmans opening its first store in New England starts to settle, the excitement is ramping up all over again for a new “urban concept” store opening in Newton, MA. Since my husband first heard Wegmans was coming to MA he has been really looking forward to shopping there, I mean REALLY looking forward to shopping there. He even still has his shoppers club card from college (which was quite a few years ago I might add).  And John is not alone in his love for Wegmans. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people so passionate about a grocery store. You could almost compare it to the opening of an Apple store in the retail space. In fact, the Boston Globe and Boston Herald wrote about the supersized crowds who lined up at the crack of dawn to the new Northborough store. As a marketer, it’s the kind of customer passion we all dream about.

Of course I had to go see for myself; and I do think it’s one of those things you need to experience to “get it.” As simple as it seems, it is a very pleasant shopping experience. I find myself slowing down there and dare I say even enjoying my shopping experience. From the gas fire place in the food court to their extremely helpful and friendly employees; Wegmans has the secret sauce in making their experience different:

Three key ingredients to Wegmans Secret Sauce

2 Cups of Engaged Employees: When I shopped in the new Northborough store it was hard not to notice how outgoing and friendly the staff was. It was clear to me Wegmans must invest a lot in making their employees happy. A happy and engaged employee makes such a huge impression.  It was written on the smiles on their faces. When I was doing a little research for this post I was not surprised to find Wegmans has consistently won CNN/Money’s Best Places work.

1 Cup of Senior Staff: Maybe this was because I was new, but I also noticed the store had a lot of senior staff ready to help if anyone (more junior employees or customers) had a question. They led by example by also being extremely friendly and asking me about my shopping experience.

1 Cup of a Great Shopping Experience: All of this contributes to an all-around better and more pleasant shopping experience. I admit I thought the customers waiting in line on opening day were a bit crazy, but after shopping there I can see what the fuss is about. I don’t think I will be waiting in line at the opening of the Newton store, but I would drive out of my way to shop there.  For me it just feels better shopping there. The quality of their products, the cleanliness and brightness of the store and that food court of fresh prepared food is amazing, but above all I feel better shopping at a store where the employees enjoy working.

The funny thing is my Wegmans experience reminds me a lot of CMB. We know our clients have lots of choices of where to shop for their research and we truly appreciate when the choose us. Often after that experience it becomes clear that the experience of working with CMB makes us different.  I think we share the same recipe for the “Secret Sauce.”

For more on the power of the customer experience and  customer satisfaction, read T.J. Andre and Jeff McKenna's take on customer satisfaction in their article Not Very Satisfying in Quirks.

 

Posted by Kristen Garvey. Kristen is CMB's VP of Marketing, a mom of two and she will be heading to Wegmans to get her food and wine for the holidays. BTW if she’s not back by 5 you may find her by the gas fireplace enjoying a cup of coffee and a few minutes to decompress from the holiday rush.