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Lucy Nixon

Lucy Nixon

New Study Shows BP Still the Bad Guys in Consumers’ Minds

bp-signI’ve written about studies related to the BP brand and consumer opinions related to BP since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that happened earlier this year — first about how BP tried to rebuild its reputation in May and then again in June about how BP’s brand image was faring after the spill could not be stopped for weeks and weeks.  Then in July, I wrote about how consumers didn’t trust more brands than just BP, which might have given BP some hope in terms of repairing its tarnished brand (even though the oil spill had yet to be cleaned up — months after it first happened).  Well, it’s August, so I guess it’s time for what has become my monthly post about the BP brand.

This month, results from an August poll conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications revealed that 66% of respondents disapproved (40% disapproved “strongly”), “of the way BP is handling the oil spill that was caused by the rig it was operating in the Gulf of Mexico.”  That’s down from the 83% who disapproved in a June poll, but it’s still far from giving BP any peace of mind that the oil spill is behind them yet even if that oil is no longer gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Other brands have rebounded from similar events (Exxon comes to mind quickly), and it’s likely BP will rise again.  However, the brand clean up will continue indefinitely just like the Gulf of Mexico clean up will.  Fortunately, no one at BP had to die as a result of the event — something that can’t be said for wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico.

The public is fickle and consumers are quick to move on from one event to another.  BP is lucky in that regard.  Of course, only time will tell if BP will actually turn around its practices, launch a new brand promise, and then actually walk the walk of that new brand promise.

What do you think?  Will consumers trust BP again or will they expect smoke and mirrors from the brand and company?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Flickr

A New Landscape for Increasing Customer Loyalty?

These days most people are happy to carry a lot of processing power in their pocket – in their phones – and use it to connect with each other and with retail brands. Companies have a lot of information about the products people want, both their own data and that provided by their customers, such as reviews and comments. It makes sense to link the two.

I recently invited Neil Jones, head of marketing for eMobileScan, who are leading barcode scanner and data capture specialists, to write about a possible near-future for retailers. As you’ll see, some are already there…

mobile shopping barcodeNo less than 2,000 stores spread all over the US, Japan, Brazil, and New Zealand are experiencing substantial growths in sales as a result of increased customer loyalty. What do they have in common? All of them are implementing mobile self-service shopping. What is it and how is it increasing customer loyalty? That’s what I’m about to share with you.

Why Gaining Customer Loyalty is Now Every Retailer’s Ultimate Goal

Most customers care only for one thing when deciding where to shop – that they get their money’s worth. But once a store manages to instill in the customer’s mind, “This is where I can always get true value for my money.”, that perception would be hard to erase.

Once you gain a customer’s loyalty, that customer will keep coming back no matter what. He’ll be awed at the little innovations you make. And he’ll even tell his friends, office mates, and relatives about it. So what should you, retailers, do to gain a customer’s loyalty? You simply make him happy … every single time he walks through your doors, whether in or out.

Well Informed + Full Control = Happy Shopper

Making customers happy – we know that’s easier said than done. But picture this:

How would you feel, as a customer, if you were able to make all the smart decisions when buying something? How would you feel if, each time you checked out, you know you ended up picking the best product all the time (or at least most of the time)?

To make smart decisions, customers have to be fed the right amount of relevant information when looking for something. That way, they can make intelligent decisions faster. In this fast-paced world, too little, too much, or simply unrelated information just won’t do.

Retailers who know this prioritise investments on CRM, speed through checkouts, inventory visibility, out-of-stocks reduction, workforce management software and hardware, cross-channel integration, fresh item management, PCI compliance, country of origin labeling, and so on.

Customers, on the other hand, already have their own criteria in arriving at a “smart buy”. That’s why retailers have to meet them halfway. There should be an interface between the two, and that’s where the concept of mobile self-service shopping enters the picture.

The Mobile Self-Service Shopping Experience

In mobile self-service shopping, a customer takes a mobile scanner upon entering the store. He then uses it to scan barcodes on items, interact with self-weigh scales, monitor his shopping list, and finally to pay in a checkout or self-payment station. All this time, he packs as he shops, making shopping a very personal experience.

Using similar mobile devices that are more advanced, relevant information can be fed to the customer through them. Information such as: nutritional advice (not just facts), warnings of possible allergens or forbidden food products (say, for those with diabetes), product age, relevant offers, and even suggestions for a preset recipe, can give the customer full control over his shopping.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Think of all the possible applications that can be fed to such devices. Finding out if another variant is in stock, reading product reviews, getting estimates (e.g. How many pieces of tiles are needed for a given floor area?), generating a project-based list (e.g. a list of products for replacing a door), and so on.

If this doesn’t make a customer happy, I don’t know what will.

Big Benefits for the Retailer

These systems are very beneficial to the retailer as well. Aside from enjoying increased customer loyalty, he would also be able to free certain personnel from the usual tasks of answering customer queries and have them do other important assignments instead.

Other related retailer-based mobile solutions can be used to support and enhance inventory management, price management, warehousing, point-of-sale, and staff connectivity.

If this doesn’t make the retailer happy, I don’t know what will.

Thanks Neil!

Over to you: as a customer, would you use such a scanner or would you rather use your phone? If you’re a retailer, what advantages/disadvantages do you see? What changes would you need to make to your web estate to make this work for you?

Social Media Advertising Trusted Less than Engagement

computer-keyboard-handsResults from a new poll by Harris Interactive for the Online Publishers Association (OPA) shouldn’t be too surprising for marketers and brand managers who have been involved with social media marketing in recent years.

According to the study, consumers trust ads on social media sites less than ads on other websites.  In fact, only 8% of respondents felt that companies that placed ads on social media sites are reputable.  That’s significantly lower than the 21% of respondents who felt that advertisers on traditional content sites are reputable.  Respondents also felt that advertisers on social media sites are less respected and the ads displayed on social media sites are not relevant.

When asked how satisfied they are with various social media sites, the results were somewhat surprising with Wikipedia, a site known for inaccuracies from user-submitted content, ranked quite high.  Of course, perhaps respondents have expectations for Wikipedia, accept the possible inaccuracy of information found there, and rated the site with that in mind.  Check out the results below:

  • 77% of respondents were satisfied with Wikipedia
  • 73% of respondents were satisfied with YouTube
  • 64% of respondents were satisfied with Facebook
  • 63% of respondents were satisfied with MySpace

The reality is that brands need to engage with consumers on social media sites in a manner that meets users’ expectations for the site and for the brand.  Social sites aren’t going away and even if users aren’t completely satisfied with existing social media sites and tools, they’re going to keep using them until something better comes along.  Until then, engaging with consumers, earning their trust, and building relationships with them on social sites continues to be more effective than advertising on the same sites and continues to present an opportunity that brands shouldn’t ignore.

You can follow the link to read more about building brand trust.

Image: stock.xchng

What Makes for Effective Investor Relations Sites? Part 23: More on Strategy

A while back (Part 18, to be precise) I wrote about the need for corporate investor relations sites to speak about strategy. The basic premise of the piece was that when buying a stock, investors are purchasing a claim on the future cash flows of the company and therefore need visibility into the future plans of the company. Many companies are reluctant to discuss strategy on their investor web sites, however, so when I came across a great example of a strategy discussion, I thought it would be an opportune time to revisit the topic.

Whenever I discuss this topic there is usually some push back from investor relations officers and executives along the lines of “We can’t tell them that – then our competitors would know what we are going to do” or “That’s way more detail than the regulations require us to disclose and therefore we’re not going to do it”. I understand these concerns (well, at least the first one) but feel that the importance of stating your strategy outweighs most concerns about how many of the corporate information you divulge. Besides, there are ways to discuss strategy that do not let the competition in on your innermost secrets.

ENI Strategy
click to enlarge

Take for example the way ENI, the Italian energy company, discusses strategy. They start with a general overall write up of their growth strategy, followed by a tabbed table that sets out their targets in a number of areas and follows that with more detailed discussion of the strategies to achieve their targets.

ENI Strategy
click to enlarge

The strategy discussion is followed up by a page that lays out the company’s growth drivers, so investors can get a sense of how ENI will achieve its strategic objectives.

ENI Strategy
click to enlarge

Finally, the company examines their outlook for the next year, which allows the reader to understand how everything is supposed to fit together.

The overall effect of all of this is to give the diligent investor a sense that ENI has carefully thought out its strategy and is confident enough in its ability to execute the strategy to put it out where everyone can see it. I think this is a very effective strategy section that many companies can learn from.

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Brand Confusion Always Benefits the Category Leader

question-mark-confusionEvery marketer should know the theory that a focused brand is usually a stronger brand.  But what happens when the entire category is unfocused and confusing to consumers?

The leader always wins.

Here’s why — the majority of consumers aren’t interested in doing the research to figure out claims, terms, guarantees, and so forth.  If they feel overwhelmed within a category, they’ll usually choose the most well-known brand assuming there must be a reason why it’s the most popular.  The problem is that the leader isn’t always the right choice for every customer.

That’s why it’s essential that you make sure your category is not confusing to consumers, particularly if your brand is not the category leader.  Sure, in so doing you might actually lose some potential customers who realize another brand is better for them, but in the long-run, you’ll do better because consumers who may have settled for the category leader in the midst of confusion can now make an informed choice and choose your brand.  These customers are more likely to be happy, make repeat purchases, become loyal customers, and spread the word about your brand.

The wireless carrier market is a perfect example of a category that is incredibly confusing to consumers.  No one really understands all the fees, terms, and conditions in wireless carrier contracts, so consumers typically choose a category with a brand name they’re more familiar with.  That brand instills more trust in consumers than the lesser-known brands, even if one of those lesser-known brands has a better plan for a specific customer.  It’s just too confusing to compare plans, so consumers settle for one of the leaders.

The same could be said of financial companies that offer mortgages, bank accounts, and other financial products.  Financial contracts are impossible for most consumers to understand, so they stick with leading financial institutions even though a smaller bank might have a better product or option for them.

The lesson to learn is this: if you’re not the category leader, make sure consumers can easily understand the various brands and products offered in the marketplace so they can make informed purchase decisions.  Be honest and you’ll be more successful than if you simply try to persuade consumers to choose your brand without all the facts.

Afterall, 2010 is the year of brand transparency, honesty and trust!

Image: stock.xchng