Choice, Predictability, Free Will and Your Customer

Gary Gutting, a professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, had a fascinating article in the NY Times earlier this month. Entitled “What makes free will free?,” Gutting’s piece goes into the many factors that influence the way we make choices.

Considering Brand Modeling’s focus on understanding consumer behavior better in order to increase organizational profitability and greater market share, this is a conversation that’s of great interest to us.

Science and Philosophy: The Question of Free Will

Neuroscientists have been researching the connection between the patterns of brain activity a person exhibits and the decisions he or she makes. According to at least one researcher, there is a consistent, observable set of brain activity patterns that make it possible to predict, with a 60-80% accuracy rate, what a decision will be—before that decision is made. From this observation comes the theory that brain events play an important role in consumer choice.

This predictability bothers Dr. Gutting, who asks …suppose later experiments predict our choices with 100 percent probability? How could a choice be free if a scientist could predict it with certainty?

Mankind has long suspected a connection between biological factors and decision making. From the medieval theory of “humors” (there were four, and the type and quantity of humor you had in your system determined what type of person you were) to today’s emphasis on brain activity, we search continually for an explanation of why people act the way they do.

We believe that biological factors certainly play a role in our decision making process, but that they are far from the only factor worth considering.  We are creatures of nurture as well as nature: the experiences we have, the lessons we’ve learned, and the culture we’re immersed in all have their part in influencing the decisions we make.

It is only by considering the human experience in its entirety that we have any hope of understanding and predicting behaviors.  Can it be done and if it can be done, what does that mean for free will?

Predicting Consumer Behavior

Brand Modeling teaches us that it is possible to predict, with a high degree of certainty, what a specific, targeted group of consumers is likely to do in a given situation. Doing this means delving into these consumer’s psyche and unconscious psychological motivators to determine what they find most appealing and why.  Doing this enables us to craft messages and offers in a way that consumers have demonstrated they respond positively to.

Free will remains. The ability to predict behavior doesn’t mean that behavior itself is being manipulated. After all, as Gutting said, his wife could be absolutely certain that he will choose steak over chicken livers for dinner, 100% of the time.  Her certainty doesn’t influence his choice; perhaps it is a life long aversion to chicken liver that’s at play here.

What matters here is the fact that having accurate, actionable information about consumer behavior allows us to create more satisfying choices for our customers. That way, when they exercise that free will, they’ll be more likely to choose us.  That’s putting customers first and that’s how dominant organizations win.

October 26, 2011 by

ESPN & Hank Williams Jr: Is It A Smart Bet To Keep The Change?

In case there’s any confusion, let’s handle one thing right from the start. Adolf Hitler is the short genocidal maniac whose name is synonymous with evil, responsible for the deaths of millions of people. Barack Obama is the President of the United States.

Hank Williams Jr. compared the two men in a recent interview, which led to ESPN letting the singer go from his long standing Monday Night Football gig.  The nearly iconic “Are you ready for some football?” is no more.

Was ESPN right to let Hank Williams Jr. go? Most would say they had no choice.  The ESPN and NFL brands are valuable, highly protected brands. The last thing either organization wants is controversy—especially political controversy.  These are organizations that have become highly successful by being highly aware of and responsive to what their most ardent, loyal customers and fans (a group we would call Brand Lovers) value most.

What does that mean for Hank Williams Jr.?

Keeping Hank Williams Jr. on board would have created controversy.  Letting him go created controversy.  Which controversy was less problematic?  This is the type of decision that business leaders need to face all of the time.  In an ideal world, ESPN’s leadership would never have to face this issue, but since they did, they made a smart move by making the choice that reinforces most what fans of Monday Night Football value about the show.

No one watches Monday Night Football for political commentary, insightful or otherwise. No one tunes in to see pundits argue their positions or to discuss the socio-economic state of the nation.  That’s not why 10.8 million viewers turned on the Bears-Lions game.  Those viewers were in search of excitement, a good time, and some measure of escape from a stressful world.  Would the Lions continue their winning streak, becoming only the second team in the league to go 5-0? In the larger scale of things, the answer to that question doesn’t really matter and that’s exactly why people are watching ESPN rather than CSPAN on Monday nights.

After the split, Hank Williams Jr. released a song called “Keep the Change.” While it’s not exactly his most compelling work musically to date, the song is a masterpiece when it comes to articulating the fears, frustrations, and feelings of Hank Williams Jr’s biggest fans.  When we talk about connecting with our customers, understanding what drives their decision making, knowing what anxieties keep them up at night and what experiences give them profound and lasting joy, we do so because we know that this is the type of knowledge that will allow us to understand, anticipate, and meet customer wants and needs better than anyone else.

The Hank Williams Jr. fan who has by now already downloaded “Keep the Change” (and shared it on Facebook, and made it their ringtone) heard that song and loved it, because it spoke to them.  The bond between Hank Williams Jr. and his fans has been strengthened by this incident.  He may have gained a few fans in the process.  While Williams lost a valuable gig and relationship, he has strengthened his individual brand.

October 19, 2011 by

Take Two for Netflix? Brand Modeling and Recovering From Mistakes

“There is a difference between moving too quickly—which Netflix has done very well for years—and moving too fast, which is what we did in this case.”  With those words, Netflix has backed away from its controversial plan to split the company into two parts. The DVD rental-by-mail business, which was going to be called Qwikster, will remain part of the Netflix business.  It’s a reversal that makes sense.

You Lost Me At Hello: Why Qwikster Wouldn’t Work

When Reed Hastings announced the plan to split Netflix into two discrete companies, he violated one of the principal tenets of Brand Modeling: Know what your customers value most about doing business with your organization.  In the days and weeks that followed the initial announcement, one thing became clear: Netflix’s customers did not want two services providing what they used to get in a single location.  They were strongly opposed to the idea.

Imagine the headaches, stress, and damaged investor relations that could have been spared had Netflix’s leadership known ahead of time what their customer base’s reaction to the change would have been.  Let’s make no mistake.  Reed Hastings is not a stupid man.  Had he known the magnitude of the fallout from what he saw (and from the tone of Netflix’s communications to their members, continues to see) as a simple and necessary change, things would have been handled differently.

Eliminating Uncertainty: The Role of Brand Modeling

Every business has growing pains.  When you’re an industry leader like Netflix, those growing pains are going to be more visible, studied, and scrutinized by everyone: your customers, your critics, the business press, the investment community.

Growing pains occur because businesses exist in an environment of perpetual uncertainty.  We lack an absolute, definitive way to predict the outcome of our choices and actions ahead of time.  We’re in a position where we must make choices and take action and then see what happens.

However, the lack of perfect, absolute knowledge about consumer reactions and behavior doesn’t mean we’re completely clueless, either.  Brand Modeling provides us with the tools to delve deeply and intensely into the psychological factors that motivate customer behavior.  The more we know and understand about our customer base, the more accurately we can predict how they will respond to any change in operations.

It’s unfortunately easy to mistake what may seem to be the obvious right decision for your business for what your customers actually want.  This disconnect can have catastrophic consequences. It’s easy to see that Reed Hastings believes that streaming media is the future of his company.  There may be good, logical, strategic reasons to split off the DVD rental business.  However, Netflix’s customers don’t want the good, logical, strategic reasons.  They want what they’ve always wanted: a simple, enjoyable way to watch movies.

Can Netflix recover? We think they can. Reed Hasting’s emails is a small first step.  Listening to their customers, especially their most fervent, loyal customers (folks we call Brand Lovers) would be a great next step.

October 12, 2011 by

Saying Goodbye: Steve Jobs

PhotobucketBy now, you’ve heard the same news that has saddened us.  Apple founder and visionary Steve Jobs has passed away.

We’ve made no secret of our admiration of Apple. There’s  just so much that Apple does right. That’s why they’re one of the few, elite organizations called Cult Brands. The responsibility for Apple’s success is due to the leadership of Steve Jobs.  It is with sincere and lasting admiration and respect that we offer our condolences and best wishes to Steve’s family, friends, and the extended Apple community.

It’s impossible to think about Steve Jobs without marveling at the impact this man, this one single man, has had upon the world.  His influence shows not only in the technology we use, but in the way we do business, communicate with each other, and view the role of individuality and creativity in our individual and collective lives.

Steve Jobs didn’t do this by selling MacBooks and iPhones to the masses.  He did it by selling his customers what they wanted the most: personal empowerment and self-fulfillment.  Steve Jobs’ genius, if we must pick a single one to name, was to thoroughly understand his customers.  He was tapped so deeply and completely into his loyal customer bases’ psyche that he understood what they wanted and why they wanted it. Using this knowledge is what propelled Apple into a dominant organization in the marketplace.

When customers buy Apple, they’re buying into the belief system that they can be amazing.  That’s Steve Jobs’ gift to the world. There are no limits anymore.  There are no barriers of entry to a life filled with creativity, connectivity, music, video, games, and play. You just need the right technology, and you can transcend class, background, or a serious lack of talent. It’s a message strong enough to build a community around  and a community people couldn’t wait to join.

For Steve, bringing people to the Apple community looked effortless.  Some said he had an intuitive marketing sense; others that he was a born salesman. We think it comes down to Steve’s (and by extension, Apple’s) practice of putting the customer first.  His ability to focus on what his customers wanted, in every aspect of their engagement with his company, and deliver that consistently in ways that surpassed their expectations serves as an example that we can all aspire to.

October 6, 2011 by

Not-So-Simple Pickup: The Art and Science of Knowing Your Customer

What would you do to get one of the women in this picture to give you her phone number?

Would you read a book on the art of talking to women?  Would you attend a $6,500, 3-day seminar on the topic? Or would you choose what for many men is the scariest option: walking up to the woman, and using a little self-depreciating humor and basic social skills, talk to her like she’s an actual human being?

The last option is what you can learn from Simple Pickup, an internet phenomenon that is quickly gaining ground in a crowded and competitive marketplace.  Simple Pickup produces wildly popular videos which demonstrate real life examples of ways to successfully talk to women and get their phone number.

While this isn’t an industry we usually watch closely, there are several elements of Simple Pickup’s success that adhere to the tenets of Brand Modeling.

Know Your Customer, Know Your Brand

Dominant organizations win in their markets because they put their customers first.  Putting customers first requires understanding, on a deep and fundamental level, the unconscious and seldom articulated motivating factors that influence their purchasing behavior. By delving into those needs (particularly as they manifest among the organization’s most profitable, fervent customers—a group we call Brand Lovers) it becomes possible to discern, with a high degree of certainty, the best way to meet customer needs in a way that leaves them so completely satisfied that they would never consider doing business with anyone else.

What does that mean, if your customer is a man looking to improve his dating game?

First, you must know who your customers are.  Many men want to meet women, but not all men want to do so through the time-revered (if admittedly trite) route of the pick up. According to Salon,which terms the pickup training industry “the seduction community”:

The promise of 21st century sexual liberation has been primarily enjoyed by a sliver of the male population—the alpha males, while beta males (and omega males) feel shut out. The seduction community is designed for men who didn’t grow up with an older brother or sister teaching them the ropes; men who don’t think they’re attractive; men who are simply too scared to even think about failure.

Identifying the specific emotional and experiential points where their customers felt a need makes Simple Pickup’s decision to embrace video at a teaching tool—something none of their competitors have done—seem the obvious choice.  Here, the team has a way to completely meet their customer’s needs: Not only are they demonstrating how to talk to women for men who feel unable to do so, they do so in a guiding, we’re-all-in-this-together fashion that creates a sense of community and ultimately, playfulness.

Kong, Jesse, and Jason, the three men behind Simple Pickup, have one goal in mind. Their goal is to inspire socially sheltered men to develop confidence and have fun in social situations. As long as they stay true to that mission, keeping the wants and needs of their best customers central to what they do, we don’t think anyone will be able to resist their approach—no matter how cheesy the pickup lines may be!

October 5, 2011 by

Does Netflix Know What It Is Doing?

PhotobucketAt first, we thought it was a joke—and not a particularly funny one at that.  Surely Netflix, one of the most successful and dominant brands in the world, wouldn’t make a bunch of boneheaded moves seemingly tailor made to alienate their customers. Not Netflix. We’re talking about the company that broke Blockbuster, the savvy, smart, forward looking firm that changed the way we consume media.

And yet here we are. Here we are with Reed Hastings’ shamefaced apology email, sent to millions of customers, explaining that the changes in pricing that had upset so many was only the beginning.  Going forward, the DVD rental business would be split off from Netflix, which would continue to provide streaming content.

It’s clear, reading Hastings’ words, that streaming content is central to his vision of Netflix’s future going forward. He’s not alone in believing that eventually, the lion’s share of all entertainment media we consume will be available online. We respect his vision for his industry’s future.  What we’re not so sure about is his grasp on the industry’s present.

Customers First: Valuing the Brand/Customer Relationship

We all come hardwired with deep, powerful, unconscious psychological motivators that influence our behavior—as individuals and as consumers. Our company calls these forces Humanistic Drivers. One of the most powerful Humanistic Drivers is the desire to belong to a group or community.

For a long time, we filled the need to belong by participating in community groups, social organizations, faith communities, and the like.  Increasingly, though, cultural changes have taught us to switch our attention and our affiliation away from these institutions. Instead, we’re placing a higher premium on the relationship we have with brands.

Netflix became successful because they made it easy for consumers to build a trusting relationship with them.  A high level of commitment to superior customer service, a deep and wide ranging product selection, and customized suggestions made customers feel cared about and valued. There was a sense of community: both consumer and Netflix were united in the search for something good to watch on a rainy Sunday night.

That sense of community took a serious hit with Hastings’ latest communications.  Surveying recent consumer sentiment reveals that consumers—including some of Netflix’s most devoted fans—feel deceived and lied to.  The claim that separating the DVD rental and streaming content will provide better service to customers falls flat.  The fragmentation is confusing, and there’s no tangible benefit immediately apparent to the customer.

Netflix built a successful community.  Now customers are seriously questioning whether they want to remain members of that community. The service that initially attracted them—renting DVDs by mail without late fees—is now, somehow, no longer relevant to the community they joined? Before making a change to the fundamental operations of your company, it is a good idea to forecast how those changes will be received by your Brand Lovers—those most fervent, loyal customers who contribute the most to your company’s profitability. We’re not getting a sense that this was done here.

Can Netflix recover? Perhaps.  But rebuilding damaged relationships takes time and skill.  Hastings and the rest of the Netflix leadership team need to begin the rebuilding process by taking a look at why they went so far off the rails in the first place.  The damage starts when you stop putting customers first.

September 26, 2011 by

Heinz’s New Packaging: Catching Up To Customer Demand

After decades of research and development, Heinz seems to think they’ve found the perfect recipe.  The perfect packaging recipe, that is.  Earlier this month, the world’s dominant ketchup manufacturer released their most recent packaging innovation: the Dip & Squeeze packet.

The new packets are larger than the familiar single-serve rectangles we’re all familiar with. They hold more product—three times as much, actually—and offer diners two ways to enjoy their ketchup. Tear off the narrow end and squeeze, and you’ll have the familiar ketchup packet experience.  Peel back the top label, and you can dip your fast food of choices—fries and nuggets work best, of course—directly into the ketchup.

What drove Heinz to make the change? They’re already occupy the top market position in most of the world. According to this Wall Street Journal article, the design of the traditional ketchup packet was causing problems.  Customers complained that the packets were too small, too messy, and hard to open. Heinz believes that traditional ketchup packets are so annoying that they stop people from ordering fries at drive-thrus.  It is those very people—fast food customers, particularly drive-thru customers—that Heinz needs to ultimately satisfy. Restaurants generally give ketchup packets away. They incur the expense because it’s an expected part of the American fast food dining experience. But if the performance of the ketchup is so sub-par that customers no longer purchase the fries, there is no incentive for the restauranteurs to keep buying and distributing the ketchup.

Brand Modeling: How To Put The Customer First

It was clear to Heinz that they needed to improve the drive-thru user’s experience with ketchup.  What wasn’t so clear was exactly what needed improvement. What needed to be changed, and how could those changes be made in a way that created a product that was still, ultimately, a money maker for Heinz?

There are potentially a million ways to change the way ketchup is packaged and presented ketchup to the drive-thru user.  Packets could be made smaller or larger, longer or shorter, softer or more rigid. The packet could be abandoned entirely, in favor of cups or tiny, individual bottles.  The problem is that not all of these changes are guaranteed to be seen by the end user as an improvement. Even if a change is seen as an improvement, what impact will that have on customer’s purchasing behavior?  How can companies know, in advance, that their innovation will be welcomed with open arms? Is there a way to tell what changes to a company’s products will lead their customers to buy more and which changes will cause them to reconsider doing business with you at all? (See: Heinz’ ill-fated colored ketchup line!)

Brand Modeling is the tool dominant organizations use to answer questions like these. By delving into the unconscious psychological behaviors that motivates any company’s best customers—for the Heinz example, we’d be looking specifically at the drive-thru customer—it becomes possible to predict, with a high degree of certainty, the impact changes will have before they’re made.  That leaves business leaders in a position where they can make objective, apples-to-apples comparisons, streamlining organizational decision making.

If the new Heinz Dip & Squeeze Packet is successful, it will be because Heinz understands what the people who use ketchup packets most often want from the experience.  The new packaging is delivering this in physical terms: there is more ketchup in each packet, and the packets are easier to open and use. Emotional wants and needs are being addressed as well.  The new packets give the consumer a choice about how they want to enjoy their ketchup. They have control. The dining experience moves that much closer to the ideal that the customer is always seeking. The experience enjoyed is the experienced repeated, which leads the restaurant to sell more fries.  It’s the perfect recipe for success!

September 22, 2011 by

The King is Dead. Long Live The Clown? Brand Modeling and Your Brand’s Personality

Earlier last month, Burger King retired the latest incarnation of their mascot.  The King had had a central role in BK’s messaging, starring in several ad campaigns. He is being replaced by what are being termed “food centric” spots, where fresh ingredients take center stage.

It must be hard to be upstaged by lettuce, beef, and a handful of avocados. Yet we imagine what really galls the king is the fact that Ronald McDonald, the curly haired clown icon of Burger King’s arch rival, continues strong in his role. What can that clown do that the king could not?

Brand Modeling: Connecting With Your Customers

Let’s look at both the Burger King and Ronald McDonald from a Brand Modeling perspective. Both companies have spent considerable time and resources developing mascot  characters. In order for these mascots to be effective marketing tools, they had to fit several criteria.

First and foremost, customers needed to like the mascot.  The role of the mascot (or any character used to identify our business) is to provoke pleasurable emotions in the viewer.  Bonding those pleasurable emotions to a brand’s identity helps motivate consumer behavior: when we enjoy an experience, we seek it out again and again.

Ronald McDonald has continually evolved over the years to provoke pleasurable emotions in a significant portion of their target audience: parents of children. Everything Ronald says or does is explicitly geared to benefit children. The Ronald McDonald House is an extremely well-publicized charity providing housing for the families of children with cancer. McDonald’s restaurants that feature playgrounds have Ronald McDonald imagery throughout, encouraging the kids to have fun and get active. The children in question are entertained while the parents get a moment’s respite—and the clear message that McDonald’s, and their kindly clown, care about you and your family.

Burger King, on the other hand, creeps into people’s beds and is caught peeping through their windows at night, all the while wearing a smile multiple commentators have termed “Creepy.” Some found the approach ironic and hipster-funny, but their numbers were few compared to the masses that found the King and his bizarre antics off-putting.  Ronald McDonald wants your kids to have fun and apple fries: Burger King is way too interested in what’s happening in your bedroom.

McDonald’s has demonstrated that they understand some of the core values that motivate their customer’s purchasing behavior.  Everyone who has kids needs  to feed them. There’s really no way out of it.  Dinner time comes every single day. What makes these parents choose McDonald’s?

Price and convenience play a role, of course. Far more important, however, is the customer’s desire to want to do something they see as positive and nurturing for their child. In Brand Modeling, we talk about humanistic drivers.  Humanistic drivers are unconscious motivators of our behavior.  The imperative to provide for our offspring is strong.

Ronald McDonald’s actions are in many ways in alignment with what parents want to do themselves.  He is perpetually cheerful and entertaining.  He’s encouraging healthy play and physical activity.  He’s offering food the kids want to eat. The connection is immediate and obvious.

The Burger King, in this incarnation, taps into that same unconscious motivator to nurture children.  However, with an appearance that’s off putting at best and frightening to small children, and behaviors that usually result in criminal charges, a parent doesn’t feel in alignment with Burger King. These are the type of people we’re told to keep the children away from.  The parent with the car full of pre-teen girls might not be able to articulate why they chose one drive through over another, but the contrasting messaging (and profitability picture) of the two chains make it clear that there’s more than French Fries going on.

It just goes to show that understanding your best customers is nothing to clown around with.

September 14, 2011 by

Apple After Jobs: Will The Brand Be As Successful?

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

So began Steve Jobs’ resignation letter. It is a short, simple document that has made headlines around the world. Will Apple be as successful, countless pundits have wondered, without Jobs at the helm?

There’s precedent to consider, none of it good.  During the ’80s, a Jobs-less Apple floundered.  It was only after Jobs returned to the company that the iEmpire began to grow in earnest. Today, Apple is the most valuable brand in the world. Has the infrastructure been put in place to allow Apple to maintain market dominance without Jobs’ day to day involvement?

It’s a question that will take time to answer.  While Jobs is stepping down as CEO, he has hand picked his successor, Tim Cook. He will remain as Chairman of the Board. One gets the sense that while Jobs is going, he’s not going any further than he absolutely has to.

At the same time, there have already been Apple fans declaring that the brand has already suffered.

It just feels more empty now; a little bit colder, a little bit less awesome. One blog commenter said, while another is already mourning the loss of Jobs’ genius. I’m concerned that a great man may no longer be around. It’s like losing a Newton or an Edison.

Many people view Jobs as the heart of the brand. He is the personification of “cool” for some and it is precisely because Apple knows who finds Jobs cool, inspiring, and right up there with Newton and Edison that we think the Apple brand is well positioned to remain as profitable as ever.

Customers First: Know Your Customers To Build Your Brand

Apple has done an extraordinary—perhaps even the world’s best—job of understanding who their customers are. This understanding goes into the conscious and unconscious motivators that influence purchasing behavior.  Apple’s stock in trade may be computers and entertainment devices, but as we discuss here, what they’re really selling is empowerment and self-fulfillment.

The most important thing that Apple needs to do during this transition period is maintain their commitment and focus on high-level customer understanding.  Brand Modeling tells us that it is essential for a company to remain constantly in touch with and aware of their very best customers.  This connectivity will allow Apple to stay in the empowerment and self-fulfillment business—where they have no viable competition and amazing profitability.

Steve Jobs’ role has been to consistently bring Apple back to that core, central value. The company has shown a tendency to wander away from this mission over the years, but Apple also excels at learning from its mistakes.  They’ve found their way to the best spot in the market. If they can remain focused on serving their best customers better than anyone else in the market does, Apple will stay there. It’s as simple as that.

September 7, 2011 by

Nationwide Insurance: Speeding Toward Success

One of NASCAR’s biggest stars, driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., has been a spokesperson for Nationwide Insurance for many years. Here’s one of the most recent commercials he’s done for Nationwide.

We really like this commercial because it articulates many of the key concepts of Brand Modeling. In the first ten seconds of the spot, Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains (and we’re paraphrasing here) that as a NASCAR owner and driver, he knows that there’s nothing more important than pleasing the fans. Pleasing the fans is the top priority, because without the fans, there’s no NASCAR. Just like without their customers, there’s no Nationwide.

Earnhardt continues to explain that Nationwide reports to their customers, not to Wall Street. Throughout the spot, the message is clear: the Nationwide approach puts customers in the driver’s seat.

Brand Modeling: Key Concepts

Nationwide’s approach is one we’ve seen consistently used by Cult Brands and dominant organizations.  Companies that win are doing so by focusing on the needs of their best customers. Identifying who an organization’s best customers are, learning what psychological factors motivate their decision making, and meeting their needs in the most satisfying fashion possible is a proven formula for success.

Nationwide currently enjoys a reported 4.5% of the automotive insurance market. This market is highly competitive, currently dominated by State Farm and Allstate. Together, the two companies control a little less than a third of the entire market. Nationwide is also vying with Geico, Progressive, and Farmer’s. What’s the best way for this insurance company to stand out from the pack, capture customer attention, and gain market share?

Identify The Most Valuable Customer

NASCAR became a phenomenon by focusing on the needs of their best customers: the thousands of loyal fans who never miss a race, who travel countless miles and spend thousands to see their favorite drivers live, who wear NASCAR apparel and participate in racing fan communities online. By catering exclusively and exhaustively to these fans, NASCAR has thrived. People are passionate about car racing.

They’re not necessarily as passionate about car insurance. Yet Nationwide needs to know just as much about their customers as NASCAR does. NASCAR can articulate, clearly and with pinpoint precision, what leads someone to join the NASCAR Nation. They know their fans love exciting races with fantastic finishes, exhaustive information about their favorite cars and drivers, and the sense of community that has built up around the sport of racing. To thrive, NASCAR needs to keep delivering these essential elements. Otherwise, their fans will find other ways to occupy their attention and command their entertainment dollar.

Nationwide’s focus on the customer could begin with examining what it takes to belong to Nation Nationwide. A percentage of the insurance market will always be driven by nothing more than price and convenience. However, by looking at Nationwide’s best customers—those that have multiple policies with Nationwide, who enthusiastically recommend Nationwide to their family and friends—and identifying what they value most about their car insurance company, it becomes possible to craft strategically targeted marketing messages designed to attract new customers who are very likely to be highly satisfied with (and profitable for!) Nationwide.

Is Nationwide on the right track? It looks that way. If this customer focused approach is implemented consistently, they might even make it in record time!

August 23, 2011 by