It’s a Small World After All

I recent was put into a new role at work. While it is only a minor component I am in charge of our Instagram and Facebook accounts and let’s just say this is not my favorite part of my job. However, that is not the point of this article. This article is about how EVERYTHING is connected.

As you may or may not know single person can have up to three accounts associated with a single Instagram application on their phone. So, naturally I linked the Putnam Market account with mine once I started my new position. I thought nothing of this at first. After a couple of days of posting to the Putnam Market account (you should all follow us) I started to notice that people that I knew in “real” life were starting to like Putnam posts and even following our page. This is not the strange part however, where is this story becomes interesting is where I know these people from. They were friends and acquaintances from California, three thousand miles away.

These people had no clue what or where Putnam Market is, but what they do know is me. These are folks that follow my own personal account. Because my account was now linked with Putnam’s on the same phone our posts were being recommended to my friends. While is great for increasing Putnam Market’s reach it has some scary implications.

It just reinforces the idea that nothing is private on the internet, and especially on social media. If you or your company is going to post on social media you must be one hundred percent comfortable with the ENTIRE world seeing it.

Death of A (Television) Salesman

In the hustle and bustle of today’s society there is an increasing demand for instant access to information. This demand has led to the advent of smart phones, tablets and numerous other devices that give consumers copious amounts information literally at their fingertips. With everyone plugged into their personal devices it has created a great opportunity for marketers to target consumers on an individual level.

While we all love our iPhones and various other “smart” devices for the convenience and cornucopia of information (I mean I can pretty much access anything in the world at the touch of button, which is incredible) this flow of information goes both ways. The companies that provide us with information aren’t stupid, they collect as much as they provide. They collect so much information on us they know an individual consumer’s purchasing behavior be than they know themselves. By combining this knowledge of consumer behavior with social media sites and apps such Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat companies can target on an personal level, which is extremely powerful. Marketers can make sure advertisements are only seen by consumers whom are mostly to purchase that item. And it’s not just one time they see the ad, it’s every time they’re on social media because everything is connected. With consumers being inundated with so many products they’re interested in, it’s almost impossible for them not to make a purchase.

However, as many of the laws of science teach us it is impossible to gain in one area without losing in another and the big loser here is television. While television may still be popular today, it is slowly declining and I believe television (cable television to be specific) will no longer exist as we know it in 20 years. I feel the millennial generation is no longer willing to sit and front of the TV and waste their time watching commercials. This fact combined with the fact that television advertising is very expensive will force advertising campaigns away from this media. Without funding from ads cable television will die.

Importance of a brand

In Saratoga there is a small hair salon, which shall remain nameless, which in past several years changed ownership and by extension (yes, this is a hair pun) its target market. However, they still have same brand or image as they did with previous ownership. There is no indication to the market that they have changed their services or what kind of customer they are trying to attract. As a consumer I found my experience with them to be very confusing.

I initially went to this unnamed business when I was in college and yes I know this was several years ago. My first visit to this establishment was very pleasant and it quickly became my go to for haircuts. Although it was not technically a barbershop it very much had that feel: a bunch of guys hanging out, alternative or classic rock music was always playing, there were fun old time posters (usually of scantily clad women) and beer was to be had at no additional charge. This was the place for me! And they had my repeat business.

After I graduated college I moved to the west coast and lost touch with many of the businesses in this area including my favorite “barbershop”. When I moved back last year I was in need of a haircut I of course went back to them first. However, to my surprise I had changed ownership. They were no longer the men’s barbershop that I was expected but rather a women’s hair salon. This in itself is not a problem; the problem arises when we look at their brand image. From the outside it is still the same business, same name, same logo, and same brand. It isn’t until you are literally in the chair do you realize that is no longer my cherished hair spot.  I felt cheated and mislead; I will not be back. Without a proper brand a business only stands to confuse and infuriate consumers

A Brand is…

A brand is a marketplace promise, as understood by customers. A Brand is something that exists in the minds of consumers and stands for something. A brand makes you feel something. A brand simplifies a consumer’s life by easing the decision process. A brand is what differentiates a company from its competitors.

One company that has recently built an extremely strong brand is Tesla. Within the past two months Tesla has publicly announced the release of a new product, the Model 3. The model 3 is set to release at the end of 2017, however it already has over 400,000 pre-orders. Tesla has literally generated trillions of dollars in sales and hasn’t even been released the product yet. This is the epitome of a strong brand. Hundreds of thousands of people are willing to purchase a large ticket item with zero consumer reviews and only limited product knowledge simply because they trust Tesla to deliver a high quality product.

This trust is justified. Tesla is known for producing high performance vehicles the consistently win consumer awards. However, there are numerous companies in the market that can boast the same claim. The performance of the vehicles is not what separates Tesla from is competitors. What differentiates Tesla is its brand image as a company that cares about the world and the future.

This brand is reinforced with the Tesla battery pack which allows users to store solar generated power in their homes. This technology is not nearly as well known as the cars but, it’s much more important to a sustainable future. It could revolutionize the energy market and completely remove a need for an energy grid. However, this technology is not what creates Tesla’s brand image. It is the fact they have open-sourced their battery pack designs to an company looking to replicate this technology as well as charging only a third of the cost of  traditional batteries. These two aspects create the image in consumer’s minds that Tesla truly cares about the future of this planet and the human race; what more could you want from a brand. Tesla is the brand of the future.

The future of Food

With a rampant increase in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and numerous other chronic diseases there has been a slow but significant paradigm shift in the way we view and consume food. In recent years there have been copious amount of “quick fix” diets. However, after years of inconsistent and short-term results, the fitness community is changing the way nutrition is used as tool for wellness. It’s no longer about how much we eat but more about what we eat. The quality and source of food has become just as important as how many calories it contains. This shift in nutritional counseling has an interesting impact on the US food industry.

In recent years we have seen a substantial increase in the number of grocery stores that market themselves as health food stores. We can look at Whole Foods, Healthy Living and Trader Joe’s on the lower end of the price spectrum as examples. There are also large quantities of small local businesses across the country that are branded as “healthy”.

If we want to examine a company here in the northeast that has drastically changed their image due to this shift in consumer behavior we can look at Price Chopper. For years Price Chopper was considered to be a low end market, known solely for have low prices with their advantage card. That is until 2014, when Price Chopper announced plans to rebrand many of its stores under the Market 32 image. These Market 32 stores now look and feel much like a Whole Foods or Health Living market. Market 32 not only changed the quality and types of products they care but also the way the store is laid out. If you go into a Market 32 there are distinct departments and not just aisles. It creates the feel of a high end marketplace like you would find in a major cultural center such as New York City. They even offer cooking classes!

This rebrand was a strategic business move; not only was Price Chopper able to tap into steadily growing consumer base, they were also able to increase prices and presumably profits by creating the image and feel of high end marketplaces.

Show Me the Benefits!

In today’s fast paced “what have you done for me lately” world there is increasing pressure for companies to come up with the latest and greatest product. This pressure has led to greater competition and a virtual arms race.  Due to increased emphasis on product features and amenities there has been a shift in marketing strategies and not necessarily for the better.

More and more frequently advertisement campaigns solely highlight product features and attributes. Companies are now so concerned with demonstrating how their product is superior to the competition’s they’ve lost sight what truly matters in marketing. By orienting marketing campaigns around the product rather than customer they begin to lose effectiveness. In fact, one can argue that isn’t even marketing because true marketing always begins with the customer.

We can take Apple for example. If we compare apple versus android phones we see that apple continuously outperforms android in the market. Why is this? Many android phones have superior technology and are generally more cost effective. They are a better value. So how can it be that a more expensive product with inferior technology outsells its competition? The answer is marketing. Apple has done such a great done creating a brand they can literally sell people worse products for more money.

The Apple brand is one of prestige and societal recognition. They have appealed to people’s innate desire to feel important and powerful. Apple has successfully convinced the market that they are the brand that all the “cool kids” use and who doesn’t want to be a cool kid? Apple focuses their marketing strategies on how their product with benefit the customer rather than why their product is superior. This is why Apple is considered to be one of the top companies in the world.