Deer-in-the-headlights marketing: top opportunities from ‘the splurge’ in 2010

Posted on | December 30, 2009 | Comments Off

Long-time readers of any or all the incarnations of my flagship publication, The MicroEnterprise Journal, are probably very familiar with a sort of article I almost never do anymore.

That is the article in which I peruse marketing advice or management advice originally penned for much larger companies, drill down the their essence, and re-frame that advice so that it works for microbusiness size and microbusiness budget.

I haven’t done one of those in quite awhile but I have decided to revive the format for at least this blog post, thanks to the fact that I came across a post from over at The 3rd Button blog that seemed to call for it.

The post starts from a place that recognizes that consumer spending is changing in ways that are interesting to look at, not in terms of what they are giving up once we get past the basic survival trifecta (food, clothing and shelter) but in terms of what indulgences they are hanging onto.

I hadn’t really given it much thought, but in all this talk and data about what consumers are giving up, it’s interesting to see what they aren’t, or the rationality that goes on inside the head when reckoning a small splurge.

From here, post author Rochelle Fainstein offers us three 2010 predictions, based on what she has been seeing of what (broke and worried) consumers are doing when they decide to splurge.

1) Low-High cross pollination. For this one, Rochelle uses the example of high fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier — designer of fashions to be seen and longed-for but never to be afforded by normal people — and the line he designed for Target.

Do you have a high-end product that maybe your customers don’t want to spring for right now? Maybe this is a trend that can have some play in places other than fashion and clothing retail outlets. Take a look at your product offerings, especially the high-end stuff, and see if it can be repackaged for the rabble less well-heeled members of your target market.

2) Chillax. About ten years ago, it seemed that an entire industry was born around the growing reality that the Sandwich Generation was spinning like a whole six-pack of tops, between work and growing children and aging parents and everything that goes along with all those responsibilities.

But people can only take so much. Another trend Rochelle identifies sounds to me like a sort of rebellion against all that craziness. The word I’ve come up with to describe it (which should be recognizable to anybody with access to young persons between 18 and 24 years old) combines “chill out” and “relax”. People have run themselves ragged and are too broke to get into the high powered de-stressifiers of yore.

photo by eiratansey

photo by eiratansey

Simple pleasures, folks are finding, are still the best. Anything you can help people do — meditate, enjoy slow food, massage or aroma therapy — or anything you can sell them — books, music, herbal tea or comfort foods — that they can bring them low-key enjoyment looks like a winner.

3) Experience. Rochelle tells us the story of what Disney has done to one of its retail outlets but, of course, most of us don’t have Disney’s resources. Nevertheless, it’s worth thinking about what you can do turn the customer experience into a major differentiator and competitive advantage — especially when you know you won’t be able to compete on price.

Give the matter some careful thought. Think about your brand and the visceral response to it that you want to generate in your customers. What kind of experience would get you that kind of response and how can you create that sort of experience with your physical store or with your website?

So, there you have it. A few more items for you to think about this week as you get to planning for next year.

You are planning for next year right now, aren’t you … ?


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Dawn Rivers Baker, microbusiness journalistDawn Rivers Baker, aka The Journal Blogger, is the editor and publisher of The MicroEnterprise Journal, and the self-proclaimed Socrates of the small business blogosphere. See her official bio to learn more.


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