Big Food, Big Insurance, and Big Opportunity?

Thanks to a friend for bringing up the NY Times article on Big Food vs. Big Insurance. It's an interesting article and raises some intriguing points. As I read it, all I kept thinking was, "What's the opportunity for the food businesses?" This is an early signal of potentially BIG changes... in consumer preferences, in retail distribution solutions, in brand positioning, and so forth. Got thoughts? Talk about them with others, share them here, but keep the thinking going. There are bound to be insights that will lead to opportunity!

Whammo Moments of Insight: The Baking Soda Model

I like the moments of opportunity when long-held assumptions crash on the rocks of imagination. I believe that, try as we might, we're not in control of what folks do with what we create.

In fact, the more likely scenario is that we have little to no idea of all the uses of our product or service. I worked on a shave gel business for a while, and it turns out some folks swore it was the best upholstery cleaner ever, while others got oil spots off their driveway with it. Really.

Many marketers are trained to deliver the "one thing" that's going to matter to users and differentiate from competitors. Reality is, it's the one thing that matters to most users most of the time, except for those folks on the fringe who apply their own creative juices in moments of need to problems we never considered and... Whammo! Shave gel removes oil spots on the driveway. Who'da thunk?

For those attuned to the messages and able to avoid the interference of their own thoughts, these whammo moments are insights coming through the door. Oil spots on the driveway. Wonder how many folks have them? Wonder what other oily stuff this product might clean? Wonder if there's a market for a cleaner of oily stuff that our manufacturing team can produce?

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda makes listening, learning, and applying new uses a key part of its brand viability. Church & Dwight, owners of the Arm & Hammer brand, list seven different consumer product categories on their website, but treat baking soda as a category unto itself. Why? Maybe it's all the various uses presented that make categorization near impossible. This one product is pitched for things as diverse as neutralizing car battery acid, freshening breath, and - of course - keeping fridges odor free. Oh, and don't forget that you can bake with it, too!

So, have you heard any interesting, but off-the-beaten-path commentary from consumers about your product? Maybe it's worth a little further consideration or follow-up. You probably don't have the next Arm & Hammer, but you might find a decent insight... Which is when the fun begins!

Twitter Search: Oh the Insight!

Twitter recently introduced search. Have you tried it? You should. The stream of tweets is enticing, exhilarating, and exasperating. A focused list of search terms should become a staple of managing your customer relationships.

Tweet streams on "my brand sucks" or "my competitor" provide a near realtime view into current thoughts of users, fans, and malcontents in ways that are difficult or impossible to replicate elsewhere. The voyeuristic element is hard to deny. The insights gained are hard to ignore.

Going back to my gross generalization of Twitter is quicker, Facebook is deeper... Mining the tweets from a search will not generate deep insight. You'll get a temperature check on the flow of opinion. Like a thermometer identifying a feverish condition without diagnosing or treating the underlying illness, inklings arising from a Twitter search call for additional consideration and action.

Twitter being what it is, however, enables response to folks in very intimate "we are paying attention to you" ways. See a comment about a bad customer experience or billing issue? Tweet right back to say, "let's make it right!" Notice chatter based on inaccurate information? Get the word out on what's actually happening. Treat that tweet-fever with online instant aspirin - quick actions will bring down the temperature and reduce the pain to your business.

With transparency and honesty so influential on the customer experience and relationships with users, Twitter's value will only increase as it mainstreams across your customer base. I'll continue to come back to it as a theme, and I hope you'll share your thoughts, experiments, and successes, too. Onward!

Singing alone or along?

This morning my daughter was in her room, warbling away at a song of her own spontaneous composition. It was lovely to hear her, although her young voice and creative phrasing were definitely most appealing to the parental unit I am. At one point she paused, and said to anybody who might be listening, "I sing like Ariel!" Then it was back to the warbling, wandering ways of her tune.

And it struck me, to her ear, the melody was pitch-perfect and solid. To me, the daddly dude, her notes were often off, and yet adorably entertaining. To the casual passer-by, she was likely "cute" but a long way from Disney animated classic stuff.

What's the insight? Think about your business or your brand... How do you perceive it? How do your customers perceive it? How do potential customers perceive it? When was the last time you went out and asked others what they think of it?

In this time of economic challenge, we are all trying to find that one thing or the million little things that add up to the one thing that will make a difference. We want to succeed. Sometimes, it's as easy as recognizing that what sounds pitch-perfect and solid to us could do with some improving in the eyes or ears of our customers.

So, keep singing, like my daughter, but pay attention to the reception you're getting from other folks. You might just find they sing along!