Has something changed in our lives that has made Time more important than ever before?
Studies show that today’s consumers would be willing to literally pay money to get back more TIME in their day. When something is valuable, companies should capitalize on that value.
Every marketing plan today needs to be informed by a deep understanding of the time and energy which your customer is willing to spend shopping for your product, the value consumers put on their time, and the exact moment at which they make a buying decision.
What are some of the different ways that Time affects some of our more typical shopping choices?
Think of how a customer dreads going to the supermarket every week for pantry “staples”. Think of how a customer “forgets” important events like birthdays, anniversaries, etc. until the last minute. And think about how a customer invests months – or even years – in shopping for their wedding or for another once-in-a-lifetime purchase. Any business must understand the elasticity of time and either help “speed up” or “slow down” the customer’s shopping experience.
What's an example of how a company reaped big profits by changing their customers' Stopwatch?
Whole Foods recognized how the average customer wants to speed through the typically dreaded grocery experience so they created a store experience to enjoy slowly. Their beautiful produce displays, food samples, in-store dining area and massage studio have nearly stopped customers in their tracks! Whole Foods customers take their time shopping, enjoy the experience and even eagerly anticipate their next visit. Their success at slowing down the stopwatch of their customers has helped make the company one of the darlings of Wall Street.
What's a Reluctant Shopper and why is it better to have a Recreational Shopper as your customer?
Most consumers consider banking reluctant shopping so they only complete the ONE transaction they came in for – open a checking account for instance. Commerce Bank went out of its way to make the branch experience inviting, enjoyable, and pleasant. Consequently, customers spend more time there and are more apt to do more business there – apply for a car loan, buy a mutual fund, etc. This bank is among the most profitable in the country.
If you can't realistically slow down the stopwatch of your customer, how can a company market more effectively to a shopper with Impatient shopping behavior?
If a customer has Impatient shopping behavior, it’s a company’s “job” to make a customer’s decision making process faster and easier. This can be achieved several ways –incorporating visual cues (e.g., icons) into a product design which clearly differentiate it from the competition, creating point-of-purchase displays which “headline” key messages and benefits, and running advertising “in the background” (e.g., on traditional and non-traditional media) which both creates awareness of the new product and reinforces its benefits. The key is to make it simple and easy for the customer to “choose you.”
Should marketers always try to slow down their customers' Stopwatches or are there times when speeding them up makes sense?
Speeding them up often makes sense – the point is to close a sale and create a loyal customer, not slow everything down.
If all a wine shopper wants is a quick $10 bottle of wine, Discovery Wines has a “Bestsellers for under $10” shelf right up front. No wandering to the back of the store to be sold a $400 bottle. This wine store, like most bookstores, have created environments that work equally well whether the consumer’s demand is for fun (recreation) or speed (impatience).
Microsoft offers a very different example. Millions of customers happily buy Microsoft Office pre-installed by Dell, HP, Sony, etc. on their computer. Some customers may resent the notion that this system is being “forced” on them, but Microsoft’s volume or profit margins show that most people are pleased to eliminate the “reluctant shopping” hassle of purchasing and installing word processing, presentation, and email software. Microsoft figured out how to shrink the stopwatch, literally, to zero.
Why is Stopwatch Marketing something that should concern more than the marketing department?
Most companies are organized by function--manufacturing, advertising, marketing, sales, HR, etc. Instead, what we argue for very strongly, is that companies should organize and budget around CUSTOMERS and CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR. And the most competitive companies have wisely reorganized their business functions and budgeting around time and how time influences their customers.
How are consumers benefitting from the new trend in Stopwatch Marketing?
Impatient and Reluctant shoppers are getting their decisions and shopping completed with less time, less hassle, and less total cost of effort. Recreational shoppers – those same people, but on a different day, with a different errand in mind – are getting the experiences they enjoy, and the time to enjoy them…at Whole Foods, at their local bookstore, even at their bank branch.
What's the first step that a marketer should take in applying Stopwatch Marketing principles?
First, start gathering information so you can better understand your customers’ shopping style. Second, determine the ideal shopping style for your brand. And lastly, time your marketing activities to “jump the queue” at the time when your customer is most likely to buy. With these steps, you can immediately start enjoying the benefits of stopwatch marketing.
