Big, bad box retailers or thoughtful local suppliers?

The October 30 issue of Brandweek had an interesting Top of Mind column from Bain & Co. partners, Darrell Rigby and Vijay Vishwanath.

In the column, the authors describe a relatively new strategy employed by large retailers known as localization. Localization is the use of sophisticated data collection and analysis to determine what consumers in local markets want.

Large box retailers like Wal-Mart and Lowes are using customer data to analyze local demands and preferences and then tailoring their store shelves at the local level to supply products based on the local area’s unique characteristics such as ethnicity, wealth and lifestyle.

Localization is an offshoot from standardization where large box retailers have offered the same products in every store nationally. Oddly enough, it was the size and power of these large stores and their ability to gather enough data from consumers over time that now allows them to be in a position to offer products that appeal to local preferences.

We can learn lessons from localization.

Brands can no longer rely on standardization of products to appeal to large, vast audiences. Not only has media fragmented to the point where customer niches are increasingly more difficult to reach while at the same time becoming smaller and smaller, but consumers demand products and services that cater to their unique preferences.

Is there really even such a thing as mass media anymore that reaches the majority of people? For years huge, national brands have been able to rely on saturating a few mass media outlets with advertising so much that simply getting a name to stick in our minds worked. Those days are over.

Offering a one-size-fits-all widget to ‘the masses’ will only lead to commoditization of your product. Once your brand has been commoditized, your selling advantage will disappear as soon as a supplier with a lower cost structure comes along.

Big, powerful brands in the future will be those that appeal to individual preferences and prove that they uniquely satisfy consumers’ wants and desires.

Strange, isn’t it, that the big, faceless retailers seem to be leading the movement?

Free subscription to Inc. Magazine

OK. I'll admit it. This blog entry is a bit off-the-wall.

However, Inc. Magazine just sent me an invitation to renew my subcription and they are offering a free, 12-month gift subscription to the person of my choosing. Well, here's where you come in.

The first person in the United States to email me their name and address gets it placed in the "free gift subscription" portion of my reply card. Yep, if you want a free 12-month subscription to Inc. Magazine, be the first one to send me your name and address.

Ready?.........Go!

Interested in building strong brands?

An interesting site that deals exclusively with brand building just re-launched at http://www.BrandTrellis.com.

If you are interested in building business brands then there are some good articles for you and if you are a marketing/branding professional, there are ways for you to participate in the project.

It's worthwhile to check out the site.

Who is a professional marketer?

A professional marketer is at his or her heart a student of behavioral science. As marketers our fundamental goal is to change human behavior in some way.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about being deceptive or manipulative or tricking somebody into buying something they don't want.

A marketer understands that he must deliver superior value to his customers.

A marketer understands that the best product in the world will not sell a single unit unless the value of that product is clearly understood and clearly communicated to those who might want it.

A marketer is not after a single transaction but is interested in a long-term relationship with customers in which both parties benefit and continue to provide value to one another over the long-term.

A marketer is an experimenter. She is a methodical tester and a constant measurer.

A marketer always tries to learn from her mistakes so she can come back tomorrow to build even greater value into her offering.

A marketer is a strategist, a scientist, planner, a creator and a bit of a dreamer.

A marketer is a concise communicator who can tap emotion and tell a compelling story through a variety of media.

Lastly, a true professional marketer clearly demonstrates that acquiring a product or service is more beneficial than living without it.

Marketing and Branding articles added

Over this past weekend I created a compilation of the best informational posts to this blog and added it to my list of marketing & branding articles at http://www.davedolak.com/articles.htm#startlist.

I've added them under the sub-head, "Best of the Blog Articles". Please let me know if you find this helpful and I'll do more of it in the future.