|
|
|
|
|
| [ VoyUser Login optional ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2 ] |
| Subject: Be Sure Your Differentiator Makes The Right Difference | |
|
Author: Dennis S. Vogel |
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 17:01:27 08/11/07 Sat In reply to: Netflix Victim 's message, "Netflix Victim needs more ideas & customers" on 15:50:11 06/30/07 Sat Other issues distracted me, then by the time I got back to this, I couldn’t get internet access because some servers weren’t working. To make it up to you, I’ll give you more insights. Plus, I found some articles for you. Video related profit centers (to fill your income gap): 1) People have filmed home movies, maybe inherited from parents, they may’ve forgotten or never known what’s in each. I know equipment was made to put these into video tapes, maybe there’s equipment to put these images directly into DVDs. Otherwise, it could be done in a 2-step/2-machine process. Many don’t have the money to buy the machines or time to learn how to use them, then put in more time to copy the movies. For those who already have dual video recorders (VHS & DVD), they may only need you to copy home movies to video tapes. You may end up giving previews for those who don’t know what’s in their home movies. (This can be a template for figuring viability of any service you may want to offer.) If enough customers want this service, you may be able to do it, or possibly have machine rental. (If the equipment instructions are basic enough to be learned in 2 hours, people may be willing to do the copying.) Before making the investment or commitment, find how many home movies they’d like to digitize. Figure if half of those who are interested can afford to pay for it, how much time you’d need per project & per day. How much would you need to charge to make it worthwhile compared to the opportunity cost (time & energy you could devote to something else that’s equally or more profitable). Ask for deposits (don’t rely on purchase intentions), if you get enough to cover your expenses, you could order the equipment. Let them know you’ll refund their deposits if you don’t get enough. 2) I remember being in a movie reenactment at Universal Studios. It was fun for those of us involved, plus family members bought copies of it. You could do this by making your own scenes, mini-movies or music videos starring local people. YouTube has things like this & it’s becoming more popular. 3) How about videotaping plays for schools & theater groups, family members would probably buy copies & if the results are good enough, you can sell these as inexpensive—proprietary, not commodity—entertainment. It’d be proprietary because you’d have little or no direct competition for these recorded plays. Be careful with copyright laws. High quality recordings of rehearsals can help performers learn from their mistakes. When they know how they look & sound as they perform, they can improve their craft. Blockbuster http://www.newrules.org/retail/news_archive.php?browseby=slug&slugid=30 According to the article at this URL- Independents generally buy videos for about $75 each. While Blockbuster turns a profit immediately, independents must rent the tape about 25 times to break even. Revenue sharing on at least some titles is available to independent stores, but their percentage of the rental income is much smaller than Blockbuster's, even accounting for the 5% that goes to a middleman. The return is so low; most independents don't consider revenue sharing a viable option. More than 4,100 independent video retailers went out of business since 1998, according to the National Association of Video Distributors. Blockbuster has 6,900 stores & accounts for 33% of rentals nationwide. Hollywood Video has 1,600 & controls 10-15% of the market. Both chains plan to continue aggressive expansion in the next year. A Short Consumer Behavior Lesson In consumer behavior, there are degrees of regularity (some call it loyalty). If there are 3 product/service sources (A, B & C, let’s assign A to your store), there are various buying patterns—examples- ABBCA would mean they buy/rent from you about 40% of the times they buy/rent video products. ABBCC could mean they tried you, but prefer competitors & you may not be able to change it without alienating current customers (changing products/services, business hours, décor, customer service levels, etc.). Too often, business owners are advised to market to heavy users. It seems logical, because heavy users buy more often & have bigger transactions. But unless they recently became heavy users, they may have found their favorite vendor/brand. Some don’t want to hassle with re-deciding; they have other things to do with their time & energy. Their almost “knee-jerk” reaction would be- I’m (thirsty, hungry, bored, whatever), so I’ll buy from (the only supplier they’ll consider). You may’ve noticed in the articles about Kepler’s Bookstore, there are plenty of customers willing to buy some books from Kepler’s, but they may still buy books from competitors. But willing people get distracted & may not follow through. It’s why I cringe when I read survey results stating people’s purchase intentions. Purchase intentions are like good intentions. (Can you hear Willie Nelson singing, “You were always on my mind”?) You can build a business or pave a road to hell, but you won’t do both. In some sample ads, I tied renting/buying movies to something deeper in consumers’ lives. Then I tied your business to it. Make your business a necessity instead of an option. If you don’t, you won’t succeed. A quick reality check is: Could you get a loan officer to hand over some money based on purchase intentions? Can you pay bills with purchase intentions? If we assign A to Kepler’s, some customers’ purchase patterns may be BBCCA. They may buy from Kepler’s when they think of it, or when they’re in the neighborhood, but Kepler’s may not be a destination. What you expressed (about needing your message or a reminder in front of them) would imply renting from you may be an after thought (BBCCA). In that case, you need to find how customers form priorities. When do they think of renting something video-oriented? How do they decide what to rent? Why do they choose a particular vendor—you or competitors? Then set the context for them. Changing their habits could cost a lot of money & maybe take a long time, unless you have a way to completely pre-empt their decision-making & hold their attention. Maybe you can interrupt their buying pattern/habit. Get them to make a slight, seemingly “temporary” change. Their change may become long-term if you provide enough value. The sample ads I wrote for you may inspire some captivating curiosity. If you lost or never gained a video consumer, his/her pattern is probably BBCCB or BBBB. It can be hard to pry some space between those B’s & C’s. You can’t afford to do it with low prices, so you should do it a subtle boldness (an oxymoron, but it gets attention & inspires interest). Many times, a small business owner can’t afford anything but a bold, decisive statement. ‘You like this. I’ve got it!’ It leaves little doubt about what’s offered & why it’s needed & desirable. But consumers may answer with, “Yeah, right.” A subtle bold approach is, ‘You like this because___? I guess you never considered __. What I have for you may fill the gaps you’ve been feeling.’ Then they wonder, ‘What gaps are those? Now that you mention it I have felt…’ Ads like what I wrote about “The Lake House” show you offer more than competitors. You may offer the same movies, but you add more benefits. People can enjoy an entertaining movie, but there’s more to some movies than laughs or warm fuzzy feelings. In the Desire & call to Action parts of AIDA, you need to tie what you offer in with what people need/want. This part isn’t subtle. This is direct with no doubt. It’d seem absurd to state they need you to survive, but make what you offer something they need to do better than survival. They need you to thrive. Easter Egg Analogy Some web sites & software have extras. If your mouse rolls over part of a web page, you may find something you wouldn’t see. I heard about a flight simulator game embedded in a version of Microsoft Excel. I’ve never discovered it, but think of somebody sifting through hundreds of lines of spreadsheets, almost asleep from tedium, then suddenly a flight simulator opens. (I wonder if this is just a spreadsheet tedium-induced hallucination or maybe I don‘t have that version.) Small businesses should add or find extras in what they sell. Big extras or a few small extras can be powerful differentiators—the difference between a nice option & a necessity. People like multiple options, but they don’t use all of them. You can copy this URL, then paste it in the address bar of your browser. After the page opens you can scroll to “Lateral Thinking for the 21st Century”. (The full article URL is more than 2 lines.) www.chiefexecutive.net/ME2/Audiences/Default.asp?AudID=F4FA01212A93453E86E44FBBE8F489C1 A guy who bought a struggling video rental business, then made it successful wrote this article. It’s great for all retailers & has a summary of what the author did to make a video rental store highly successful. He did some things I advised you to do (validation); plus some other things. Dennis S. Vogel Don’t wait for consumers to figure out what’s different or better about your business. Don’t wait for suppliers to make differentiated products. Find or create a meaningful difference in your business & what you offer. To help you do it, I have free marketing advice & information here - http://www.thrivingbusiness.lakefield.net/ http://www.voy.com/31049/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Re: Be Sure Your Differentiator Makes The Right Difference | Netflix Competitor | 16:00:05 09/17/07 Mon |
|
||
| Use Research To Find (Potential) Problems & Help People Solve/Avoid Them | Dennis S. Vogel | 20:17:30 12/24/07 Mon |
|
Forum timezone: GMT-6 VF Version: 2.94, ConfDB: Before posting please read our privacy policy. VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems. Copyright © 1998-2008 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved. |