Archive for the ‘Customer Insight’ Category
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Much has been written on the subject of brands – not least by B2B International! As we know, a brand is made up of many things – name, logo and values to name but a few. But can there be any doubt about the importance of a brand name? In a Thursday Night Insight article last year, Chrissie Douglas gave us some hints on selecting a brand name:
- Brand names should be simple so that they are easy to understand, pronounce and spell. Two words in the name should be considered the maximum.
- Brand names should be vivid in imagery so that the mnemonics present strong memory cues.
- Brand names should be familiar sounding so that much of the information to which the name relates is already stored in the mind.
- Brand names should be distinctive so that the word attracts attention and does not become confused with other brands.
So, what happens if you get it wrong?
According to research by YouGov/G2, Cillit Bang has been voted the UK’s most disliked brand name. Of the 2,000 British consumers surveyed, a quarter of women, a fifth of men and 27% of over-55s did not like the brand name. Yet, the cleaning brand, which was launched in 2005 by Reckitt Benckiser, is actually considered by its owner to be a “power brand” and its sales show it to be an extremely successful product. So, clearly, brand name is not everything.
Yet, of the top 10 most disliked brand names (shown below), four are new names for previously known brands, including 3 in the top 5:
- Cillit Bang
- Cif
- Starbucks
- Pasta Hut
- Snickers
- Veet
- Accenture
- Aldi
- Plenty
- Mates
Cif used to be known in the UK as Jif, Snickers was for many years called Marathon, and Veet previously went by the name Immac. This perhaps underlines the importance of getting the brand name right in the first place. Once people have started to associate certain values and attributes with a brand, any changes can lead to confusion or mistrust. Unless you recognise the importance of brands and adopt a well thought-out marketing and communications rebranding strategy, you could find yourself with a lot of brand rebuilding work to be done.
To find out more about branding, please refer to several of our white papers, including:
Posted in
Articles, Branding, Chrissie Douglas, Consumer Research, Corporate Identity, Customer Insight, Re-branding |
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Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
On the customer satisfaction page of our website, we state the following:
“Most companies lose 45% to 50% of their customers every five years, and winning new customers can be up to 20 times more expensive than retaining existing customers. Just a 5% reduction in the customer defection rate can increase profits by 25% to 85%, depending on the industry.”
There can be very little doubt that retaining your existing customers – especially those most profitable ones – is vital under any economic conditions; never more so than when times are tough.
Indeed, as reported in CCF Online, customer service author Colin Shaw, who spoke at the recent Call Centre Expo, is adamant that a recession is the ideal opportunity to galvanise customers and create strong customer loyalty.
While competitors may allow customer service to take a back seat when times are tough, now is the opportunity for you to focus on improving the experience of your customers.
According to Shaw, some of the key questions we as companies should be asking are:
- What is the experience we are trying to deliver?
- What are the emotions we are trying to evoke in our customers?
- What do customers really want?
- What provides the most value?
Some telling stats reveal that many companies only have themselves to blame when it comes to customer churn. On average, of the customers that leave, it is because:
- 1% have died
- 3% have moved away
- 9% have been lured away
- 14% have been disappointed with the product
- 68% have felt the company to be indifferent to them
This would indicate that four out of every five customers leave because of the actions – or inactions – of the company.
Ironically it can be small things – which are more often than not easy to action – that go a long way towards making a customer feel valued, keeping a customer happy and, more importantly, encouraging their loyalty.
Don’t overlook the importance of keeping your customers satisfied. Why not read more about this subject in the following white papers:
Better still, call or e-mail us to see how our tailored customer satisfaction programmes can help you maintain customers for life.
Posted in
Consumer Research, Customer Insight, Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, Marketing Strategy, Uncategorized |
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Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
As technology – particularly advances in the capabilities of, and access to, the internet – improves so many of our lives in countless ways, we should not forget that ‘traditional’ means of seeking information and making purchases may still very much have a place.
According to recent research findings from UK-based telecommunications company Invomo, companies which fail to provide telephone interaction risk alienating their customers.
The study of 3,000 adult consumers suggested that nearly 40% of customers insist on making purchases by telephone rather than online, stating that more than a quarter felt more confident when ordering through a call centre and one in five found it more convenient to call than use the internet.
Nick Wiley, CEO of Invomo, said: “Companies that only have a web strategy for servicing orders could be missing out on a significant proportion of business. Making sure customers don’t have to hunt the length and breadth of a web site for a contact number and offering a ‘call me back’ option could be a good start to reduce lost orders. Looking beyond short-term fixes, how many companies’ web and call centre operations are gearing up to customers who want their suppliers to really earn their loyalty and have faith in their own ability to deal with these street wise callers?”
Find out what your customers really think of your company. Do they find it easy to reach you? Can they easily access all the information they need to enable them to make a purchase decision? What makes them choose you over your competitors?
Our customer satisfaction research can help you to ensure you continue to meet their changing needs and increase the likelihood of them buying more from you in the future.
Posted in
Communication, Customer Insight, Online Marketing, Sales, Service |
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Friday, June 26th, 2009
They say that the customer is always right. But how exactly do you define a customer? Recent protests by British university students about the quality of the education they’re ‘purchasing’ have caused Carol-Ann Morgan to reflect on the lessons we can all learn in a wider business context.
Who would have ever thought it? …Students protesting about not enough teaching classes? However, this is exactly what has recently been seen at a number of well known UK universities, and reported in the national press. Thinking back to the days of my education, most students breathed a sigh of relief at the cancellation of any classes and headed for the nearest place of recreation. The recent actions from some students raise questions about the shift in students’ attitudes and behaviours related to their educational experience.
Higher education has undergone significant changes in recent years. Many of these changes have impacted directly on the perceptions of students themselves; not insignificantly the requirement for them to pay fees. This has prompted discussions within the sector about the positioning of the student as a “customer” or a “consumer”. It can, and has been argued that the term “customer” is not appropriate for the field of education as the relationship is completely different to that of the conventional commercial buyer/seller experience. The successful attainment of an educational qualification requires mutual investment from both sides of the equation. This said, many academics have directly observed a shift in student attitudes and behaviours in favour of the “customer” positioning; most recently in the very public protestations by students about both the quality and the quantity of the educational “product” they feel they have purchased.
Whether or not we agree that an educational qualification can ever be thought of as a “purchased” product given the nature of the necessary relationship between the parties involved, the student protestations serve to remind us of two things. Firstly, the importance and power of the voice of the customer, consumer or service user (by whatever name we choose to use), and secondly, the perceived value for money of the product. The students’ action was an open demonstration that their expectations are not being met as far as the delivery of the course is concerned, and that they would like to place the issue on the management radar screen. Customers in commercial markets may simply switch to use competitor suppliers.
Reputations take time to build, and taking our eye off the mainstream product, from which these reputations have been built, can have disastrous effects. Customers are generally unconcerned about internal operational or financial issues which can impact on the quality or delivery of a product to them; their satisfaction is rooted in expectation and direct experience. Taking care of our customers not only enables us to respond with offers and services which meet current and future needs, it also serves to protect the reputation of the company by ensuring we have a loyal base of advocates willing to spread the word – a valuable source of free PR.
B2B International offers an innovative student satisfaction package. Click here to read more about it.
Posted in
Customer Insight, Customer Satisfaction, Education Research, Student Satisfaction, Universities |
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Thursday, March 12th, 2009
Have you ever bought a large box of cereal, only to get home and find that it doesn’t fit into your cupboard on onto the pantry shelf? If you have, then it would seem that you’re not alone. Which is exactly why Kellogg Co. is currently trialing a new "space-saving" cereal-box design.
The new box, which is being road-tested in Detroit, is the biggest change to a Kellogg box since the 1950s.
The new packaging – which adheres to a shorter, fatter design – contains the same amount of food, but is expected to fit into pantries more easily.
Retailers are also set to benefit, as it is predicted that the new box will make better use of grocery-shelf space, allowing retailers to offer a wider variety of products.
A further bonus, enhancing the corporation’s environmental credentials, is that the new box design boasts an 8% decrease in materials, evidence that the company is looking to improve its footprint, as well as drive efficiency and effectiveness.
A spokesperson for Kellogg Co. says:
The test of this new space-saving packaging is part of our ongoing commitment to identify solutions that help us meet the needs of our retail partners and consumers.
The trial of this new product is expected to last six months, and aims to gain consumer and retailer insights with a view to rolling-out the new packaging nationally.
Posted in
Consumer Research, Customer Insight, Innovation, Needs, New Product Development, Packaging |
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