Your Old Chevy

In the '70s, my parents had an affinity for American cars.  One of our cars was a '79 powder blue (!) faux wood paneled (!!) Caprice Classic station wagon.  We took innumerable road trips in that car (New York, DC, Smoky Mountains, Wisconsin Dells, etc.).

And this affinity is not reserved for those who live in the U.S. alone.  In Iran, Amir's dad drove his beloved (manual transmission) Chevy Nova for easily 30 years.  He treated it like his third child.  And it was.

I was too young to know if my mom's car was a good performer - all I know is that I spent a lot of time in it and have warm fuzzy memories of it much like I have warm fuzzy memories of going to a Sears store as a child though I may not have those same feelings today.

I love this commercial.

I was half paying attention to the TV this past weekend when this spot caught my eye and within a moment, I was in love.  I've seen it many times now.  Please watch it and we'll continue our chat.

What's the big deal?

In this post, I told you of Amir's love of porridge and that every time I make it, he's instantly transported to a happy place. The effect is instantaneous and I'm never tired of how this very simple food causes such a transformation.

I love the story of the father's old Chevy because his reaction and transformation is like Amir's. The father's reaction was about more than just the car. It was his history, it was his identity, it was his freedom and a host of other things.  Just seeing him grab his heart (which, between us, concerned me) shows that his connection to the car and to the brand is more than just it was a vehicle that helped him get from A to B.

The car and the Chevy brand are inextricably linked to his identity and when both came back into his life, it was extremely emotional. And not just for him... his children took five years to find the car which shows an obvious love for their father but, also, just as deep an emotional connection to that car.

Don't be afraid of your softer side.

I love this commercial because it did not display one new Chevy model.  I love it because it didn't directly talk about Brand Chevrolet all that much either.  It didn't need to do that.  It was a narrative of long standing love, legacy and loyalty.  It's as if Chevy was secure in its legacy (without hubris) to shift the focus from itself to the love affair between a man, his children and his car.  

And they told the story better than any manufactured family centric commercial could.  How do I know?  I instantly remembered every single road trip and adventure in our old station wagon.  Powerful stuff.

What's the lesson here?  

Be an emotional brand.  Be a brand that creates strong bonds that go beyond the nuts, bolts, features and benefits of how you serve your customers.  Be a brand that showcases our customers while you stand in the background.  It pays off.

Please share your thoughts - I'd love to hear from you.

Parissa Behnia

Idea Chef

678Partners@gmail.com

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@garyvee and Vindaloo

If you're from Chicago or have any family/friends who live here, you know that our Spring has been damp and cold with spots of intermittent teasing hours of warmth.  So, I'm sure you can appreciate that occasionally we feel lazy and have a hankering for stick to your ribs food to keep us warm...  And sometimes that means we order Indian food for delivery!

Aside from the requisite samosa, Amir has a love for particularly spicy chicken vindaloo.  He finds it hard to resist its dulcet tones when it calls his name.  He heeds the call each and every time.  And, while there are many great places in town to order vindaloo, there's one place that seems to get his vote.

What's the problem?  

Well, to order from them requires no small effort.  You can't go to their website, you have to go to another site that specializes in deliveries.  Due to poor site design, it takes a while to get to the restaurant you actually want.  And then, it takes a few more minutes to locate the items you wish to order because the item numbers from the actual restaurant's menu on the restaurant's site are different from the numbers on the delivery service's site.

Calling in the order to the separate delivery service is no better -- if you give the restaurant's item number they ask you to go to the delivery site for their item number.  If you don't have the delivery service hard copy menu with you, you're directed to the site with the similar challenges of finding the restaurant and correct item numbers.  If you don't have access to either, well, you may have a problem on your hands.

Oh, and did I mention that delivery takes anywhere from 75 to 90 minutes?  

And yet we still order food (albeit indirectly) and still go there when we don't feel like staying in.  Sure, it'd be easy to go somewhere else because, after all, it's just vindaloo.

But it's not just vindaloo.  It's the favorite vindaloo.  I can't help but think that if it were easier, cheaper, faster, better, etc., to order it, then we'd be doing a lot more of it and we'd be shouting it from the rooftops.  Right now, it's too much of a chore to enjoy it (which I know to be a #firstworldproblem) to do anything more than eat it because it tastes good.

The wine guy is right.  What if vindaloo emotionally connected with us?

On twitter, a friend (Hi Chris!) shared this video of Gary Vaynerchuk.  Please have a look:

Truly, what would happen if ordering vindaloo were a bit easier?  What would happen if instead of us exerting effort to give someone business that it would be someone else exerting effort to make it easier for us?  What if they were to be more like @garyvee and give and give and give without expecting anything in return?  What if they were to thank me for my effort in special (not necessarily over the top ways)? It's simple: we'd order more vindaloo.  And tell our friends to try some, too.

The jig is up. 

Clearly, this is more than just vindaloo.  It's about value.  What is business' view on valuing customer relationships beyond requisite (social) CRM and other loyalty devices?  Frankly, those activities are "keeping the lights on" these days.  

Truly, how much does business value "halo effect" when it comes to how it chooses to relate to its customers either directly or, in vindaloo's case, through a separate entity? Does it take steps to create tangible as well as intangible connections with customers and prospects?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.  If you think your colleagues/friends would have something to add here, please share this post with them.  And thank you.

Parissa Behnia

Idea Chef

678Partners@gmail.com

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Nancy Drew and The Case of the Repeating Offer

Happy New Year!  I hope 2011 is an excellent year for you!  During the mad dash run up to Christmas, I happened to walk in a multi unit women's clothing store.  There were some nice things in the window that attracted me but what drew me in was a big red sign that said:

"Today Only!  40% Off!"

I walked in, was promptly greeted by a sales associate and told the offer was really truly that day only.  My next few minutes of the store was sheer torture.  Anything I looked at for more than a second, touched, appraised, etc., invited comment from this same associate to the point where I felt under siege and left earlier than I had wanted.  The associate half followed me out and her parting words were that I was going to miss the offer if I left without buying something that day.  

Annoying.

Especially considering a few days later, that same sign was miraculously in that store perched in its same position.  And other outposts of that store had that same sign... and thanks to identical physical layouts, the sign was also in the same position!  I don't know if other sales associates were similarly cloying - I didn't bother entering out of (very little) spite.

Admittedly, my spite may have been a little self directed.  I can't believe I believed the "today only" sign especially when there's been an oriental rug store around the corner that's been pulling this same stunt! And I can't believe this chain's gall to have that sign repeating itself like Bill Murray's GroundHog Day.  As a customer, my feelings were hurt.  As a marketer, I wished for better.

Now, I understand that the 4th quarter is always make or break time for retailers.  It was particularly driven home to me thanks to the 6+ years I working with Sears and Citigroup on the Sears private label and co-brand credit card portfolio.  Retailers do what they must to attract buying foot traffic into their stores: open on Thanksgiving for a few hours, stay open all night, offer door busters, free shipping on large purchases, customer appreciation events (h/t David Yurman!) among other goodies.

And yet, this repeating sign left me cold despite the fact that Christmas has become a money making engine.  I found it cynical.  I found it manipulative.  I found it mean.  And, I found it profoundly disrespectful of customers.

It's true that loyalty has fallen by the wayside in the search of the best for the cheapest.  Many of us forego brand/store loyalty when something becomes an irresistible deal.  I do it all the time.  And this store wished to capitalize on this type of retail ADD to win share of wallet.

I can't be the only one who noticed the repeating sign.  And while some may have shrugged, I'm sure others were a little miffed, as I was, and may be asking, as I was:

• What else in this store is misleading?  Is it the pricing?  
• Is the return policy written vaguely?  If I make a return will it be in the form of a store credit only and of limited duration?  Is making an exchange going to be difficult?
• Do they think I'm dumb?
• Is the quality worth the price?
• Do they truly want me to come back?
• Do they want me to endorse them to others?

I'm sure there are a host of others (feel free to add some).  There are no good, "positive spin" style answers to these sample questions I've posted.  There isn't a warm fuzzy that materializes when people start wondering these types of things about your business.  You don't want people to be wondering these things about your business, period.

Signs like this are, at first blush, an excellent pull tactic but ultimately, a horribly short sighted approach to building a steady customer base.  Oh sure, this chain has been around for a while and I don't think my observation will, admittedly, make or break them as a functioning enterprise.

The material point here is that this approach encourages bad behavior in that people likely have a non exclusive, casual relationship with it as opposed to "going steady" or making it the #1, go to place for all things women's apparel.  After all, why pledge yourself as a customer to a business if they display behaviors that make you question their motives.

Did you see insincere signage, too?  Please share!

Parissa Behnia
Idea Chef

678Partners@gmail.com
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