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Marketing Insights for Your Business
AG Biz | March 3, 2024
Decoding Buying Habits: Lessons from Big Fails at Microsoft, Google and More
Understanding your customers' buying habits is paramount to business success. From startups to multinational corporations, the ability to decipher customer behavior and buying habits can be the difference between thriving and merely surviving in your market. Fortunately, even the most successful companies make some mistakes so that we mere mortals can learn from them.
Let's explore some examples of product failures that demonstrate how a lack of customer centricity led to major mistakes, even from the companies that usually get it right.
Microsoft Zune
Heard of it? Nope. This was Microsoft's attempt to compete with the iPod, but Zune failed to gain traction because it didn't adequately address the pain points of its target market. Zune had features similar to the iPod; it just didn’t have any differentiating features that were important to customers. That’s because Microsoft didn't fully understand the desires and preferences of music listeners to create a compelling differentiation. The question Microsoft should have asked, hindsight being 20/20, is what do iPod users dislike about their experience, and how could Microsoft make their pain disappear? Not sure if there was ever an answer there, but the question should definitely have been asked.
Google Glass: I’m not going to lie; this one made me uncomfortable from the get-go. Google Glass was intended to be a revolutionary wearable technology but failed to gain widespread adoption due to privacy concerns, high pricing, and a lack of clear use cases. Google didn't fully understand the social discomfort and privacy issues that wearing a camera on one's face would pose for consumers, ultimately leading to its discontinuation as a consumer product. A few customer interviews or focus groups might have made the difference here.
New Coke: Yes, I was around for this; and as a thirteen-year-old loyal Coke drinker, I was utterly appalled. Oh the junior high drama that ensued. In the 1980s, Coke introduced "New Coke" in response to declining market share and the growing popularity of Pepsi. If you were around back then, you’d remember the Cindy Crawford Pepsi ad; I recommend you google it. However, the company failed to recognize consumers' emotional attachment to the original Coke formula—Cindy Crawford or no Cindy Crawford. New Coke didn't address the pain point of loyal Coke drinkers who valued the traditional taste. This led to widespread backlash and the eventual reintroduction of the original formula as Coca-Cola Classic.
Juicero: This may be the least recognizable example, but the funniest and is by far my favorite. Juicero, backed by some brilliant people, was marketed as a high-priced juicer that could only be used with proprietary juice packs sold directly by the company. Despite its initial hype, consumers quickly realized they could achieve similar results by simply squeezing the juice packs by hand; leaving less mess and ultimately an unused juicer on the counter. Juicero failed to understand that consumers were looking for convenience and affordability, not an expensive gadget that didn't offer value.
“The biggest issue the Juicero faced was that it didn’t improve upon the oldest juicing implement on the market: human hands.”
These examples highlight the importance of understanding customers’ pain points and preferences when developing and launching products or businesses. Failure to do so can result in products and companies that miss the mark.
So, how do we learn from these mistakes? Luckily, there are proven methods that can help business and product owners overcome these pitfalls. I don’t recommend you do all this at once, but these tactics can help steer your business and product in the right direction.
Conduct Survey: Gather information directly from your customers. Design comprehensive surveys that delve into demographics, preferences, pain points, and purchasing behaviors. Utilize online survey platforms or distribute surveys through email newsletters, social media channels, or your website. Analyzing survey responses can provide quantitative data to identify trends and patterns.
Customer Interviews: Engage with your customers on a personal level through interviews. Whether it’s face-to-face, over the phone, or via video conferencing, conducting interviews allows you to delve deeper into their experiences, perceptions, and needs. Ask open-ended questions to encourage detailed responses and uncover valuable insights that may not emerge through other methods.
Observational Research: Sometimes, actions speak louder than words. Observational research involves directly observing customers in their natural environment, whether it’s in-store interactions, website navigation, or product usage. By observing how customers interact with your products or services, you can gain firsthand insights into their behaviors, preferences, and pain points.
Customer Feedback: Leverage customer feedback channels such as reviews, ratings, and comments to understand their satisfaction levels and areas for improvement. Monitor feedback across various platforms, including social media, review websites, and customer service interactions. Analyzing feedback trends can highlight recurring issues or features that resonate positively with your customers.
Data Analytics: Harness the power of data analytics to uncover actionable insights from customer data. Utilize tools such as Google Analytics, CRM software, and business intelligence platforms to track customer interactions, website traffic, purchase history, and demographic information. By analyzing data patterns and correlations, you can identify opportunities to personalize marketing efforts, optimize sales funnels, and enhance the overall customer experience.
Customer Journey Mapping: Visualize the entire customer journey from awareness to post-purchase interactions. Create detailed maps that outline each touchpoint and interaction across various channels and devices. By understanding the customer’s path to purchase, you can identify pain points, optimize critical touchpoints, and deliver a seamless experience that meets their expectations at every stage.
Social Media Listening: Monitor social media conversations related to your brand, products, and industry to gauge customer sentiment and identify emerging trends. Use social listening tools to track mentions, hashtags, and keywords relevant to your business. By actively listening to what customers say on social media, you can gain valuable insights into their preferences, concerns, and opinions.
Competitor Analysis: Study your competitors’ strategies and customer interactions to gain a broader understanding of market dynamics. Analyze their product offerings, pricing strategies, marketing campaigns, and customer reviews. By benchmarking against competitors, you can identify areas where you can differentiate your brand and better meet the needs of your target audience.
In conclusion, understanding your customers and their buying habits requires a multifaceted approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods. By leveraging market research, customer interviews, observational research, data analytics, and social media listening, you can gain comprehensive insights into your customers’ preferences, motivations, and behaviors.
Armed with this knowledge, you can avoid some of the pitfalls mentioned earlier and instead tailor your marketing strategies, product offerings, and customer experiences to effectively meet the needs of your target audience and drive business success.
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