1 minute to grab the customer's marketing coup

Chapter 13 Grabbing people's hearts is better than grabbing the market (6)
There is a popular saying in the marketing industry: third-rate salesmen sell products, and first-rate salesmen sell results (benefits that products bring to customers).Therefore, in the marketing process, we must always tell the customer what benefits and benefits the product will bring to him, what benefits will it have for his work, for him personally, and for his life.

We have to consider the problem from the perspective of the customer's purchasing needs, not the salesman's marketing needs.If the salesman sells health care products, and the salesman just introduces the ingredients contained in his health care products, the customer will not be interested; Customers will be interested.

The duty of the salesman is to transform the characteristics of the product into actual benefits that customers can perceive through their own understanding.How will your product or service make their life and work easier and faster; how will it save them time, money, pain, and stress; what specific problems can your product or service help them solve...

No matter what product you are marketing, please find out what the biggest benefit this product brings to customers is.For a customer, he will only buy if he understands what benefits the product will bring him and what troubles he will avoid.

Don't just say "my product has good quality, good service, and good reputation", these are very empty things that will not arouse the interest of customers.The benefits of the product you sell must have some characteristics and unique features, and it must be able to directly make the customer feel that it is what he needs or likes.

A salesman of a travel agency sold the Qingdao travel plan of the travel agency to one of his customers who sold cars in this way: "You have treated yourself and your wife badly," he said with a smile, "Life is too short to work hard like you It's not okay to work without rewarding yourself. Also, when you come back from vacation, you'll be in great shape and will be selling more cars to make up for the expense this time. I'm sure you'll keep going all the way when you get back .Replenish your energy and store up your energy, you will definitely receive unexpected results!"

The salesman always emphasizes the benefits and feelings that travel brings to customers, which naturally arouses the interest of customers.

6. "Transgender" Marlboro: "nailing" your product into the hearts of consumers
In the scarred 20th century, there were two world wars that shocked the world militarily. Dozens of countries participated in the wars, and both ended up losing.However, economic wars come and go one after another. Participants have both countries and families. As a result, you come and go and intensify, and eventually become the "Star Wars" across the century.

In the economic war, the most exciting scene is the advertising war. The more developed the economy, the more prosperous the advertising.The advertising war is a battle for the minds of customers.

The mode for a customer to accept a commodity is: Attention - Interest - Desire - Action - Satisfaction.People pursue rationality, but are always restricted by emotions, so advertising has become such an important marketing tool.Advertising is like a psychedelic drug, it injects emotions into customers, not logic.Some people say that advertising is a bridge between production and sales, and a "matchmaker" between enterprises and customers, which is absolutely true.

In the early 20s, Philip?Morris Company bravely changed Marlboro, a woman's brand, into a man's brand in one fell swoop, creating the most successful and lasting brand in the world.With the development of the worldwide smoking cessation campaign, more and more "addicts" have left the tobacco market, making the tobacco industry more and more difficult to sustain.But Philips, the world's largest tobacco company?However, the sales volume of Morris Company keeps rising, and its brand-name product "Marlboro" hit a new record of US$60 billion in sales volume in 1991.Its success is due to its excellent marketing strategy - closely follow the voice of customers.

The "Marlboro" image created by the company is different from the general propaganda method of preaching to the public regardless of the target, but is ingeniously designed as a well-known and majestic western cowboy.He was smoking a "Marlboro" brand cigarette smartly, staring at the distance indifferently, trying to give people a feeling of "self-chosen, voluntary smoking".

At present, the product image of "Marlboro" cigarettes in the United States is so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people that a European-born engineer who is now working in New York said: "If an American wants to become European, he must buy a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW; but When a guy wants to be Americanized, all he has to do is smoke Marlboros and wear denim."

It can be seen that "Marlboro" is not just a brand name, but has become a part of American culture.From this point of view, it is no exaggeration for "Marlboro" to be called "the world's number one brand" as a commercial brand.

However, the birth and development of "Marlboro" was difficult, and even faced the dilemma of being forced to stop production. The history of "Marlboro" is the most dramatic and enlightening marketing myth.Its ups and downs will definitely inspire salesmen in many aspects in the business world.

First, cigarettes: difficult to enter the hearts of women who love beauty

The 20s in the United States are called "the lost age".After the impact of the First World War, many young people believed that they had been traumatized by the war, and insisted that only by having fun can they dilute this trauma.They were either screaming while surrounded by jazz, or immersed in the smoke of cigarettes like the sons and brothers in the late Qing Dynasty in China.

The heroes and heroines described in Hemingway's novel "The Sun Also Rises" are the epitome of young people in that era, and the novel guides many young men and women to imitate the hero's madness.No matter men or women, he (she) will hold a cigarette in their mouths very leisurely and elegantly.

Women pay more and more attention to their red lips, they make up meticulously, and fall in love with one man after another "heartbroken"; Contaminated with their lipstick, so "Marlboro" was born.

The name "Marlboro" was also determined for the social atmosphere at that time. "MARLBORO" is actually the abbreviation of "Man Always Remember Lovely Because Of Romantic Only", which means "the only thing that makes men addicted is the tenderness of women".Its advertising slogan is "as mild as the weather in May", in order to strive to become the "confidante" of female smokers.

In order to show concern for female smokers, Morris Company dyed the mouthpiece of "Marlboro" cigarettes red, hoping that the majority of ladies who love beautiful women will be moved by this meticulous care, so as to open up sales.

However, weeks, months, and years have passed, and the marketing boom that Morris expected has never appeared.Enthusiastic expectations, had to face the embarrassing silence in reality.

Marlboro came out in 1924 until the 20s, and remained unknown.Its gentle and delicate advertising image does not seem to have left much deep impression on the ladies.Does this mean a failure in advertising and marketing?
The market concept in the 20s obviously focused on the consideration of product management and customer interests, but lacked an active advertising awareness guided by long-term management and marketing goals.Morris's advertising slogan "as mild as the weather in May" is too elegant, and it echoes the original powdery smell of women, which makes the majority of male smokers flinch from it.

Although this kind of advertising positioning highlights its own brand personality, it also puts forward a special preference for a certain type of customers (here, women), but at the same time it sets up obstacles for its future development, making it difficult to expand its consumer base.

Women are far less addicted to cigarettes than they are to clothes, and once they become good wives and mothers, they don't encourage their daughters to smoke!Cigarettes are a special commodity, which must form a strong consumer group. The more repeated consumption, the greater the marketing revenue that the consumer group will bring to the manufacturer.

Women are often worried that excessive smoking will turn their teeth yellow and affect their complexion because of their love of beauty, and they are much more restrained than male smokers when smoking, so there are few "addicts" appearing.In this way, the number of repeated consumption is very small, and it is difficult to form a solid consumer group. Therefore, the idea of ​​cigarette producers to make money from female smokers has always come to an end, and Marlboro has not been spared.

In the 30s, Marlboro, together with other consumer goods, survived the Great Depression brought about by the economic crisis.At this time, its name is little known.

After the outbreak of World War II, the number of smokers increased, and with the emergence of cigarette filters, customers can be promised that filters can prevent harmful nicotine from entering the body, and smokers can safely and boldly smoke their favorite cigarettes.

Philip?Morris is also busy putting filters on Marlboro, hoping to get a turnaround, but the response from female smokers to Marlboro has been disappointingly lukewarm.

Second, create a new marketing strategy to gain recognition from men
Feeling unwilling, Philip?Morris Company began to consider reshaping its image, and the company sent someone to invite Leo?Burnett Advertising Company made advertising plans for Marlboro in order to make Marlboro's reputation and sales.

"Let's forget about the women's cigarettes with rich powder and fragrance, and re-create a manly world-famous 'Marlboro' cigarette." Leo?The founder of the Burnett advertising agency said to the helpless seekers.

A brand-new and bold plan to transform the image of Marlboro cigarettes came into being. The product quality remained unchanged, and the packaging adopted the first flat-opening lid technology at that time, and the standard character of the name (MARLBORO) was sharpened to make it more masculine. , and red as the main color of the outer box.

The major change in the advertisement is: "Marlboro's advertisement no longer takes women as the main target, but uses tough men".Emphasizing Marlboro's masculinity in advertising attracted all customers who loved to pursue this kind of masculinity.

Philip?At the beginning, the Morris Company used men from various industries such as coachmen, divers, and farmers as the male protagonists of the advertisements, but this ideal man finally concentrated on the image of the American cowboy: a deep-eyed, rough-skinned, exuding The rough, heroic man in the ad has his sleeves rolled up high, revealing his hairy arms, always holding a smoking Marlboro cigarette between his fingers.

This kind of advertisement, which washed away the smell of women's powder, came out in 1954, and it brought Marlboro huge wealth.Only between 1954 and 1955, Marlboro's marketing volume tripled, and it became the tenth largest cigarette brand in the United States. In 10, its market share rose to the second in the United States.

"The way he mounts the horse, the way he rides the horse, the way he walks the horse, all must be manly." Is this Philip Burnett?The powerful weapon of Morris Company's world-renowned reputation-"unpretentious integrity and masculinity".

In the more than 1955 years from 50 to the present, the company has chosen those famous manly models, and finally often went to the most remote ranch in the United States to find real cowboys born and bred.

In 1987, Crome, a creator of the Burnett advertising company, found a real cowboy when he was shooting exterior scenes on a large ranch in the west. Unfortunately, he was a little fatter and had a mustache. Crome finally Convincing him to shave off his moustache and lose weight became one of the cowboys that would later appear frequently in Marlboro commercials.

Philip?Morris Company invested tens of billions of dollars in advertising expenses, and finally established the brand image of "Where there is a man, there is Marlboro" in people's minds.The bold, unrestrained, free-spirited, full-bodied cowboy represents the indomitable spirit of man in the pioneering business, and this is exactly the image of Marlboro.

Now, Marlboro sells 3000 billion cigarettes in the world every year, and only 5000 Boeing 707 aircraft can be used to fill them. For every 4 cigarettes smoked in the world, 1 of them is Marlboro.

Third, capturing the "heart" of customers is the key
What makes the little-known "Marlboro" so popular?American financial authoritative magazine "Forbes" columnist Bronick and his assistants surveyed 1987 Marlboro lovers in 1546.The survey shows that many respondents say that he likes this brand because of its good taste and strong smoke, which make them feel very happy physically and mentally.

But Bronik suspects that what really fascinates people is not the slight difference in taste between Marlboro and other cigarettes, but the perceived superiority that Marlboro advertising brings to cigarettes.

As an experiment, Bronik offered Marlboro cigarettes at half price to every Marlboro "junkie" who claimed to love the taste and quality of Marlboro.Although the brand name of these cigarettes cannot be seen from the outside, the factory can prove that these cigarettes are genuine and that the quality is the same as that of Marlboro cigarettes sold in stores.As a result, only 21% were willing to buy.

Bronik explained this phenomenon and said: "What smokers really need is the satisfaction brought by Marlboro packaging. Marlboro in simple packaging has the same taste and quality as Marlboro in regular packaging, but it cannot bring this kind of satisfaction to smokers. .”

During the survey, Bronik also noticed that these Marlboro fans would take out their Marlboro cigarettes from their pockets 20 to 25 times a day.The image given by Marlboro advertisements has made Marlboro, like clothing and jewelry, a symbol of interpersonal communication.

In other words, Marlboro relies on its unique marketing strategy and the product image it strives to create to become the sweet pastry of "scorpion shit-poison (only)". It is not at all that Marlboro cigarettes are unique. (It's still a kind of smoke anyway, so how much better it can be).

From the dramatic change in the results of Marlboro's two styles of advertising, we can see the magical power of understanding the real needs of customers and gaining customer approval.It is the product image shaped by its distinct marketing strategy that increases product awareness, making Marlboro the number one cigarette brand in the world.

(End of this chapter)