Earlier this year, the National Retailers Association announced it was going to investigate the effect of continual discounting on Australians’ willingness to buy when goods aren’t on sale. It appears that the collective and seemingly permanent glut of “discount” offers have produced a bargain-shopping monster – savvy consumers who now expect (and regularly wait for) cost savings to appear before purchasing.
And who could blame them? Everyone loves a bargain. Everyone loves good value.
And therein lies the problem.
Across the marketing landscape, the promise of value has become synonymous with discounting. Little surprise we might say, given the recent state of economic woes and the declining middle market. Competition is tight and only made harder by the blurring and multiplication of paths to purchase. Toss in ever-increasing technological advancement and explosion of choice and we find ourselves in a culture where collective consumer expectations of brands have never been higher. We have educated people to expect cost and time savings everywhere. The promise of value is reaching a state of commoditisation.
The more we continue to define value in this way, the more we risk diluting competitive differentiation and true brand positioning.
Let me offer a recent real life example.
Walking up the road to get lunch the other day I stopped in at the local deli and placed my order. Whilst waiting, I flicked open the nearest paper and absent mindedly spun through. About mid way I stopped. Something felt oddly similar. I just didn’t know what. As I backtracked through the pages, it dawned on me that nearly every brand I’d seen advertised was offering a time or cost saving. From large chain retailers to travel providers, the language was wrapped up in the same idea – value.
This perked my curiosity so, on my walk back, I held the thought in mind. As I pondered, I passed by a number of retailers. They were the same ones I’d seen earlier but this time I observed something I hadn’t picked up on before.
The promise of value was screaming out at me everywhere. Literally.
Store after store was using value to drive their competitive point of difference. What struck me was that not one of the brand messages I encountered motivated me to change my behaviour or attitude, let alone move me to purchase.
It suddenly became clear that the more I was promised value, the less I believed I’d receive it. The shopping experience has become saturated with the idea of value – to the point where it now feels narrow, hollow and at worst, irrelevant. It also feels counterintuitive to how many shoppers and consumers define value - getting more than I expected, even if it costs me a bit extra.
With all of this in mind, how do we put the value back into…err…. value?
First, I believe we need to be more targeted and selective about the use of the “v” word in our brand promises and marketing communication. How can you cut through the clutter with clearly defined solutions that solve specific needs of your target market? If saving time and money has become a cost of entry, what else will make your brand relevant?
Second, I believe we need to shift our thinking. What if we re-defined value from “lowest price” to best experience? Through this new lens, time or cost saving can still enter the story but they avoid becoming the entire narrative. It enables us to move brands from a functional promise to an emotion-led experience of value. Innovative brands already tap into this – just look at the rise of destination retailing and sensory marketing as a case in point.
An example of a retailer that I believe delivers “new value” brilliantly is Mecca Cosmetica. What started as an idea in Jo Horgan’s mind 13 years ago has transformed to a multi-million dollar success story. Mecca delivers because they wrap promotions & merchandising around clearly identified shopper missions & needs – not price discounting. Their position in the market is differentiated via their outstanding product choices, unique services and most importantly, memorable customer interactions. They don’t need to ‘promise’ value because they create it each and every time a person walks through the door. Staff are regarded and treated as brand advocates who host the customer experience. Their focus on providing consistently great product and service experiences creates wow-factor, talk-ability and expanded loyalty necessary to driving sales. Their store space is truly a world class brand space.
If we focus less on promising value and more on finding ways for shoppers to experience getting more than they expected, we open ourselves to creative, clever concepts and marketing solutions that drive real shopper engagement, brand loyalty and competitive differentiation.
And surely that's good value for everyone.
