None of the consumers in the experiment went out of their way to try any new or more expensive brands even if they now had the financial freedom to do so.
They all stuck to what they were familiar with and instead shopped almost a year’s worth of non-perishable goods.
I recently met a senior executive of a UK-headquartered, global fast moving consumer good (FMCG) company whose experience reminded me why such companies will always lead in driving the emotive part of consumerism.
The executive [let’s call him Joe for now] earned his career stripes as a young marketer in South Africa working for another global FMCG company. His most memorable initiative was going into the townships in Johannesburg to observe how consumers used products.
The task involved going into actual homes of consumers and watching how they interacted with consumer products throughout the day.
The FMCG company that Joe worked for at the time was trying to introduce a global recognised ketchup brand into the South African market but was finding that a locally produced one had greater brand recognition and, subsequently, a large market share.
So Joe gave a number of consumers some cash, which in many cases was equivalent to their annual income, and asked them to go into a supermarket and shop to their heart’s delight. His observations were illuminating.
None of the consumers in the experiment went out of their way to try any new or more expensive brands even if they now had the financial freedom to do so. They all stuck to what they were familiar with and instead shopped almost a year’s worth of non-perishable goods.
When asked why they didn’t “up-trade” the brand selection, their reaction was unanimous: “This is what I am used to, so why try out something different?” Consequently, the outcome of the experiment was that the consumers were sticking to their usual brands of ketchup or tomato sauce.
Yet, he also noticed that the same consumers were happy to buy a more expensive brand of margarine from another global FMCG company because that is what they and their parents had used for decades. In their eyes, that margarine was a trusted brand.
Joe and his team then concluded that the only way they could get consumers to try out their brand was if they could get free samples as domestic budgets did not permit customers to try out more expensive brands.
They linked up with a popular fast food chain that had several branches in the townships. They gave the restaurant chain their own brand of ketchup to give to every customer who ordered chips in small branded sachets.
The consumers were thus introduced to the brand through the fast food chain.
Once consumers had taken a liking to the brand, the company later entered into a sale agreement with the fast food chain making sales at the business level and at the consumer level in the supermarket as the consumers had now had the opportunity to engage with the ketchup and appreciate both taste and quality of the brand.
So was it hard to get South Africans to accept global brands when there were many equally good locally produced alternatives? I asked. Joe then schooled me on the emotive part of marketing that his previous job had taught him.
During the struggle against apartheid, several multinationals exited the South African market in protest against the policies of the ruling apartheid regime at the time.
The result to some extent was positive to the consumer as it gave an opportunity for local manufacturers and financial institutions to step into the vacuum and provide the same goods and services, thereby creating deep customer stickiness.
Joe as a marketer turned this view of “outsider brands” on its head by pushing the narrative that the brands had supported “The Struggle” by exiting the market in protest and should therefore be supported rather than ignored as they tried to reenter the post struggle market.
Sitting with Joe was highly educative for me who, as a trained lawyer and banker, only knows customers who shop for services because of a need rather than a want.
Making a life career out of a deep understanding of what is top of mind during customer decision points was something I greatly admired in Joe.
It also helped me understand that in non-consumer industries, getting to understand client emotions and aspirations is almost a basic foundation from which to build products and services, foundation that is largely lacking.
Back in my banking days over 10 years ago, we hired a head of marketing out of an FMCG company and the first thing she taught us was how we sold our products in the most pathetic and non-communicative way.
Instead of putting language like “come get a mortgage with us” in our marketing collateral with the fatal assumption that everyone knew what a mortgage was, she challenged and demonstrated that putting up a picture of a house and a hand holding a set of keys would be a better way to state “come get the keys to your house here”.
Her point: We needed to tug at the heart, rather than speak to the mind, of our customers. So how are you converting your customer wants into cannot-do-without-my-product?
