Kmart, Wal-Mart and Target. Which would you choose to shop at? If I’m looking for bargain prices – Wal-Mart. If I’m looking for stylish on a budget – Target. Kmart isn’t even in my vernacular these days. But like many American’s (at least of a certain age group) I can recall a time when Kmart was a routine shopping stop. I recently read an article titled, How Kmart Lost the Attention of Discount Shoppers. Among the issues that have plagued the former discount retail giant are:

• Failure to successfully define what differentiates Kmart from competitors
• Failure to upgrade stores
• Failure to adapt to the changing market place
• And failure to stay focused on what they did best

Though membership based associations may be hesitant to compare themselves to corporate America, they share one major similarity. Members are consumers. Make no mistake, they have a choice about with which organizations they choose to affiliate, pay annual dues, recommend to their peers and where they will remain loyal.

There is a lot to be learned from Kmart’s story specifically.

1. Wal-Mart has differentiated itself as providing the best bargain, while Target differentiates its brand by saying it provides a better experience, but still a decent price. Kmart hasn’t positioned itself, as well – anything. When you look at your own organization, what differentiates it from others that deliver similar programs or services? How do you share that with your members and potential members, and how do you continue to reinforce that message?

2. Kmart’s stores were described as “tired”. Hardly a description you’d want your brand associated with. Would your members say that your website and publications are fresh and that there is new and relevant content? Would they say that your meetings and conferences reengage and excite them? Or would they say you recycle the same boring content, in the same boring template, and provide the same boring conference, adding little to no value to them as members?

3. Wal-Mart has adapted it’s big box stores to marketplaces because it is what their consumers want. There are certainly a plethora of ways you can share information and connect to your members, but before you attempt to use every channel, have you thought about what your members need from your organization? When is the last time you asked them versus adapting based on assumption?

4. Kmart lost focus. Their parent company acquired varying types of business, some that they knew little about, instead of staying focused on what they did best.  Sometimes organizations get caught up in what a few members say they want, rather than what the organization is there to provide and what they can do best. Before pursuing new opportunities, are you referring to your mission and using it as a litmus test to make sure that your proceeding down the right path?

5. My favorite line from the article was from Sid Doolittle, a retail consultant, who said, “Long term, retailers have to have a reason for existence that customers love. What do you love about Kmart?” he said. “There’s nothing really.” Membership based associations have to have a reason that their members love them too. What would your members say they love about your organization? If you can’t answer that in one sentence it might be time for you to do some serious investing in your brand.

Bottom line, whether a retail giant or a membership based organization, resting on your laurels is never an option. You continually have to invest in your brand.

I recently downloaded the free set of symbol signs made available by AIGA. These symbols are termed an “inventory of symbol systems… for use at the crossroads of modern life.” They are standardized icons we see daily with effective iconography for several languages, yet still modern, and don’t forget, adorable. I’m a fan of anything tiny, but more than their size, I appreciate that these symbols were designed with the goal to “communicate the required range of complex messages, addressed people of different ages and cultures and were clearly legible at a distance.” In the design world, the term “segmentation” or “target audience” is thrown around a time or two. While these are very important, at times it seems there must be one very direct, general purpose for a piece or message to reach a wide group of people, or dare I say everyone. Whether it be a specific ad campaign to an age group under 30 with a similar interest of golfing, or a wide, bold message stating a cause or stance to everyone that hears, Willow is available to help you communicate that message clearly. If you’re lucky, we may even design an icon or two for you.

Source:
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/symbol-signs

If only we could count the number of times we’ve heard, “We know what our ___(insert target audience)___ wants from us.” Do you? Ever heard that expression, “When you assume, you make an a** out of u and me.”~ Oscar Wilde

Five years ago I didn’t have a facebook or twitter account, Google was not something I visited multiple times a day, and purchasing a smart phone was out of the question.  I thought a phone’s purpose was simply to allow me to chat anytime, any place and my little Samsung with its 12 keys did the job.  Today my iPhone is practically a limb. I text, tweet, mobile upload photos to facebook and occasionally still talk on my “phone”, although it is really a computer the size of a phone.  My point is, you can teach an old dog new tricks and if one were assuming my communication preferences were the same as they were five years ago, because a database indicated that I like to be called, one would be very wrong.  These are just my qualitative observations, but research shows that times are changing.

According to Nielsen, by 2011, US smartphone users will catch and surpass feature phone users. This means that around 50% of current mobile subscribers will shift to smartphones. What does that mean for marketers? It means access to multiple communication channels (text, e-mail, social media, websites, and the good old fashion phone) from one handheld device. But how do you ensure that you reach your target audience through those channels?

Step one in becoming savvier marketers is recognizing and accepting that your target audience is fickle. Their behaviors are ever changing and to remain relevant you’ll continually need to use qualitative and quantitative research to gain insight about your audience, your competitors and the marketplace that we all live in.

Step two in becoming savvier marketers is recognizing that as marketers continually saturate all these channels, consumers will become weary from their methods. For this very reason you need to continually pay attention to your target audience’s preferences, what your competitors are doing and what innovation is available in the marketplace.

Bottom line – don’t assume anything. Testing and research is key.