Introducing New Technology
One challenge many organizations face is how the introduction of a new technology will affect their relationships with their customers. The use of the Internet as a marketing tool will be discussed in much more detail in a later chapter. Let's now look at the introduction of the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) and how it changes the relationship with the customer. One extreme view has been that the ATM would replace the main human-interfaced service of local bank branches. On the contrary is the viewpoint that bank managers held, believing that human trust was the essence of banking, and that this could never be replaced by machines. The human interface was necessary at all costs, in particular for elderly citizens.
Research shows that for many clients in diffuse societies, money serves as a sort of proof of social identity, and the bank is thus a place with which they retain very strong and intimate ties. For many, to some degree, the amount of money they possess lets them know how well they are doing in life in general. So, if the mission of a bank is to contribute to the development of diffuse identities, could the ATM perform that function? Or is banking becoming a specific commodity, along with everything else done by machines?
The dilemma can best be phrased like this: on the one hand, a bank needs to be a loving, caring, non-judgmental entity, a place where you can always have your basic needs fulfilled. On the other hand, it needs to be judgmental and ensure you pay back the loan you took out some years ago. Obviously the bank needs to reconcile these stereotypical "motherly" and "fatherly" aspects and have them feed into each other; both are necessary. Banks should offer "motherly" ATM services to all clients worldwide, not only to their own customers, but the "fatherly" bank could be more selective, respecting the ritual of signing documents in a personalized way, maybe even with imposing wood and leather in the offices to reinforce the effect. Specific technology does not replace diffuse human interaction. At its best, new technology results in more meaningful personal service. The reconciliation integrates high tech with high touch in tough love, and is illustrated in Figure 2.6. The success of ATMs internationally is the proof that it was well reconciled.
Figure 2.6: The specific-diffuse dilemma
As we have noted before, marketing through reconciliation is therefore, once again, much more than compromise. We cannot stress this enough. It is the craft of trying to define specific areas in order to provide a more personal service to customers and thereby deepen the relationship.
THE DILEMMA BETWEEN NEUTRAL. AND AFFECTIVE ORIENTATION
Reason and emotion both play a role in relationships between people. Which dominates will depend on whether we are affective-that is, display our emotions, in which case we will probably get an emotional response in return-or whether we are emotionally neutral in our approach. In the latter case we are still emotional, of course, but don't show it. What part does the display and role of emotion play, and/or is the display of emotion controlled? What shapes the purchasing decisions? Figure 2.7 shows the relative orientation of a number of countries on this dimension.
Figure 2.7: Relative degree to which a number of selected countries openly display emotions (affective = display, neutral = conceal)
Peter Darke and his research team argue that it doesn't matter whether you're buying a new car or a new shade of lipstick (Darke et al., 2002). In all cases you are likely to consider both tangible factors (product features, price, etc.) as well as intangible qualities (such as how the product makes you feel). Their research demonstrates how affective (emotional) experience can be influential even when consumers are highly motivated and fully capable of making rational decisions on the basis of tangible features. Indeed, marketing research has shown the importance of affective cues (preferences based on feelings) and informational cues (preferences based on features) in the consumer decision making processes. It appears that affective cues have an impact on judgement primarily when consumers are less motivated to adopt a rational, analytic approach, especially when they perceive they have a diminished ability to judge products. Further, choices made with a high affective component are often perceived as impulse purchases which consumers ultimately regret. This is the familiar "buyer's remorse" syndrome. Affectivity also explains why many women enjoy "retail therapy" even to the point of window shopping with friends rather than making actual purchases.
Typically reason and emotion are linked or combined. When the customer expresses satisfaction (or dissatisfaction), they are trying to find confirmation in their thoughts and feelings-and trying to show they have the same response as others. This is embodied in the well-known theory of conspicuous consumption. Customers whose response is neutral are seeking an indirect response.
Advertising should appeal to emotion, but what few advertisers understand is that this sentimental dimension of advertising has a logic of its own. Most companies make the mistake of assuming that people purchase products and services for rational reasons, and so they give them several rational reasons to buy. These reasons emphasize specific features, benefits, quality, or guarantees. Some companies, however, know that the real reasons people buy a product or service aren't scientific or rational. They understand that emotion plays a big role in making purchasing decisions, and they tap into this emotion through symbols.
Take the age-old dilemma of increasing demand for wood products and the need for forest preservation. Both are desirable outcomes, even for environmentalists. Most people's notion of the forest is deeply imbued with sentiments of camping and hiking when they were children; when you cut down a tree you are killing it. So the Californian Forestry Association used ads saying: "This year we planted 2,400,230 new trees." But people didn't get the right emotion. Did they cut down more than they planted? They changed their ads by using a picture of a mother with a baby in her arms-simple, touching, and a universal symbol of nurturing and protecting. The text read: "For every baby born in California, we plant 100 trees." The new ad brought to the public's awareness the entire life cycle of the forest, which was the side of the industry that had been ignored in the past.
Jingles
One marketing technique that has been exploited in the US is the use of jingles or songs. The songs tend to be short and upbeat (Americans love enthusiasm), and they repeat the same chorus several times, making them easy to remember. In his sixteen tips on television advertising, David Ogilvy, founder of the Ogilvy & Mather ad agency, says, "If you do not have much to say [about a product], put it in a song, but make sure audiences can understand the words of your jingle." Although this form of advertising is sometimes viewed by non-Americans as silly, it is often the "silly" commercials that most stick in people's minds. They get the viewers' attention, and they remember the name of the product. Consequently this type of advertising can be quite effective in the US.
Humor
Since the expression of positive emotions is encouraged in the US, many companies use humor to sell their products to an American audience. For example, a popular TV commercial for deodorant showed a head shot of an old woman saying "Grandpa says I need Ban roll-on for what ails me, but I don't feel sick." Next you hear the voice of the announcer saying "Maybe Grandpa does," and then you see Grandma with a shocked look on her face. It is very possible that this commercial would not be at all well received in other parts of the world because humor is culturally determined. Moreover, in some cultures, it would be considered inappropriate to joke about your product and/or to make fun of an old person. However Americans really liked it because it appealed to their sense of humor; for that reason, this commercial was very effective in selling its product to American consumers.