Which level are you on?

Last night I awoke feverish with wanting to discuss consumer selection and branding. Maybe it’s all the business news I’ve been reading but it seems many companies are not sure what the end game of marketing looks like. And there is an end game, my friend…. it’s just then there’s maintaining of that end game once you get there.

So what should you be striving for? Brand insistence. Let’s take the example of toilet paper.

Ms. Smith is in Costco (because everybody is buying TP in bulk these days) and needing some toilet paper. Four brands on the shelf and she picks up the one with the lowest price. Doesn’t even care about double roll, extra quilty, absorbency, pretty designs. That’s called Brand Indifference.

Now… Mr. Walker is needing some toilet paper. Four brands on the shelf and he prefers Charmin but it’s the most expensive. So he picks up a lower priced brand with similar attributes (he likes the “double roll” benefit). That’s called Brand Preference.

Finally (this is the end game one)… Mrs. Brown is needing some toilet paper. Four brands on the shelf and she insists on Quilted Northern but that palette is empty. She finds a sales clerk and they check in the back. No luck. Mrs. Brown leaves the aisle without picking up one of the other brands. On her way home from Costco, she stops at the grocery store and picks up a 4-pack and plans to head to another Costco tomorrow to get the bulk size. That’s called Brand Insistence.

And yes… people will do this. for specific coffee beans, printer paper, camera film, batteries, and quite possibly your brand.