“I want a quick design” Why saying this can waste your money

We get lots of questions from entrepreneurs through our Ask Us Anything platform (if you have a question about branding or marketing, try it, it’s free) Entrepreneurs ask questions ranging from strategy and mediums that will work better for their businesses. Last week we got three questions from one of the entrepreneurs which are linked to one another. So I am going to use this post as a basis to answer those questions. The questions also remind me of what one of our prospect, now our client, once said: “I have never dealt with a design agency that needed to do strategy first, before designing the work.” The questions help us address that statement as well.

Here are the three questions:

1. Why do we need strategy anyway, can’t you just design stuff and get the ball rolling?
2. What is the difference between business strategy and brand strategy?
3. Do they work together [business and brand strategy]? Or I can get away with just doing one?

1. Why do we need strategy anyway, can't you just design stuff and get the ball rolling?

Yes, we can design the work and get the ball rolling but we prefer not to because with every project we want to know 1) Why are we designing what we are designing? 2) Who are we designing it for 3) How will we communicate the message 4) What mediums will we use to make the message effective 5) How will we measure the effectiveness of the marketing? These questions help us to create the best and effective work for our clients, not only communication that looks good but communication that achieves its purpose. If we just design without answering these questions, it will be like driving while blindfolded and hope to get to our destination safe. A strategy serves this purpose, a brand strategy to be specific.

2. What is the difference between business strategy and brand strategy?

A business strategy answers more or less the same questions as a brand strategy but in an overall business context not only marketing context. A business strategy helps you 1) Define your aspirations as a business 2) Know which market you will target 3) How you will win in the chosen market 4) What capabilities must be in place and 5) What management systems should be in place as outlined in the book Play To Win by former CEO of Unilever AG Lafley and Roger Martin.

I understand that most of us when we start our own businesses we never think about a business strategy our business will be operating on. Most of us run our businesses based how they did things at the company’s we used to work for. Because of this, SMEs operate on certain business strategies that they are not even aware their businesses are operating on.

3. Do they work together [business and brand strategy]? Or can I choose one over the other?

Both business strategy and brand strategy work together. We get lots of clients that don’t know which business strategy their company is built on and we help find them discover which strategy they are operating on first to produce work that will help them get closer to what they want to achieve as a business. Like I said before, whether you know it or not most SMEs run on a certain business strategy, before moving forward you need to know which strategy it is. A business strategy precedes brand strategy because when you’ve defined where you want to play and how you will win, the brand strategy is about helping make that possible.

So you need to:

1. Firstly, you need to know the business strategy your business is being operating on.
2. This will help us know the market you are targeting
3. And that will help us know how to communicate to that market.

1. What strategy is your company based on? 

Low cost leadership or Differentiation? Businesses that seek to be Low cost leaders make sure that the cost of production is less so that they can charge less and make higher margins by selling to lots of people. Differentiation driven companies spend more on costs of creating the product, product design, brand building, etc. to build a perception that the product or service is more valuable.

Each business strategy has its own pro’s and cons

In order to find out what strategy your business is operating on at the moment, you can try answer the questions below to find out. These questions will give you an idea of what strategy your business operates on and compare your answers with the table above to find out where your answers fit.

1. Do you spend more time trying to cut costs to get higher margins?
2. Do you want to sell to “everyone” or target a “specific” market?
3. Do you invest in product design, brand development, etc.?
4. Do your customers stay loyal even when you increase your prices?
5. Do they search for your brand by name or look for a cheaper alternative instead?

2. What market are you targeting?

After you've found out which strategy your business operates on then you need to know how you can approach your marketing and align it to your business strategy. When you are striving to be a low cost leader you need to sell as much product to as many people as possible at a low price. Which makes your target market everyone or most of the people on this earth, this forces you to target Satisficers. But if your business is about building a brand to create the perception that your product or service has more value to a specific group then you are targeting Maximisers.

From the book The Paradox of Choice - Why More is Less, Barry Schwartz introduces the concept of Satisficers and Maximisers to explain the different characteristics that clients or customers have. We are going to look at these from the client/prospect view.

Satisficers

Comprises of a group of people that settle for "good enough" they determine what they want based on the majority. They buy a car that their friends have bought, use the same phone their friends have. They don't have the energy to go in and research as much as Maximisers do so they settle for what everybody has, which becomes proof to them that the product is “good enough”.

Because of this, when you communicate to Satisficers you cannot talk about exclusivity or unique instead you need to reassure them that what they buy is “good enough”. Your marketing efforts should relinquish the anxieties that they have about purchasing your product or service. It may be social anxieties - how others will see them when they buy the product. You need to reassure them that they are making a right decision and they usually believe so when the product is been used by many.

Maximisers

Always want to discover new things and they are always in the know about new products. They want to know more before making a purchase, they don’t follow or buy what everybody buys.

Because of this, when you sell to maximisers you can sell “new", "ahead of the times", "unique", "exclusive" because they don't want to follow the crowd. They don't do what others do.

3. How to communicate to that market?

Once you know the characteristics of the individuals you are targeting whether Satisficers or Maximisers then you will know how you can frame your communication or design or advertising to suit their character. The concept introduced by Daniel Kahneman in his book called Thinking, Fast and Slow will help us know how.

In his book he mentions that there are two systems at work when making decisions, System 1 and System 2. System 1 is an intuitive based "automatic" system that can be summarized as fast thinking. System 2 is an "effortful" system — a slow thinking system that requires an effort (and some time) for us to arrive at the answer. For example, what is 2+2? The answer that comes immediately to mind is, of course, 4. This is System 1 thinking. What is 17 x 24? We can arrive at the answer, but only after a little work. This is System 2. System 1 is based on “heuristics” - rule of thumb or stereotypes. System 2 takes up a lot of effort and energy.

Satisficers use and depend mostly on System 1 thinking when making a buying decision. Maximisers use System 2 thinking because they want to know the details and compare the features of the product with other brand’s products.

When targeting Satisficers

Don’t make them think but give them proof that what you are offering works and it’s good enough to fulfill their need. Be clear on your messaging, be clear about what they will benefit and what others have been getting out of your product and what good things they are saying about that product. Satisficers depend on the majority to know they are making the correct decision.

When targeting Maximisers

Make it easy for them for them to find out the information they will need in order to make a decision. Even though it might take a while before they get to that decision but help them during the process to get there quicker. You can send your salesman to the clients house to give them a demonstration of the product or give the prospect a DVD to watch so that they have full understanding of the product.

Every customer or client wants to know that they are making a good decision when buying, some depend on what others think and some depend on themselves. So the purpose of your marketing is to make it easy for the client to make that decision.

Note: An individual who shows characteristics of a Satisficer in one situation may not show the same characteristics in another situation. For example: When seeking food in the early hours of the morning after a long night of partying, obviously one would go for convenience and access which will likely be McDonalds, but the same person will show characteristics of a Maximiser when she has to choose food for her wedding. She'll plan out the menu, compare caterers, compare prices, etc.

If you want to know how we can help your business produce relevant and effective marketing, contact me at [email protected]