Why Yardley smells better than Bath & Body Works today

Yo!

My loyalty to 维布络 as a former CMO made me buy Yardley handwash. Nah, not quite. I was CMO of the tech business, not the soap side,?anyways. Yardley handwash is 10% of the price of Bath & Body Works. Definitely helpful, but the story is more complex. ?

Bath & Body Works has dedicated physical stores which are a sensorial experience. The intention is to convince you that if you use enough of their stuff you and your home will smell of rainbows and unicorns. They have seasonal candles and fragrances which all appeal to the fast fashion audience that is looking for a little luxury. ?

As an aside, some humans do seem very loyal to fragrances. As a teen I discovered letters from my grandmother in the 1930s from small town India to her family abroad begging them to send her more Cuticura talc.?

An aspect of Bath & Body Works' sales strategy is to constantly have sales and offers on some products. I was enticed by a prominent 50% off board on a shelf. I reconfirmed the half price, even getting the sales assistant to do the calculation of the actual amount. In these stores, I tend to get swayed by "girl math" otherwise :) Sadly once we went to the billing station, the same sales assistant told us that it was 50% off yesterday, but today it was just 40% off. The teen and I felt that it was a bait and switch and did not buy anything. All the pricing strategies in the world can fail if you can't get your communication right!?(I had a?similar disappointment with Shopper's Stop.)?

Pricing just for you

As customers we should rightly be excited by the ability of AI to provide solutions that are designed uniquely for us. Where the 4Ps are concerned (Product, Price, Place, Position), three of them are definite upsides for customers. But Price? That's a bit dicey.

Bath & Body Works has to offer the same discount to all customers. But what if I was on Blinkit? Knowing that I just bought some expensive shampoo, they might decide not to offer me that discount and I would never know. India - thank goodness - mandates clear indications of the maximum price on the label, but discounts are not controlled.?

A frequent debate on groups is whether the cab aggregators have differential pricing based on your usage, location, phone etc. Imagine if you had that doubt on every item you buy!AI can empower both the consumer and the marketer. As a reader of my newsletter you're quite likely to find both consumer psychology and pricing interesting, and I can suggest this very?readable newsletter by? Nick Kolenda for those who want to dig even deeper.??

Ok, so what's with the 10x priced handwash?

A quick recap of an incident for those who have not yet gotten around to reading my book,?Marketing Without Money.?I worked in Ogilvy in the mid 90s and felt guilty?about marketing a “premium” sachet of tea priced at 50 paise to people who seemingly should be just buying 25 paise unbranded tea. Till I did field research and met these consumers at the weekly haat market, and understood that the primary buyer – the man of the house – paid the premium so that his family could start the day with a tiny dose of bottom of the pyramid luxury – branded tea. He felt like a provider! A morning boost of pride! 25p in this context was literally ‘affordable luxury’. At a significantly higher entry point, an expensive handsoap can signal a little treat every time you wash your hands!??

Getting diffusion at a discount

From a marketing viewpoint, I'd say handwash should be as cheap as possible without violating the brand's position, because it is the rare skincare product that is publicly visible, and can generate trials. I like to use the ABCD model, and the D stands for diffusion of the brand. How will customers spread the usage of your brand, is what it is about. If you are looking for a refresher in frugal product marketing, this?video?is helpful.??

March is going to be Women's Month at Paul Writer

We're doing a series of 31 interviews with women leaders for Paul Writer. If you'd like to get involved as a sponsor or interviewee, please email?[email protected]

Thanks for reading - I really appreciate that you have given me the opportunity to write this. There is no author without a reader :)?

Have a great week ahead!

Best regards

Jessie Paul

About Paul Writer

Founded in 2010 by Jessie Paul, Paul Writer is a marketing consulting firm offering brand consulting, community engagement and exec search. Jessie Paul is the author of two books on frugal marketing, has previously held roles such as Chief Marketing Officer of Wipro, Global Brand Manager of Infosys and is an Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Policybazaar.com PB Fintech, CreditAccess Grameen Limited CIEL HR and Bajaj Consumer Care . Paul Writer publishes Marketing Booster Shot, India's longest running marketing newsletter.