Value: Show It, Don't Say It.

anonymousadguy · 10-14-2008, 02:07 PM

Any dummy can become a CEO.

Several years back, I presented a new marketing campaign to the CEO of a national pizza chain. No, not that one. Or that one, either. In fact, it’s probably not a brand you would think of at all today, though you might have fifteen or twenty years ago. Before delivery was king, this was one of the more successful sit-down pizza joints. It had once been the quintessential neighborhood pizza place. But that was then.

This was a place where they still hand-tossed the dough. A place where you could see and smell your pizza cooking in the oven. It was a brand experience that went way beyond answering the door to some zit-addled delivery kid, holding out his hand for a tip while his Yugo idled at the curb.

We presented a campaign that focused on these strengths. It made you hungry for the pizza and for the experience. It made you feel that you got something special for your money.

It made that CEO mad.

I won’t go into the ensuing debate, except to say that it was heated, it was lengthy, and the guy cutting the checks got his way. As requested (though under protest), we returned with a campaign built purely around promotional offers.

Sales continued to slide. Franchisees staged a revolt. And a year later, that CEO was out of a job.

The point of the story is this: never confuse a low price point with good value. A low price can be a good thing, depending on your positioning. But price alone does not create value.

For the full article and some great advice on how to market value, check out anonymousadguy.com

Iamnotsatisfied · 10-14-2008, 04:59 PM

Another great post as usual.

cybergift · 10-15-2008, 10:40 AM

This is an interesting post. I think the real value is when a product or service can be useful for more and more people.

pgrant001 · 10-15-2008, 11:34 AM

LOL... It's very possible your Monumental Pizza Chain Marketing Campaign was as Useless as your current project anonymousadguy.com. This site isn't even live!!!

pgrant001 · 10-15-2008, 11:37 AM

The lesson here is:
Before you start bashing CEO's that make incorrect decisions, make sure you can back it up with... something... anything!

fated · 10-16-2008, 04:18 AM

Yes, that why i never like to reduce price. No, I never reduce price.

anonymousadguy · 10-16-2008, 09:22 AM

Not sure if you typed it in wrong, but the site is live. Appreciate the lively chatter!

AchieveWithAdam · 10-16-2008, 11:07 AM

Great post!

As far as I'm concerned, a quality product and client experience will beat a low price every single time.

That's not to say that a low price point can't be of an advantage, but I know that I don't believe in "cutting corners" in order to deliver my product at a lower price.

Another point to be considered is the power of word-of-mouth. Although a business may offer their products/services at a price point lower than that of their competition; as an entrepreneur I do not want my business to become known as "the cheap place" and in turn recieve the stigma (low quality, poor service, etc.) that typically comes along with offering a lower price point.

anuragsharma · 10-17-2008, 01:31 AM

Nice thoughts. But, this is totally subjective. Low price is good but not always. I firmly believe that quality comes at a price. Now, there could be factors that affected the pizza chain and I believe when you say that they were overlooking some crucial factors. Being a part of the IT world I can easily say that people who offer cheap services don't last long. And that's probably the optimization point. Cutting down the costs as much as possible without compromising the services. And most business fail when they fail to draw the line where they should stop cutting costs.

ScottRobertson · 10-17-2008, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgrant001

LOL... It's very possible your Monumental Pizza Chain Marketing Campaign was as Useless as your current project anonymousadguy.com. This site isn't even live!!!

...

The lesson here is:
Before you start bashing CEO's that make incorrect decisions, make sure you can back it up with... something... anything!

Anonymous Ad Guy

It absolutely is live and I've read many great entries there.

Hats off to anonymous for another great post.. I always enjoy reading them.

discountedclothing · 10-17-2008, 02:44 AM

This is such a great post. Thank you for sharing it with us. The battle between quality and low price continues. The most important is - how you will handle and sacrifce each decision you make.

anonymousadguy · 10-17-2008, 10:45 AM

Anuragsharma makes a very good point about subjectivity. Franchisees, operational challenges, stockholder pressure-- there are always a lot of factors at play when a business like this makes any decision. Far too many to go into in any one post!

The main thing is that brands who stay true to who they are and what people value about them are the ones who, over the long term, grow and thrive. You don't have to be a national pizza chain; you could be one person working out of your garage. The connections that are built between your brand and your customers are exactly the same.

Thanks for all the kind words, and for the great conversation.

Anonymous Ad Guy