Marketing Home Products

Your customer is staring at a poster advertising your company. They just scanned your QR code and have left the world of print media and are peering into the digital universe through a 4 inch screen. What do you do for your customer that just told you “I want to engage with your company,” simply by pulling their phone out of their pocket? You engage them of course!

By now you know what a QR code is. You know how to program it. Your customers know what to do with it. Now what?

Typically when you read information about QR codes used for business, the topics generally include a persuasive argument for why you should use them, some how-to knowledge about using them, and some rules about making them user friendly. Isn’t it time to start exploring the possibilities of QR codes further? (If you’re still not convinced about why you should be using QR codes, consider that The Home Depot will soon require all products in their stores to have QR codes on the packaging.) In order to move beyond the “Why” and “How” of QR codes and into a more sustainable discussion, I challenge you to change the context of “What” from “What is this?” to “What more can I do with this?”

Most QR codes currently take the user to a mobile website or to a Facebook fan page and encourage people to like the page or register for more info. It’s time for advertisers to start realizing the full potential of this technology. Remember – customers are looking for information and they are looking to be engaged. Don’t just take them to your mobile website where they can sign up for your mailing list. A QR code can step in as digital sales rep, selling the value of the product for you. You don’t tell your customer service reps to ask the customer to subscribe to the mailing list before answering their questions; you answer their questions and they are so impressed they sign up for the mailing list because they want to continue hearing from you. The same logic should be applied to QR codes.

If your customer is holding your product in their hands, show them the possibilities of that product: give them how-to videos, project ideas, and customer reviews (the opinion of other consumers is often the most influential factor in a purchase). You can also use QR codes to add on sales. Say your customer scans the QR code on a new faucet; after telling all about the faucet you could include information on what tools are needed if self installing or what other fixtures match that particular faucet. Maybe your customer is looking at an advertisement away from a retail location; use a QR code to show your customer where they can find your product. Make it interactive – ask them which product they are looking for and tell them where to find it. You could even get really specific and make a store directory accessible via QR.

Remember: thanks to smartphones, customers are no longer limited to traditional media advertising when they are on the go. QR codes are your avenue into your customer’s smartphone. It’s an open invitation into their lives. Get in there and wow your customer! Engage them when they ask you to and they will respond!

Here are the cold hard facts. Despite the poor housing market and debates on renting vs. owning, young couples are ready to start living out the American Dream, and it all starts with owning a home.

The Millennial generation is coming of age and entering that stage of life where they are moving out of their parents’ basements, getting married, thinking about babies and wanting to start building their own nest. Who are these ambitious young Millennials, you may ask. Well you probably know their parents – the Baby Boomers. America’s largest generation gave birth to a generation nearly as large and just as powerful. Right now the first of the Millennials are in their late twenties and early thirties and are the prime targets for new and existing home sales. And even though the economy has been less than desirable lately, Millennials are ready to start their own American Dream by owning a house. With favorable forecasts about the housing market for the future and pent-up demand, the buyer’s market is enticing more young couples to buy their first home.

And what do new homeowners need? Stuff to put in their home! Enter Sears and The Truth Room. Sears has taken note of the influence the Millennial generation is going to have on the economy, and its latest commercial reflects the Millennial spirit. Featuring a young couple in the market for their first home, Sears answers the question of where will the couple find all new appliances to fill their kitchen. A phone in the kitchen sink connects them directly to The Truth Room, a high tech center where “it’s raining cold hard facts” about where to find the top ten Kenmore appliances.

The Sears campaign is excellent for two reasons. It accurately identifies the next target market for home products. And it communicates with them by capturing their spirit and character.

Thinking that your brand could benefit from the business of Millennials? You’re probably right. But before you jump into the game with your own version of the Truth Room, there are a few things you need to know about this generation that makes them different from all previous generations. Our White Paper on the Millennial generation details the characteristics of this generation and how businesses can effectively connect with this emerging group of consumers.

The television sitcom has provided thousands of hours of entertainment for Americans since the concept was first adapted in the 1950s. Although hundreds of shows have come and gone, the theme is always the same: show the humor in “real life” people, doing “real life” things. While some sitcoms capture real life better than others, the goal is always to get a laugh. And this fall’s lineup of sitcoms is no different. The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted a common theme among several of these new shows that I think is interesting: men in modern day society.

“Up All Night” (NBC) centers on Chris and wife Reagan, new parents to baby Amy. While Reagan goes back to work after Amy is born, Chris stays home as Mr. Mom. In “Last Man Standing” (ABC) Mike struggles with being the last “real man” left in a woman’s world. “How to Be a Gentleman” (CBS) follows a clean cut, well mannered magazine columnist as he enlists an old high-school bully to show him how to become a “real man.”

So what do these shows and others say about men in today’s society? It used to be that the TV man was the head of household, had words of wisdom for his children, and was the primary breadwinner. But today’s TV dad stays home, plays videogames, struggles to clean and cook, and is clueless when it comes to his kids. Is this an accurate picture of today’s man?

It’s no secret that women have made great strides toward equality in the past few decades. And interesting to note is that 56% of American’s currently unemployed are men. In the last 15 years, the number of stay-at-home dads taking care of children under 15 has tripled to 154,000. Have women gained ground at the expense of men? Are men becoming less manly like the WSJ and new TV shows seem to suggest? Or does “manly” have a new definition today?

A few years ago, I wrote a White Paper about the “Missing Males,” looking at the portrayal of men in TV advertising as absent minded, clueless and careless. Cited in the paper was a study that found that “74 percent of men feel that images of their gender in advertising are out of touch with reality.” So will men identify with these new TV dads this fall?

It depends. These TV shows could go one of two ways.

In scenario one, men are portrayed as clueless and careless. Even though they are more involved in their children’s lives, they know no more about how to care for their children. The “alpha woman” constantly steps in to correct mistakes. If this plot plays out, audiences will find it funny, but men won’t identify and if advertisers follow suit, they’ll lose big.

In scenario two, men are portrayed as caring and competent. They love their families and are committed to them. They are fully capable of cooking, cleaning, and caring for themselves and others. Men may better identify with this plot. Advertisers who cater to the caring nature of today’s man will also succeed.

Dove has captured this sentiment in their Men+Care product advertising. The ads show men participating in both “tough” activities like football and driving motorcycles and caring moments with their children and pets. Dove poses the question “Who says power can’t be caring?”

Men today are different, just as women are. But it’s important that advertisers realize exactly how they are different and identify accurately with their audience.

Read more about the Missing Male phenomenon here.