Marketing Home Products

How often do you use your smartphone in place of your computer to surf the Internet?  Smartphone technology is very well suited for those of us on the go. The common saying “there’s an app for that” may be more true than we might believe.  With a simple touch of the screen, we are able to gather information all over the web.  Companies are learning that the integration of mobile websites and apps can have a positive impact on business.  The goal of any successful mobile website or app is to create a pleasant experience for the customer, with one of the most important factors being easy navigation.

As technology advances at the pace of a freight train, it’s important that companies are able to keep up. The article “IKEA Rolls out iAd Campaign to Drive App Downloads” gives some insight into IKEA’s clever use of mobile apps.  The home furniture and accessories brand released its 2012 catalogue, which can now be viewed via a mobile app.  After clicking on the IKEA’s iAd, you are sent directly to the Apple App Store where the catalogue can then be downloaded for free.  The convenience and availability of mobile apps attracts customers and can therefore boost a company’s sales.

Target is also a big advocate on marketing through the use of mobile technology.  According to “Why Retailers Should Integrate Mobile Device Technology into Their Marketing Strategy,” Target uses a variety of mobile app strategies to attract customers.  If a customer is shopping at any Target store, he or she can use the barcode scanner on the Target mobile app to scan a product, which will result in detailed information about that product.  Both Target and IKEA are successful retailers that are taking necessary steps to expand their respective brands.  What other companies do you notice that are exercising smart mobile marketing campaigns?

Generation Y (the Millennials) has been getting a lot of attention lately. As the most recent consumer group to enter the housing market, many believe that the nation’s economic recovery rests largely in the hands of this generation. And buying homes is just the beginning. These young, enthusiastic couples and families need things to fill their homes and companies have taken note, launching new ad campaigns targeted directly at Gen Y.

A few weeks ago, I talked about the importance of design to Millennial customers and touched briefly on the idea that Millennials like sharing things with others. The Pew Research Center did a study over this very topic and found that Millennials not only like sharing things now, but they plan on continuing to share as they age. This love of sharing explains why social networks have become so popular among this generation.

Millennials enjoy helping others and building relationships. Helping someone solve their problem is a mutually rewarding interaction to Gen Y. Receiving credit for answering a question is reward enough for these individuals. They enjoy sharing things with the people they know because they want to be the first person to tell their friends. Being first gives them credibility and elevates their status among their network. And speaking of networks, helping each other and sharing new ideas is amplified through social networks. Not only can someone answer a question on a discussion forum, but that question and answer live on to benefit future users. Sharing new ideas is quick and easy on social networks, where information travels at light speed. And as people help and share more online, the number of people they reach increases, their network grows, giving them exponential opportunities to interact. . These types of online activities are just what Gen Y has been looking for – a way to share and help people taken to the extreme.

And of course we can’t forget about doing things for the common good. Not only do Gen Y-ers want to help one another, they want to help society as a whole. Wikis that rely on the efforts of many individuals to survive, attract these types of people. Increasing world knowledge on Wikipedia helps everyone and satisfies the user’s need to share. The crowdsourcing phenomenon feeds off this enthusiasm as well – why leave a decision to one person in a company when there are thousands of online participants, willing to help you out for free? The concept of open source platforms also has become popular with Millennials because a brand’s willingness to share and accept advice from users is what Gen Y looks for. They want to have a say in what a company does, and they want to help you improve.

So why ignore them? If your customer base is willing to give advice and help you make decisions, why not let them? There is a wealth of knowledge that exists in the crowd just waiting to be tapped. And Millennials don’t require much: they don’t need payments, they don’t need shiny bells and whistles… they just need you to be as open and honest with them as they are with you. They need you to trust them. Share with them, and they will share with you. Solve their problems, and they will solve yours.

Citigroup calls it the “Consumer Hourglass Theory.” Others cite a “trading up, trading down” trend. No matter the label, America’s swiftly evolving consumer markets have created a fairly distinguishable divide.  And to win in this economy, you’re going to need to do it without the middle class.

Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. saw a 33% rise in earnings during its second fiscal quarter and as reported by the Wall Street Journal, “lower-priced silver baubles, once a favorite of middle-class shoppers… are now its weakest sellers in the U.S.” What’s more, Porsche sales management claimed “the highest order intake in the company’s history” and predicts that the numbers will climb higher still. Similarly, BMW and Mercedes-Benz executives reported positive sales, with no indication that demand may slow. And luxury retailer Saks promoted that sales for the first half of this year were up 11% and announced a return to profitability with great resiliency on the part of the affluent consumer.

So is the secret to success as simple as chasing the high-end target market? Not so fast.

Consider Dollar General and web discounters who attract value conscious consumers, capitalizing on the gap between the “haves” and “have nots” Even power player WalMart is mired in the middle. Have you seen the new Walgreens drugstore on Wall Street that sells sushi and offers nail salon services or visited a Costco that serves as a one-stop shop for both bulk pack toilet paper and a bottle of first-growth Bordeaux? Proctor & Gamble, for example, saw how shoppers’ habits were changing, and fundamentally changed how it develops and sells product. The company’s strategy now is to please both high-end and lower-end markets by offering home goods such as soap, toothpaste, razors and paper towels through distinctly price-differentiated brands.

The popularity of Target's new Missoni collection introduction crashed its servers last week. Photo credit: Paul Nelson

At K&A, we’re seeing a considerable and distinct balance between opposite ends of the buyers’ market. There’s a bifurcation taking place in the U.S. whereas the clout of the middle class is seriously diminishing. Just this past week at the Casual Market show in Chicago, we witnessed higher end products and low price alternatives co-existing within the same experiential event… appealing not to the middle-of-the-road consumer, but instead to shoppers at one end of the spectrum and the other. Take EcoSmart and Eco-Fue, two brands represented at Casual Market. Both introduced new Bioethanol fireplaces. EcoSmart’s high price-point fireplace carries a suggested retail of around $1000 while Eco-Fue markets to a more price-conscious consumer with burners starting at $75. Both brands keenly recognize and are taking advantage of the split market phenomena, manufacturing profitable products to meet increasing demand at both ends of the economy.

While median household earnings fell for the third consecutive year according to the Census Bureau and more than 15% of Americans are living in poverty, consider that…

• Luxury clothing and accessories purchases are demonstrating significant strength this year compared to a similar time period last year, according to  American Express Business Insights
• Custom residential markets seem to be recovering faster than other types of housing with Southern California rising for the first time in some 14 months.
• Luxury markets are experiencing greater stability and are demonstrating stronger numbers than other entry-level segments
• Home sizes may be growing slightly, as 60% of residential architects say upper-end home sizes are increasing or staying the same