Woo Hoo! At the heart of the matter

I’ve always enjoyed singing; in the car, the shower, and in shops accompanied by Muzak. I thrill to the words:  “How does that song/TV theme go?” especially if uttered by the strangers at the next table.   My first public performance was as a 2 year old in the haberdashery department at the top of the escalators in Myer Lonsdale St., Melbourne. The Song was in fact a Jingle (an early dalliance with advertising?).  The lyrics:  It’s pink and blue and primrose too – Dawn Toilet Paper.  (It had a special resonance as my mum’s name is Dawn. But at a time of Vegemite naming disasters I wonder if the marketing manager at Dawn had considered the play on words...Mmmm...I digress.... ). 

I loved being part of the choir at school many decades ago.  Daily school assembly was made bearable by the opportunity to belt out a hymn. Singing was one of those things I was going to do something about “when I grow up”.

Well, I haven’t grown up yet but nudged along by the joy of the rain choir and a dawning realisation that at almost 50 there are things still to be done so I better get moving, I finally made time this week to go along to the local singing group.

My criteria for gracing that particular group with my vocal process was pretty simple.  Convenience. They are local.  There is car parking.  They meet on Monday nights (when there is nothing else on and it is far too early in the week to start making excuses for not going out).  No audition was an added bonus!

I envisaged that as they advertise for people to join at the start of each term, that I would probably be one of a few newbies on the night.  I had pictured humming a few bars of something so that they could decide if you could carry a tune and whether to stick you in with the sopranos or bass.  My vision extended to perhaps a sweet old thing on a keyboard along the lines of a Vicker of Dibley character, handing out stacks of sheet music to the eager vocalists; and a conductor/choir mistress taking as line by line, part by part through a couple of numbers.

I pictured wrong.

I was the only new kid.

Most of the members of the choir had been members for 3 years or more.

They all knew the repertoire.

By fluke I was standing next to a tenor – Could just as easily have been a soprano and that would have just got ugly.

After breathing exercises and massaging the stranger next to you, and then a bit of chest pounding and stretches, we started singing.  Song that I had never heard before.  Primarily in languages other than English. Without sheet music. Without lyrics. Nor accompaniment.  In 4 part harmony.

And with only 20 people standing in a circle, there was not the slightest opportunity to sneak out the back.

I found myself just on the other side of the Comfort Zone. 

The problem with a musical instruction of “Just follow the person next to you” is that you are, by definition, singing a split second behind everyone else – as you have to hear the damn note before you can sing it.

I should say – they were a great group.  Nice sound.  Very friendly.  The choir mistress/manager obviously knows her stuff and has a real passion for it.

But would it come as a surprise if I said I won’t be going back? And I think I had come to that decision before the second number – which involved choreography.  Yes, unknown tunes with African lyrics, in 4 part harmony, with dance steps!

It made me think of how customers first experience our business .

A customer said to me this week, when I referred to finding a strong branding position:  No, I’m not ready for that yet. 

In a way, I was getting her to follow a few dance steps while singing a song she had never heard in front of 20 strangers.

Don’t get me wrong – I think that we do most of our growing outside of our comfort zone.  But have you ever had
clients who you feel aren’t comfortable enough to embrace what you are doing?  Have there been clients who
seemed ideal, but never came back?  It may just have been that they are scared, a bit confused, or embarrassed.

So, how do we improve the experience – for newbie choir members and clients everywhere?

1.            Ensure that we communicate up front what the experience of dealing with your business will be like.  Your communication can be as simple as telling them, or include pages on your web-site, info in brochures.  Use testimonials from other customers.  Put together a ‘welcome’ kit that goes through terms, conditions, policy, your vision, how your work – what it will mean to your customer.

2.            Try to avoid jargon – or at least explain the language short-hand that you use in your business.  People don’t want to say – “Sorry – I don’t know what that means” – so explain along the way.

3.            Manage expectations.  Ask your clients for feedback.  How are they finding your business.  Is there anything you could be clearer about?  How do they want to receive that information?

4.            Even if you are dealing one on one with a customer, make them feel part of a community.  Introduce them to other customers or suppliers.  Refer to previous customers facing similar challenges.  Let them know they are not alone.


In other words, put yourself in the shoes of your brand new customer and look at dealing with your business through their eyes.  What do they need from you to ensure that you are all "singing from the same song sheet"?

(And if you know of a choir in Melbourne who does pop, rock, soul – with sheet music – please let me know.  You will save the ears of the poor folk who find themselves in the same supermarket aisle as me!)

Whilst blaming the lack of customers on the customers (which certainly demonstrates an interesting take on public relations, in particular in a market place where you still need people to buy your products), Pacific Brands CEO Sue Morphett said: "The only time that we’ll (Ozzies) pay for Australian goods is if they (companies) are giving us something that buying elsewhere or cheaper isn't giving us.''

Ah......yeah...

Isn’t that the basics of selling stuff? Customers only buy your stuff if they can’t get exactly the same stuff elsewhere, better or cheaper?

Is it supposed to be different in Oz if you put some Australian branding on it? Is she suggesting that if the ownership of the company is Australian we will be so satisfied with the same product, the same quality, the same brand, some of which is already made in China, that we should pay just that bit more for it.....?

Chesty Bonds is Cut and Fit and Aussie. His cute little face sits proudly in the middle of that great big chiselled head especially since having some ‘work’ done a few years back. Someone should introduce him to the Skipping Girl – they would make beautiful billboards....

But isn’t that all that the brand has represented? “We” are from the same place as “you”, True Blue Mate?

From a marketing perspective Pac Brands failed to position their brands as representing a true brand experience, their marketing efforts failed to engage with customers, they found nothing to communicate other than “we use to be iconic”. And they were one of the companies that taught us that your every day singlet, socks, t.shirt, and knickers was your basic staple; your brushed washed potato of clothing; a range of such common and everyday items that is was below branding: A market that companies such as Pac Brands then oversupplied and was packed with competitors.

Where were the marketing people at Pac Brands? Was jingoistic positioning ever enough in a country wandering where the bloody hell is its own sense of identity is? Surely they knew that to expect more from the brands – for customers to bond with Bonds - that it had to fit onto more than our bodies but be position into our psyches?

A quick google search of what has been happening from a marketing perspective at Pac Brands demonstrates a lack of focus upon clearly defined target markets which in turn caused confused and muddled positioning. Let’s look at King Gee. In 2005 they reported that King Gee was going to re- position to own the ‘safety gear’ area of the market. Three years earlier they talked about reconnecting with youth as the 80 year old iconic brand was now perceived to be ‘too old’ (reaching for that oft used tactic of many a challenged marketing manager: A new logo). During the early 2000s the annual marketing budget for King Gee was $1.5million. Up against that has been competitor Bisley with a strong and entertaining campaign featuring the cheeky larrikin endorsement of popular ‘tradie’ Scott Cam. Even on Pac Brands own web-site, their overview of Chesty Bonds informs you that he has recently been seen with our own Prime Minister John Howard in the lead up and during the 2000 Olympics. What has he been up to in the past 9 years?

Obviously what is going on at Pac Brands is about a whole heap more than just marketing.

But there is a marketing lesson within all of this: You need to clearly position your brand to appeal to a clearly defined target market; offering them benefits and values that mean something – something worthwhile – to them; and then actually communicate those benefits through engaging marketing tactics that reach those customers – rather than rely upon being Australian.

Can we really blame customers for not choosing to buy Australian for the sake of buying Australian – regardless of value, experience, price, differentiation? Perhaps in some logical and rationale conversation about the impact on employment and the economy we recognise the truth that not favouring local products will damage our local market.

But at the moment of purchase when you just need a new pair of knickers - when there is no perceived benefit, no branding, no value-add, price trumps geography hands-down.

Just as it has for Pac Brands themselves as they look for the best manufacturing services available to them at the best price....regardless of geography.