Chapter 6:
Executive Case Studies for Leveraging the Voice of the Customer
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“Start with thinking that, more often than not, it’s about more than just the product. You have to think about the full experience somebody has with the item, and throughout their journey.”
Scott Sommers, VP of Insights and Innovation at ShurTech Brands
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Executives and the Voice of the Customer
As brand leaders continue to adapt to changing markets and buying behaviors amid COVID-19, there is one central focus area among brands that have found success: innovation. Understanding how to adapt, adopting a test-and-learn strategy, and having the ability to execute new strategies quickly are not only vital for navigating the current landscape but are essential for moving into the "next normal" with lasting success. Several brand leaders at some of the world's largest brands shared their insight on how to best leverage the voice of the customer at the Digital Shelf Virtual Summit, presented by The Digital Shelf Institute (DSI). Here are two executive case studies that highlight how to face this make-or-break moment for brands.
Josh Walsh
Founding CEO - The Refinery
Watch Full Session
Brent Bellm
Chief Executive Officer - BigCommerce
Brent Bellm is the CEO of BigCommerce, a powerful SaaS ecommerce platform for tens of thousands of established and rapidly growing businesses, including many internationally recognized brands.
Josh Walsh is the founding CEO of The Refinery, a strategic consulting firm for enterprise brand manufacturers. After starting the company out of his college dorm room in 2001, it has since grown to become a leading ecommerce operation.
Sommers is the VP of insights and innovation at ShurTech Brands, the company that markets Duck Tape products.
Scott Sommers
Walsh is the CEO and founder of The Refinery, a technology-focused product marketing company.
Make Way for Duck Tape Enthusiasts
Duck Tape is well-known as the industrial tape that can "save the day" in a pinch. A respected brand, Duck Tape is also a straightforward, utilitarian product that doesn't necessarily lend itself to any obvious innovations. How does a product like that stand out amid a very competitive digital shelf — or even expand into other markets entirely? This was the challenge facing Scott Sommers and Josh Walsh, part of the team in charge of marketing the Duck Tape brand.
They applied three principles to find great success: 1. Closely listening to their customers; 2. Adapting to their customers' needs; and 3. Fostering a mutual sense of community around their brand.
While you might not think of an adhesive product as the likeliest candidate for a devoted following, Duck Tape might surprise you. Their case study underscores the importance of out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to building an emotional connection between a product and its buyers.
Executive Case Study: ShurTech Brands
Duct Tape Embraces a New Market
The team leaned into what Sommers calls the “incredible responsibility to the growth of Duck Tape as a crafting medium.” That trend began back in the 1990s when duct tape crafts and making items like wallets, purses — or even full-blown outfits — became something of a popular hobby. The brand’s first significant effort to tap into this unconventional use for their product was in 2000, with the launch of the first “Stuck At Prom” contest. This contest offered a college scholarship to the two students who made the best tuxedo and prom dress out of duct tape. Impressively, the promotion held its 20th contest this year and continues to have a strong following. It even had distinct resonance in this past pandemic year where many students could not attend their proms. “You would think about what a silver duct tape dress or tuxedo might look like, but the reality is, Duck Tape comes in tons of colors and prints and patterns,” Sommers said. “The creativity unlocked by these kids is unbelievable.”
Sommers discusses Duck Tape’s expansion into crafting, the value of listening to your customer community, and using emotional connections to bolster your margins.
The Immense Value of the Voice of the Customer
Keeping the ‘Scene’ Happy and Engaged
The duct tape crafting scene accelerated in the 2000s, especially with the development of social media and smartphones. “Everybody wanted to be a creative,” Sommers said. Soon the company offered a large selection of free crafting guides on their site and built an online community of over six million people with a passion for the brand. To Duck Tape’s credit, they’ve been quite responsive to that large fanbase: In the 1990s, Duck Tape had 11 different colors. Now it has grown to offer hundreds of different colors and prints — including several name brand crossovers like Hello Kitty and Star Wars. It’s an important example of how emotion “lives in the margins,” said Sommers. “We were smart enough to bring the voice of those customers that started to engage with us inside our company and begin to deliver what they were asking for: more options to be creative.”
Thomson is the VP of eBusiness at Scrum50, an agile advertising agency that has worked with prominent global brands like Mondelēz, American Express, and Juicy Couture.
Stacy Thomson
Jarrett is the VP of U.S. ecommerce for Mondelēz International, one of the world’s latest snack companies whose portfolio includes Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, Cadbury, and Sour Patch Kids.
Jeff Jarrett
Executive Case Study: Mondelēz
Products Stay Stronger Together
Social listening can not only help you decide which sorts of products to offer but also how to market them to customers best. As the COVID-19 pandemic shifts more and more businesses toward a near 100% ecommerce model, companies — especially those manufacturing low-cost consumer goods — need to adapt to shifting digital expectations to stay profitable. It’s a problem that Stacy Thomson and Jeff Jarrett know well. For low-cost items traditionally bought at brick-and-mortar supermarkets, how can one of the largest snack companies like Mondelēz succeed online? “A $15 price point is probably the place you wanna be [on major retailers like Amazon and Walmart],” Thomson said. “Anything under that, as an individual item, just isn’t profitable.”
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ePacks Find Great Success Within Shifting Markets
For consumer packaged goods (CPGs) vying for business on the digital shelf, it becomes a necessity to bundle products together in a single package called an “ePack.” But there’s a right way and a wrong way, Thomson points out. It should be obvious that customers don’t want to have to buy six bars of soap, or four bottles of shampoo, at once. Instead, it’s up to the manufacturer to carefully analyze customer feedback and behavior to determine which of their offerings work best together. For example, Mondelēz launched 20 official snack ePacks in the first quarter of 2020 — but only after testing over 200 different concepts with consumers. The packs were also combined to reach a price point between $10 to $20. This price point was perfect for selling on large online marketplaces and proved to be a great success for Mondelēz. Thomson and Jarrett encourage businesses to consider their most popular products, closely analyze shopper behavior, and figure out creative ways to bundle your products together — even combining separate brands.
Jarrett discusses the power of consumer data and content when undertaking an ePack strategy.
How to Build an ePack Strategy
63% of Shoppers Use a Mobile Device While Shopping or Considering a Purchase In-Store
Source: BRP
Comprises about 15% of consumers. Very worried about health, finances, and going out in public during the pandemic. Most likely think restrictions are being lifted too quickly, and are highly adverse to visiting public spaces.
Your Customers Will Lead the Way During ‘The New Normal’
Businesses can always take precautions, but it’s hard to predict precisely how the “next normal” will play out over the next few months and years. Although it’s Marketing 101, remember that it’s more essential than ever that businesses listen carefully to their customers — whether via online reviews, online behavior, or purchasing history. Companies that invest in efforts to remain nimble and meet customers’ expectations will retain a substantial advantage over competitors who do not.
Continue to chapter seven to learn more about the path ahead for reigniting demand in the post-pandemic “next normal.”
Go to Chapter 7