I was stymied recently…by cheese.
I was at a local high-end grocery store buying meat, produce, and a pile of gluten-free goodies. Richard, who has recently gotten into cooking, decided to make organic hamburgers for dinner. We were out of cheese, so I walked over to the cheese section to pick up some cheddar slices.
I was confronted with a variety of gourmet cheeses. And they were pricey–running about $4.50 for 8 slices!
I picked one at random that said “cheddar” and looked at it. And that’s when I noticed something odd:
Right there, at the top of the package, in the “money spot” — the spot where my eyes went right after reading the brand — it said “Rennet Free.”
What in the world, I wondered, was “rennet”?
My brain immediately came up with this image:
(Oops, that’s a ferret!)
I buy a fair amount of expensive cheese, and I love cheese. As determined by willingness to spend $4.50 on 8 slices of organic cheese instead of going to a mass-market store and buying a block of Velveeta, I’m definitely in this company’s target demographic. But I have no idea what “rennet” is or why it’s important that the cheese be “rennet free.”
As cheesemakers, Horizon is probably well aware of what rennet is. But their customers probably aren’t. In that regard, most of us are “stupider” than Horizon.
I looked up rennet on Wikipedia, and it turns out that rennet is made from calves’ stomachs and is used to turn milk into cheese. Killing baby cows to use their stomach enzymes to make cheese is a bit disturbing. But the Wikipedia article also says that “by 2008, approximately 80-90% of commercially made cheeses in the United States were made utilizing GMO-based (non-cow) rennet.”
Surprisingly, the back of the package doesn’t go into any detail on what rennet is. Horizon missed an opportunity to educate their customers on why it’s important to buy rennet-free cheese.
I bought the cheese, but I didn’t become brand-loyal–I won’t go looking for Horizon again. Horizon missed an opportunity to gain a long-term customer with their label.
Are your labels (or your websites) doing the same thing to potential customers? Let’s take a look at the flip side…
The Flip Side: A Great Label
Here’s an example of a product wrapper that encouraged me to buy a product based on the label alone:
This is Skippy natural peanut butter. This jar is a bit old, but shows exactly why I bought it.
The first thing that motivated me to pick up the jar was the award. It says “2008 Chef’s Best – Best Taste.” This is important to me. I can’t tell you how many brands of peanut butter I’ve tried that don’t taste that great–especially the “natural” variants. The award provides fantastic social proof–other people have liked it, so you will too!
The second thing that got me to put the peanut butter in my cart was the big “No Need to Stir!” headline. Another problem with “natural” peanut butters is that they tend to separate. Skippy has managed to (mostly) fix this. I find myself still needing to stir it sometimes, but it certainly doesn’t separate like a lot of other peanut butters.
Skippy’s label has gotten me to buy at least 10 jars of its peanut butter over the past 2 years. In fact, I now look for their brand first when I buy peanut butter.
Getting Your Customers to Become Brand-Loyal
Skippy really nailed exactly what their customers wanted, whereas Horizon didn’t. Skippy’s jar speaks in easy-to-understand language that even small children would be able to read. Horizon’s package doesn’t.
What would I do if I were Horizon–and what lessons can you take from this?
- I’d survey my customers. In the survey, I would ask what values were most important to them. (Here’s my step-by-step video walkthrough on how to survey your customers for free.)
- I’d redesign my label to get customers to buy. The top value from the survey would get the most prominent placement on my label. I’d remove “rennet free” (or relegate it to the back of the wrapper in the ingredients.) I would make sure even kids understood everything on my label.
- I would consider adding a testimonial from a satisfied customer on the front of the package. Of course, this would need to comply with any legal requirements regarding testimonials. (Consult an attorney in your area to make sure any testimonials you feature are in compliance.)
- As an alternate or addition to #3, I would enter contests to win awards with my product, and then seek permission to display those awards prominently on my packaging.
Even if you aren’t selling a physical product, it’s important to consider what message you are sending to your customers. For instance, is your website reflecting the top values of your customers, or is it all about you and your company?
I went through this exercise a few years ago with my web hosting company and realized I needed to completely redesign our website. I blogged about what I discovered here…it’s worth reading if you’re currently selling products online.
How will you take this lesson to heart and change your website and/or product packaging? Feel free to post in the comments.
Recommended Reading:
- Here’s How to Become Rich: Deliver Value. Change the World. An epic post from 2007 where I apply this concept to my web hosting company’s website. Definitely read this one if you’re doing business online.
- Sharing My Journey To One Million Dollars. Written just after I sold my business, but when I was still in the “embargo period” and couldn’t speak publicly about the sale. I write candidly about the ups and downs of building a $1 million business.
- You Are Worth More Than You Think: Overcoming The Key Reason Entrepreneurs Fail. If you have ever said, “I just don’t have enough time to do [an activity I love]“, this advice is for you…
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1. July 2010 at 3:08 pm
Eating too much cheese will probably give you kidney stones one day. Great post, otherwise.
9. July 2010 at 5:17 am
I have two products for Kidney Stones that truly eliminate the need for days of pain and/or surgery. http://www.KidneySites.com
I love cheese too, and agree that an educated consumers is a marketers best friend, because they will educate others.
1. July 2010 at 3:34 pm
Erica,
I often wonder how the labels influence me to buy the product. I seem to often go for products that have some sort of social proof. I don’t go for the cheapest options, hardly ever.
If there’s an award or price is slight higher, my mind does the ‘this must be better’ automatically. Funny how we respond to marketing.
1. July 2010 at 3:50 pm
Erica,
Awesome post. It brings to mind a couple bloopers I’ve seen over the past 2 or 3 years from some local companies.
1) There is an attorney’s law firm near me in Murraysville, PA. The sign on the outside says “Bickers and Bickers”….
The first thing that came to my mind was…my goodness, I’ll bet they fight all day long with other attorneys pushing up my costs.
2) There is a carpeting store near me…they recently had a sign that read “4 years no interest”. Now, I know what they meant. But, I’m sure there is a percentage of people that think the place is closing it’s doors due to the lack of customers.
3) Ahhh…last but not least. Our local gas company is called “People’s Natural Gas”. Surely, they should rebrand that, right ?
Hopefully their service doesn’t Stink.
Take care,
Brandon
4. July 2010 at 5:45 am
Haha Brandon, that was funny! Ya, I think more thought should be put into branding, and at least one person unrelated to the promotion should be asked to review it and give honest feedback on what could be better. Of course, having a focus group of 3 -5 people won’t hurt too.
I’m really tickled by the ’4 years no interest’…it’s funny! Perhaps the owners wanted to have a play with the word as to create a ‘funny moment’, as a company? The idea really stuck in your mind, didn’t it? =p
1. July 2010 at 4:15 pm
Hi Erica,
We must have been thinking on the same wavelength in the area of ‘communication.’
Your article had me in stitches and I finished up my own story about lack of business-to-consumer communication at http://bit.ly/cckrcZ. I couldn’t finish it until I added some bits about this article from you. As far as I’m concerned, “rennet” is just as bad as “bauzle, bauzle” because they say absolutely nothing to most people.
Thanks for the great article. You made several great points and I appreciated having a chuckle this evening. I don’t think I’ll ever forget “rennet…”
What a great story to illustrate better use of language in business and advertising!
Shawna
1. July 2010 at 4:40 pm
That’s a grrreat example, Erica
Your customers must always understand what your product is all about. If you leave them guessing, you are already losing out, major time.
Most brands actually get that. Always talk in the language of your target market.
1. July 2010 at 4:52 pm
Erica – A really remarkable post! Thanks for sharing both sides of the coin in one post… the practice of comparing and contrasting – showing a great example and a poor example (Do and Don’t) is really powerful. Both what you have to say and how you say it are amazing!
Thanks a million
1. July 2010 at 4:54 pm
How can cheese be organic? It doesn’t grow from the ground.
Everyone’s stupid, including me, including you, no one is exempt. That’s why people get sucked into buying stupid things that don’t make sense, like “organic” cheese. We’ve started equating “organic” and “natural” with healthy. If only we had more common sense. Perhaps lazy + stupid is a better way to put it.
1. July 2010 at 4:59 pm
Thanks for the post Erica, I particularly like the visuals! It’s so true there really is a need to communicate & educate your customers. Excellent branding does go along way but I imagine it’s still a challenge for the micro/small businesses.
Happy blogging.
1. July 2010 at 5:14 pm
G’DayErica,
I’ve always fancied Divid Ogilvy’s comment.”The customer is not a moron. She is your wife.”
As a relative web newbie, I’m astonished how jargon-ridden so much web sales material is. And it seems that if you don’t understand that’s tough.
If David Ogilvy tells me to respect my prospect and customer, that’s good enough for me.
Make sure you have fun.
Regards
Leon
1. July 2010 at 5:41 pm
Hey Erica!
Your email mentioned cheese and peanut butter in the same sentence… so I was a little afraid of what crazy concoction you might have come up with… (grin)
It’s nice to see another advertising afficianado out there. I pay a lot of attention to labels, and pride myself on not “falling” for the gimmicks… but you have a whole different take. Nice perspective.
Confession. I watch (a few minutes at least) infomercials or shopping channel every now and then just to see if I can get any tips on advertising…. most of them are really bad, but there is the occasional gem. Please don’t tell!~
Thanks!
KK
1. July 2010 at 5:54 pm
Dear Erica,
Perhaps we must adjust our product presentation depending on the niche it’s oriented: Big companies do that with the same product, they adapt it to the region, country, language, culture, etc.
Some people likes big and colorfull advertisments and other likes the discrete ones.
Congratulations for a great post.
1. July 2010 at 6:23 pm
Great article Erica ,
Im definitley going to see how I can use this in my photography blogsite.
1. July 2010 at 6:34 pm
Erica,
Conversely, would we really want manufacturers to list the “Real” meaning of the chemicals they use in our food?
I enjoy cheese and peanut butter on occasion (Not together, but separately). However using your example, “Rennet Free” aka “Baby Cow Stomach Lining Free” – I think if we knew the real meaning or read the real ingredients and related possible side effects of the manufactured chemicals and hormones (Used in our food), we simply would not eat processed foods.
Regarding the meaning of your post, it could be summarized as, “Keep It Simple…” you know the rest. As always, thanks for the provocative conversation!
1. July 2010 at 7:09 pm
While it’s true that the BestTaste Award label looks great marketing wise, if you read the little asterisk either under it or on the back of the product you will find out that the ChefsBest Award program is only for big company differences. If you want to buy organic or healthy ChefsBest is not the way to go being very few large brand names make organic/healthy items.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand what your saying from a marketing perspective but don’t you think it’s also time we consumers start doing our homework so we know what we are buying instead of just trusting labels from organizations we’ve never heard of “tested” by people (God knows who they really are)?
I’m not saying I expect my customers to be experts, but I don’t want them to fall for a ploy either, just because I throw some great testimonial (which could be fake) or because some big certification company nobody has ever heard of endorses me.
But that is just my opinion.
1. July 2010 at 7:57 pm
Hi Erica
Thanks for this post, and I too love peanut butter and cheese. Have you tried cheese with an apple!!
Many companies do need to improve their product labelling. I recently tried to buy sugar-free chocolate for a diabetic. The ingredients label was so small you nearly needed a magnifying glass to see it, and as it’s the most important part for a diabetic, I think that they had completely missed their target market, especially as many diabetics often suffer from glaucoma (an eye condition) as well!!
Keep up the great post and I will recheck my website to see if my products are descriptive enough for my customers, I know that a number of them are not!! If any of you spot them, please let me know.
Cheers
Diane
1. July 2010 at 10:04 pm
Great post, Erica, and it’s funny that I was thinking just this week about product marketing too. I received a promotional shipment of natural soda from a company that had e-mailed me a few weeks ago. They invited me to fill out a form so they could send me the soda, and had found me through my blog.So when the soda arrived, I expected to see with it some kind of call to action, or at least a note, or maybe even a postcard with their social media urls’s or something, but no, nothing. So like all good social media and marketing bloggers, I took a photo of the soda and the empty box and will be posting a blog shortly entitled, “What’s Wrong With This Picture?”
2. July 2010 at 12:41 am
Cheese is actually physically addictive. Like all dairy products it is full of estrogen (from the cow). Even worse, it fuels high levels of a growth factor that makes cancer grow. Raising animals for food is the biggest source of greenhouse gases and uses/pollutes huge amounts of water. Why not try soy cheese? You would not like it at first. But if you persist, you will like it in about 3 weeks.
2. July 2010 at 6:06 am
I’d like to throw in a different perspective here.
Sometimes marketing is about exclusion. Using key words to let your target market know that you’re “in the club.” Teenagers buy shirts with things like internet memes on them–things that don’t make sense to their parents, precisely BECAUSE they don’t make sense to their parents. The teens understand the shirts just fine, and they feel cool buying them because it’s like joining a secret club, and they can identify other people like them by wearing the shirt–when other people recognize the walrus and the bucket (or whatever meme), they too can be in the club.
Think about the trepidation people with Celiac disease face when buying something they’re not sure is gluten free. They have to examine the package carefully, probably do some outside research. They probably won’t end up buying. But what if they find “Against the Grain” brand bread, labelled “Gluten Free, Safe for Celiacs”? They are sold!
Erica, you could write this article about both cases I mentioned. You could argue that putting a walrus and a bucket on a shirt is just silly because “no one” knows what it means or what it is. You could argue that “Gluten Free, Safe for Celiacs” is meaningless to 95% of people. But in both cases, by using those important key words/concepts for your target market, you’ve sold THEM… to hell with the 95%.
So in Horizon’s case, they are a company that caters to the people who are really into ethical treatment of animals. Their cows all lead happy lives in actual pastures, they don’t kill calves to make their cheese–that’s what they do. And the people that care about that sort of thing tend to be very educated about the subject, including what rennet is. I spend a great deal of time trying to find out if a particular milk is really humane or just labelled “organic,” or whether a certain cheese has rennet in it, because most people don’t care, stores don’t know, and most brands aren’t really marked.
But Horizon is marked. Those are the magic words I’m looking for, when I peruse the cheese aisle: Rennet Free. Yes, sold.
And the for the record, I am a loyal Horizon customer. They speak my language, and cater to my interests.
2. July 2010 at 1:51 pm
I think you’re onto it. As a vegetarian, “rennet free” definitely means something to me, too. Although I have seen cheese marketed directly as “vegetarian” (which must be confusing to those who don’t know about rennet… can’t win either way, I guess).
2. July 2010 at 7:41 pm
Yep, my thoughts exactly. As a vegetarian I know exactly what Rennet Free means and care a lot about it being on the packet. Sure, they could have explained what it was for everyone else on the back.
But it seems a direct parallel to coeliac/gluten-free to me. I bet a lot of customers haven’t got a clue what gluten is, yet a lot of foods have “Gluten Free!” in big sparkly letters, while also not explaining what it means.
I wonder how many people would buy a product marked “XX Free!” thinking they were getting a healthier option; and how many wouldn’t, thinking they were getting a substandard product. Assuming they don’t know what XX actually *is*.
6. July 2010 at 8:56 am
Hi Pete,
Knowing you, I’m not surprised to see this
I would say, though, that it might be better for them to change their labeling to “Vegetarian Friendly” or “Ovo-lacto Vegetarian Friendly” and then explain that on the back. I would learn something by picking up that label, then.
I also wouldn’t place it in the “money spot” at the top of the label.
-Erica
2. July 2010 at 2:11 pm
i never need to stir my cheese.
hahahaha
2. July 2010 at 2:50 pm
Great post Erica. We definitely can’t assume our customers are going to understand vague terminology. We all know what happens when we assume.
2. July 2010 at 3:46 pm
Erica,
I find your thinking flawed in this article, though it may be on point with market demographics. I too would buy organic cheese from Horizon and don’t know enough about rennet to make me want to not buy from other manufacturers, but is the organic part or the rennet part of the label what drew you in? I’d venture to say it’s the “organic” word and given there are fewer organic cheese products out there, the label may have done it’s job.
Similarly, I’m too cynical about ambiguous awards a la the Best Chef awards. Who are the Best Chefs? Are these the line cooks from old high school cafeteria or more esteemed, particular, and quality driven chefs? Who made them The Best? Does the label really go into explaining this on the back of the container?
Cordially,
The Best Web Designer ever *
*as chosen by the Best Web Designers Panel **
**note the Best Web Designers Panel is comprised solely of me
6. July 2010 at 8:57 am
Hi Denis,
The awards (especially fancy-looking ones) sell products like mad. Interestingly, a newer jar of the same Skippy peanut butter no longer had it. Guess they didn’t win it in 2009
If you ever want a lot of traffic to your blog, do a “20 best bloggers in the xyz field” post. Similar strategy.
-Erica
2. July 2010 at 9:29 pm
I actually have a story that goes alone perfectly with this post!
One of our lead techs at work would handle tech support calls so on the occasion I’d walk into his office and overhear the conversation.
Every once in a while, he would tell the person to use ‘isopropyl alcohol’. Afterwards, I asked him “dude, what the heck is isophowhatever alcohol?” which he replied, “rubbing alcohol”.
So then I say … “why not tell them to use rubbing alcohol”.
Since then, he uses the later and the customers understand him immediately.
I know it’s a silly story but a simple change in language can lead to a totally different understanding.
2. July 2010 at 10:16 pm
Hey Erica,
Great points! I know I respond this way many times while grocery shopping or brand searching and you are right…the brand that is clear, concise to the point and full of value usually wins! Keep sending those tips!
3. July 2010 at 8:00 am
Erica–Very interesting post!
Horizon Organic has a very specific type of customer: typically a person who will pay a premium for a organic, vegetarian product. This type of food consumer is willing to pay $4.50 for 8 slices of cheese while most other customers are not. Therefore a typical, non-vegetarian/vegan customer/”ethical” farming customer will not even look at Horizon to begin with because of the price point. Vegetarians/vegans/and so called “ethical livestock farming advocates” most likely know what rennet is–if they are being true to their food philosophies they are probably eliminating virtually all products that use animal products or by products which would include rennet. Also, lets be clear: rennet is not the primary product from calves–it is a by product.
Another thing: Food labels themselves are extremely complicated and I don’t think their purpose is to “teach” the consumer anything. Creative words and phrases are used to sell more product “cage-free”, “free-range”, “grass-fed”, “organic”, “natural”–are buzz words that create an image of something in a consumer’s mind, but don’t necessarily tell the whole story.
3. July 2010 at 8:29 am
Being vegetarian, i do understand what rennet is and do buy Horizon products. Guess its because we fit the profile for ‘Horizon’ and have done the research before buying!
3. July 2010 at 1:28 pm
yeah you are right, i will go with you. Thats why i am also developing brands.
Thank you for such a nice post.
3. July 2010 at 3:30 pm
rennetfree? that would be a good domain name…
5. July 2010 at 12:19 am
I’m actually really surprised to hear that you’ve never heard of rennet and expect that it’s not common knowledge. Maybe I just spend time around more people that know food.
Anyhow, I think I know exactly why Horizon doesn’t explain what rennet is: they know that people who care about rennet will know what rennet is. That is to say, that vegetarians who only eat animal by-products and nothing that is obtained from the death of the animal, will know what rennet is and know to avoid it.
5. July 2010 at 8:53 pm
Erica,
What software did you use to put the yellow writing on the pic (the oval, arrow and question marks)… ?? I’ve been looking for such software for a while.
Thanks.
6. July 2010 at 8:59 am
Hi Mike,
I used Snagit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003M73RJO?ie=UTF8&tag=ericabiz-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003M73RJO
I use Snagit all the time. It’s a great piece of software.
-Erica
7. July 2010 at 9:08 am
I am from Wisconsin, so a dairy-related post caught my attention.
This marketing is an interesting balance between exclusion (as Michaud says) and education. I also wonder if they put it relatively small so that people who care about rennet see it and everyone else focuses on aspects of the product appealing to a broad market.
A lot of posters think cheese is very unhealthy or even addictive. My first thought is how can we eat so much of it in Wisconsin then? Then I thought about how we also have a lot of bratwurst and beer, which are known to be unhealthy and addictive in large quantities. CA is probably a lot healthier than WI, but we both like organic dairy.
7. July 2010 at 7:00 pm
Hi Erica:
Great post, but you need to add something about being aware of cultural differences whenever possible. At one time I worked for a German computer company that had a Press release announce in the US:
Kohler goes live on BM!
They meant a product they offered, and wanted to announce that Kohler was using their product…but somehow I had a heck of a time trying to explain to my German colleagues why this was a headline that would not work in the US.
7. July 2010 at 10:15 pm
Oh wow, Erica. In your email you wrote of your angst with the title – which came across completely different in my email box:
“WARNING: Your Customers May Be Stupider Than You”
:0)
25. July 2010 at 5:56 am
Interesting article, but how do I apply these same concepts to my online business? Perhaps there are some similarities and differences between in-store vs. online consumer psychology?
We’ve all been to the grocery store and read labels, so the article provides a good reference point for online business noobs like me. However, it misses the opportunity to drive home the central theme of this website — internet entreprenuership! I come here to learn, teach me!
Thanks
Trent
25. July 2010 at 8:26 pm
Product labels are always a hectic time. It does take practice to be able to look at your product, which you obviously understand very well, and look at it through the eyes of someone seeing it for the first time.
In these situations, I like to make sure a description, a slogan and some graphics that explain what the product does are stronger focal points then the actual name of the product. Unless you are a major player in the industry that has brand recognition, company and brand will not benefit you much so they should not take up too much real estate on your label.
Great article!
29. July 2010 at 10:25 am
My guess is that Horizons was targeting a different demographic–vegetarians who like cheese! I know because I am one, and because I never, ever buy cheese made with animal rennet. But you’re right; that info should explained somewhere if it’s so important. Or even better, they could write “vegetarian–rennet free” so that if you don’t know what rennet is, then you can guess it’s an animal product.
BTW, I’m enjoying your blog. I just found it the other week.
5. August 2010 at 6:27 am
Excellent article Erica. Both consumers and companies are often not too smart. I see examples of that all the time.
P.S. On a personal note, it was nice being with you for so many years as one of your early web-hosting clients. I stayed there after you left but have very recently moved-on. I am finding your work since then quite interesting and valuable.