Forming a habit can be necessary to meet a customer need
- Hi I'm Fabrice.
- Oh, like Febreze?
- Uh, yes, like Febreze
This exchange happened
quite often in the 2 years I lived in the States. I tell myself there's worst
products to be associated with. At least Febreze, a "brand of household
odor eliminators", is known for its nice smell!
Most people in the US,
and many elsewhere, know Febreze. It's one of P&G's most successful brands
(over $1Billion in annual sales since 2011).
What most people don't
know, however, is that Febreze was initially a flop when it launched. I learned about this by reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
The
company had thought it hit the jackpot when it manufactured an innovative spray
that instantly eliminates bad odors. The marketing team stocked the shelves of
supermarkets, funded several campaigns and then waited for the sales to roll
in...
Then, nothing
happened.
Why?
The answer came when
the team visited a pet owner who had received a free sample.It was a lady who
owned 9 cats. The smell in the house was so bad, one of the researchers had to
keep herself from gagging several times. When they asked the customer about the
cat smell, she answered
"Isn't it wonderful? My cats hardly smell at all."
How do you sell a product when your target group, who has the biggest need for your product, does not recognize the need at all?
The most successful
products become part of a habit, so that you don't think about them and just
keep using them automatically.
Any habit is formed of
three parts:
- A cue, or trigger to kick off the habit. This is clearly what Febreze v1.0 lacked. People couldn't smell the bad smell themselves and lacked a trigger
- A routine, what you do after the cue, like brush your teeth, smoke a cigarette or get a cup of coffee
- A reward, that keeps you coming back and creates a craving that keeps the habit alive
So how did Febreze turn into a success story?
After more customer
visits, the team found out how the few people that were buying Febreze had
incorporated it as a habit. It wasn't used to remove bad smells, but rather as
a finishing touch at the end of the cleaning of each room. The reward is the
nice Febreze smell indicating a job well done.
The marketing team
changed their marketing approach and then Febreze made $230milliion in its
first year!
 |
| Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash |
Since Febreze was a
totally new product category, P&G had to find a way to make it part of
people's habits.
Have you ever had your own Febreze moment?
At Hilti, I've led the development of our global last mile delivery services for several years. In the past, when our customers and
sales people had only one delivery option available, talking
about logistics or delivery was not relevant in the purchasing conversation.
The sales person has no cue or routine to ask where or how products should be shipped,
neither does the customer. Newly introduced delivery options are then only
used in exceptional circumstances where there is a clear problem. We faced this challenge time and again when we launched new services in our markets and had to find a way to create a new habit in the sales
process. This is still ongoing!
TL;DR
As we professionalize and launch new services across the world, addressing customer needs is a prerequisite, but not enough.
Raising awareness is also necessary, but not enough.
Success depends on making it easy for your customers (and sales force) to try out your services, using repetitive triggers to encourage that behavior, and providing a high-quality experience as a reward. Only then will you form the right habit loop that integrates these services into your offering.
Further reading: Hooked by Nir Eyal
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