Just a couple hours ago, I was a dinner guest at Dazzling Restaurant & Bar on King St. W in Toronto - the illustrious theatre district. Dazzling brings an interesting fusion to several Far East dining styles. From Dim Sum to Sushi, from Pad Thai to Salt & Pepper Shrimp, the creations at Dazzling were just that - dazzling.
It's easy to see how deciding to brand yourselves Dazzling could be a challenge waiting to happen. However, in this particular instance, it actually holds true. The decor is enchanting, the service attentive and welcoming. But the food - the food is what's truly dazzling about this restaurant.
As a long-time fan of ordering a salad and then select choices from the appetizer menu, Dazzling didn't let me down. And didn't let down my dining companion - one of the fussiest eaters I have ever had the pleasure of dining with. Everything from the salad and appetizer menu just sang of the care taken in the kitchen to bring these delectables to table.
The frontage of the restaurant doesn't give away a hint of the dazzlingness inside - even though the theatre district and its ever present lightshow might overshadow the concept of anything else being dazzling. Living up to the brand promise - and for me a restaurant is about the experience and the food - that's what Dazzling actually accomplishes. The smoked salmon avocado salad is positively genius, the detail of delivering a bowl of magnificently tender, warm edamame, and attentive staff that is just there when you need them - everything was what the brand promised.
Congratulations to Dave and his team for putting together a dining experience that makes a marketer (who was quite skeptical that anything deserved the brand Dazzling) get excited about how to take the elements of a word and turn it into something that tastes just as dazzling as promised.
And that's what good marketing is all about - keeping the promise that your brand offers. (And notice please Dave, that I never said a word about the creme brulee. . .)
Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Analyze by psychographics - not demographics
There may have been a time when demographics actually defined your customer base successfully, but age, gender and geography are so overlapping now that if you are using just demographics to determine your marketing tactics, you are truly missing the boat.
Demographics equal age, income, gender, education, marital status, geography. The availability of disposable income no longer simply hinges on how much money someone makes - it is a question of lifestyle. You can make $100,000/year but if it is all tied up in mortgages and car payments, then even that level of income doesn't represent disposable. What is the personality that creates disposable income in almost any income bracket? Figure that out and you have the advantage over your competition.
Having a basic knowledge of your customers' demographics is a positive thing, but don't get married to it. The reality is you need to know your customers' hobbies, interests and even occupation to be more effective in your advertising. It's called psychographics.
Mass marketing is quickly becoming the dinosaur in the room - extinct. Even when purchasing television advertising - the big daddy of all mass marketing - you can now position your messages within specialty channels.
When you consider a 50-year-old female gardener, you would find she has more in common with more gardeners of any age or gender than she would have with the general population of 50-year-old females. People find comfort in groups of folks who are like-minded rather than simply groups of the same age or income bracket.
To be truly economical and efficient with your marketing tactics, you need to know which groups your product or service appeals to. Are they arts-minded? Sports fans? Instinctively frugal? Show-offs? You get the idea.
Match your tactics to your special interest groups and you'll be reaching them where they are more likely to appreciate and engage with your messages.
Demographics equal age, income, gender, education, marital status, geography. The availability of disposable income no longer simply hinges on how much money someone makes - it is a question of lifestyle. You can make $100,000/year but if it is all tied up in mortgages and car payments, then even that level of income doesn't represent disposable. What is the personality that creates disposable income in almost any income bracket? Figure that out and you have the advantage over your competition.
Having a basic knowledge of your customers' demographics is a positive thing, but don't get married to it. The reality is you need to know your customers' hobbies, interests and even occupation to be more effective in your advertising. It's called psychographics.
Mass marketing is quickly becoming the dinosaur in the room - extinct. Even when purchasing television advertising - the big daddy of all mass marketing - you can now position your messages within specialty channels.
When you consider a 50-year-old female gardener, you would find she has more in common with more gardeners of any age or gender than she would have with the general population of 50-year-old females. People find comfort in groups of folks who are like-minded rather than simply groups of the same age or income bracket.
To be truly economical and efficient with your marketing tactics, you need to know which groups your product or service appeals to. Are they arts-minded? Sports fans? Instinctively frugal? Show-offs? You get the idea.
Match your tactics to your special interest groups and you'll be reaching them where they are more likely to appreciate and engage with your messages.
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