Out of the Box

When Opportunity Knocks

By Menachem Lubinsky on May 03 2009

There is an expression amongst marketers that marketing something that is relatively complex “is not like marketing soap.” Well guess what? Marketing soap is precisely what soap manufacturers are doing these days as concern mounts over the spread of Swine Flu throughout the world. Doctors are suggesting that the frequent washing of hands is one of the means by which to stop the spread of the disease which in Mexico has infected thousands and killed 19. But with cases of the flu increasing in the US, soap manufacturers saw this as a great opportunity to profile a product that is taken for granted and not paid too much attention to by customers.

Suddenly soap, relegated to the “big yawn” category, is a hot item. Many stores have moved disinfecting soaps to the check-out counter, a major step upward from the back of the store along with detergents and dishwashing liquids. Others have strategically placed posters with signs like: “Be one step ahead of the Swine Flu!” Marketers have always believed that the ability to move quickly when opportunity presents itself is a key element of successful marketing.

Soap is not the only item, of course, that is benefiting from the Swine Flu scare. Some of the large drug chains are reporting record sales for masks and plastic gloves. The same is true for over-the-counter anti-flu drugs. Many of the drug chains have already created special displays for the products. The longer the scare lasts, the more these manufacturers will benefit. What if passengers instead of taken Vice President Joe Biden’s advice not to fly on airplanes decide to fly with masks. More business. Taking advantage of these “overnight opportunities” is, of course, not a new phenomenon in marketing.

I have always admired the small candy stores and fruit stands in Manhattan that within minutes of the first raindrops somehow already have displays of umbrellas. Even the street vendors are out selling umbrellas as the first rain hits. A successful hardware store will have salt and shovels out front as soon as the first flakes land. Sometimes, a few hour delay can quash the opportunity for good.

Even the recession has created special opportunities for marketers. Airlines are pushing their frequent flyer programs miles in the hope that passengers will redeem them now when they need to fill empty seats and not when they can sell the seats. Restaurants are offering a free meal to parties larger than three and discounting off hour meals. They are apt to join every community or tourist hotel discount program that will help them fill their seats.

Food marketers are anxiously beginning to tweak their marketing programs out of concern that more costly gourmet items will sit on shelves. They are trying to sell the same products but in different versions to bring the price down and thus encourage price-wary consumers. They are producing mini versions of muffins, ice cream, and rolls and bagels. They are offering two for the price of one in many cases and their goods, once marketed as exclusively gourmet, are beginning to appear on shelves of discount grocers like Costco, Trader Joe’s and Sam’s Club.

With the hurricane season only weeks away, South Florida marketers are already promoting storm doors and windows, small generators and even smaller items like flashlights, duct tape, and even big bottles of water. For them timing is important since they would rather appeal to the customer that prepares annually for the hurricane season than when the season begins and there is actually hope that it will be a mild or non-existent hurricane season.

In almost every industry, there are these unique opportunities that have a “window” for success. The challenge for business entrepreneurs is to move quickly and convert these opportunities into real gains. Often, the problem of moving quickly can lie with marketing. Marketers who are not quick on their feet and recognize the need to exploit a given situation are doomed to miss out on these opportunities.

When Barack Obama was elected President of the US, marketers moved quickly to adapt his messages of “Change” and “Yes, We Can” into business. Manufacturers of everything from tee shirts to expensive watches were on the case, that is those that recognized that the euphoria will soon settle into normalcy and the merchandise with the special messages will move much slower, if at all.

Car dealerships, which have traditionally relied on advertising, are suddenly faced with consumer fears about the future of American cars. The dealers are already reeling from the dramatic decline in car sales, but now are worried that consumers will not buy American cars. It seems that many Americans are concerned that if the auto manufacturers go out of business, they will be stuck without spare parts or service. The challenge for marketers is to somehow turn the “lemons into lemonade,” assuring customers that American auto manufactures will “never go out of business,” even if they are bankrupt for now.

In a few days or a few weeks, the Swine Flu epidemic will be history, just as SARS, Mad Cow and every other disease scare were. The savvy businessman involved in selling products that relate to these diseases knows that but the challenge is to sell as much of the product as quickly possible, until the next time.

Out of the Box is a collection of strategic marketing articles that Lubicom has published on various topics, trends and ideas in the marketing world. The articles have been published in the Hamodia weekly newspaper circulated on three continents to a readership of well over 100,000.

The name, "Out of the Box" is a term used frequently in business nowadays to describe creative thinking that is not the norm. It is meant to help a business pull away from the pack or separate oneself from the competition. It is to some extent fraught with risk, simply because it is not the run of the mill thinking, but it is at the same time the key to reaching the next opportunity.