“No way!! They don’t care! They’re a [financial institution]! All they want is money. They don’t give a damn about us.”
Anger palpably crackled in the focus group room as respondents vehemently added to this sentiment.
The positioning statement being tested read something to the effect of: [Company] cares! That’s why we found a way to bring you a [product] that………….”
The respondents evaluating the statements went berserk. Some were even offended.
“How dare they say they care?”
“They’re loan sharks!”
The back room went into a state of shock. Everyone observing the groups fell silent. The team building toward a positioning statement for the firm had clearly struck a major nerve with customers, but in the wrong direction, rather than the intended (or hoped-for) response.
The power of a single word had overwhelmed us all. It was clear to everyone on the team that “care” had to go, but there was a yet unarticulated sense that we had tapped into something with great potential, if only to could be channeled in a positive direction.
How could we invoke the power of caring, without evoking vitriol and ridicule from the market? If we could take it in a positive direction, that same power might birth a highly successful positioning in a highly competitive market.
That was the challenge. How could it be met?
More to follow.
Comments welcome!
Dr. Bob
