If you sat down right now and someone asked you which “Cake Mix” they should buy to make a birthday cake, could you tell them? Could you name off the best cake mix you have ever experienced and tell them this was head and shoulders above all the other (50) brands of cake mix on the shelf? And if you could remember the name of the cake mix, could you, without question, tell them that it is by far the absolute best cake mix in the market? Unfortunately, the answer for most of us will be NO to all of the above questions.
There are a ton of cake mixes on any grocery or specialty store shelf…and they all make virtually the same cake. For your taste, some might be a little creamier or richer or lighter or more colorful but they are still delivering one thing…a cake. They are simply the commodity in the customer experience of a birthday or another event.
The next time you are at a birthday party and they serve a homemade cake (which is getting more rare in today’s world where everyone has less time) stop and ask the person who baked it which brand of cake mix they used. They may remember and if they do, ask them WHY they chose that brand. The answer should further confirm for you that this is definitely a commodity with very little differentiation to the customer.
Today, unless your product is something over the top incredibly different and unique, it is a commodity. It is the EXPERIENCE that causes them to talk about you, your product/service, your employees, or your company. In the example of the cake mix, this isn’t what gets talked about. Sure, the cake is tasty…they are all tasty…but it isn’t what will get talked about, raved about, or shared on social media channels. It is the experience the cake was used for that gets remembered and talked about…the birthday party or anniversary or retirement party or some other special occasion. The cake might get an honorable mention but not the main stage…the main stage is reserved for the experience of how it made you feel and the emotions you felt when you were part of the event.
And just to clarify, when someone does happen to talk about the cake, it is usually about how awesome the cake was decorated or how special they made it look for the recipient. It is the emotion that was created by the decorating that caused the cake to get talked about, not the actual cake or cake mix. But you already know this and as you are reading I’m sure you are saying this is exactly what happens when you go to an event.
SO WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU ARE THE CAKE MIX COMPANY TO SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM THE OTHER 50 COMMODITY CAKE MIXES AND DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF?
What could you do as the cake company that takes a “commodity” product called the cake mix and turns it into a differentiated product? The first thing to realize is that it isn’t the recipient (the person with the birthday) that is your target audience…at least not initially. If you want your product to stand out you have to give an incredible experience to the person responsible for the cake (the person baking the cake). THEY are the ones you want to differentiate your experience with so they can’t wait to talk about you when the birthday group raves about their cake. This is a very key point many companies miss along the way…who is the targeted audience for your experience? While it is usually more than one person, it has to start with someone who will be the “catalyst” to talk about the experience.
Put yourself in the position of the cake mix company and ask yourself how you (the company) can help the person making the cake (the first level recipient of your experience) have an awesome experience. Much of this is going to revolve around some type of “CONTENT” since you don’t generally interact face-to-face with the consumer. It is sold through a grocery store so they control the buying experience. But once they get the cake mix home, this is where you get to take control.
WHAT IF…
- The cake mix was interactive…there was a simple link in the beginning of the instructions that went to a video showing step by step exactly what to do and what it was supposed to look like along the way
- The cake mix had video or print about simple things you could do to “enhance” the cake mix to give it special flavoring or texture or something special
- You gave a link to a Pinterest page that showed an entire library of examples of how they could make the cake look spectacular and for whatever occasion
- On the Pinterest page, there was a link to another video with easy to use instructions on how to make this spectacular cake
- There was a “Chat” line or an 800 line you could call immediately if you had any questions at all and they could help you through making the cake the way you wanted
- …you offered many other ways to HELP YOUR CUSTOMER deliver the best cake they have ever made????
Would the customer now say, “WOW, this was incredibly helpful and no other cake mix company has ever done anything close to this for me…I have complete confidence in my ability to make an awesome cake with them by my side and readily available to help me.” They would most likely not only be happy with you but look at you in a COMPLETELY DIFFERENTIATED WAY.
Now what happens when they deliver the cake to the recipient and the party…they have a much higher probability of raving about you, the simple cake mix company than they ever would have before. Now when someone asks them how did they make such an awesome and incredible cake, they are probably going to say, “Thank you…this was so easy and the XYZ Cake Mix Company was amazing…they helped me every step of the way and gave me some incredible ideas about how to make it taste awesome and even complete instructions on how to decorate it so it looked professional…I couldn’t have done it without them.”
This is how WORD-OF-MOUTH happens…this is how you take a commodity product and turn it into a memorable experience…one they will talk about…one they will share…one they will remember…one that is REMARKABLE!
Can you translate this into your own company or nonprofit or church or professional services firm or anything else that produces or sells a commodity product? How can you use the lessons of the simple “cake mix company” to help your own cake mix stand out? How can you turn your own products/services that have been commoditized by your competition into something special like the cake mix company could do with flour, sugar, eggs, and water?
This is the perfect time to create a strategy…a differentiated strategy…that focuses on being creative and innovative in the TYPE OF EXPERIENCE YOU COULD DELIVER TO YOUR CUSTOMERS. Now is the time for you to throw away all the reasons why the competition is winning and why you have to keep cutting prices and why you can’t seem to get the margins you want and CHANGE THE GAME. If a cake mix company can make it happen, I bet you can as well. If you’re stuck, shoot me a message and I’ll help you get “unstuck” and moving forward…everyone who has the vision and desire and passion can deliver a truly remarkable and awesome cake!!
