We have a lot going on in our lives – every day, we are bombarded with images, adverts, and information. It is essential to start tuning out some of the noise, and for most consumers, this means tuning out advertising.
It’s official, advertising your product based on just its features is outdated. Consumers don’t really care about your product. They are too wrapped up with their own lives. If you want to market to them effectively, you need to start introducing lifestyle marketing.
What Does Lifestyle Mean?
You know those soft-drink ads that you see all over. The ones where people are enjoying a Coke and having a great time? That is an example of lifestyle products. The message is simple, share a Coke with someone, and you will make friends and have a good time.
Creating a Lifestyle Brand
When creating a lifestyle brand, you go further than just the features of your product. You have to define your target market carefully in terms of their opinions, interests, and ideas. It is about marketing a particular culture, something that your target market wants to achieve.
It’s about connecting your product to the needs of your consumers at a deeper level.
What Are Lifestyle Products?
Lifestyle products are items that have a unique selling proposition that is appealing to your target market. We are already surrounded by them in our day to day lives. We use these products to fit in with a specific culture.
Take a look at marketing that has been really effective for you in the past. What were you buying – the product itself specifically, or the lifestyle behind it? Why do you choose a particular brand of soda?
Take vaping, for example. It is seen as a cooler and safer alternative to smoking. People who buy these products are buying into a lifestyle. If you smoke real cigarettes, you are seen as being inconsiderate and unhealthy.
If you smoke electronic cigarettes, it is more like you are one of the cool kids.
What is key here is that a perception is created. Vaping is more socially acceptable than smoking because it doesn’t produce such a foul smell. However, the liquids vaporized might still contain nicotine and other harmful substances.
You can get just as addicted to vaping as you can to cigarettes.
How Small Companies Can Benefit
Small companies are ideally suited to building a lifestyle brand. Think about the artisan baker, or the organic farmer. Organic food and artisan goods can be sold at a higher price if the business can establish a lifestyle brand.
A good example of how a small company can leverage this is, believe it or not, Starbucks. It’s huge now but, initially, the idea behind it was producing good coffee. Former CEO, Howard Schultz had a vision of the coffee shop becoming a sort of home away from home and being warm and inviting.
Starbucks employees are trained to focus on making the customer experience a great one. They are encouraged to learn client’s names, to be happy and outgoing and to go the extra mile wherever possible.
People go to Starbucks for the coffee certainly, but it’s about more than the coffee for most people. It’s about a warm atmosphere and the vibe. The idea of a fun place that makes it easy for you to relax and enjoy your coffee.
It was a simple concept that proved highly effective, and it is something that every business can apply. Instead of featuring your product, start looking at what lifestyle your product allows your clients to enjoy. Then create a marketing strategy to match – everything from lifestyle websites to a simple flyer.
Find your own “Starbucks” effect and your business will also be able to grow.
How Safe is the Food You Consume?
in Food Safety/by Dure FoodsFood safety is something that we do not pay quite as much attention to as we should. After all, when time is short, as consumers, we are bound to let things slide. Maybe we leave the chicken out of the refrigerator for a little too long.
Maybe we don’t take the time to check a business’s food safety certificate or quality assurance certification. Is it really such a big deal? After all, what’s the worst that can happen? You feel sick for a day or two, right?
Why Should I Be Concerned About Food Safety?
Wrong. Sure, in some cases you do pick up a bug that leaves you feeling sick for a day or two. Around 17% of the American population annually gets sick due to foodborne illnesses. Unfortunately, a case of gastro is the best outcome you can hope for.
Of the 48 million people who contract a foodborne disease in the States in a year, around 128 000 will need to be hospitalized. Around 3 000 will die. It is a sobering thought, isn’t it? It is enough to make you reconsider your whole outlook on food safety standards and quality assurance testing, isn’t it?
How is Food Safety Controlled?
Food safety is controlled through rigorous testing processes that span from the time the food is processed through to the time it lands up on the shelves. That means that many tests for contamination need to be undertaken when the food is being processed, packed, distributed and stored.
This entails:
Once the food leaves the store, you have to ensure that you exercise good food hygiene and habits to prevent it becoming contaminated. This means:
Are All Standards the Same?
As much as we like to think so, not necessarily. While health and safety officials do make attempts to police food safety, there is only so far that they can get. That is why it is up to the individual to take steps to protect themselves.
If you are considering dealing with a new business, check that they have the correct certification. If need be, ask them where you can see their food safety certificate.
You would be amazed, and horrified, if you saw what went on in some restaurant kitchens so do not skip this step.
At the end of the day, the safety of yourself and your family should be your greatest concern. Deal with reputable companies that demonstrate that they take food safety seriously.
How Lifestyle Products Affect Our Daily Lives
in Trends, Facts and Fun!/by Dure FoodsWe have a lot going on in our lives – every day, we are bombarded with images, adverts, and information. It is essential to start tuning out some of the noise, and for most consumers, this means tuning out advertising.
It’s official, advertising your product based on just its features is outdated. Consumers don’t really care about your product. They are too wrapped up with their own lives. If you want to market to them effectively, you need to start introducing lifestyle marketing.
What Does Lifestyle Mean?
You know those soft-drink ads that you see all over. The ones where people are enjoying a Coke and having a great time? That is an example of lifestyle products. The message is simple, share a Coke with someone, and you will make friends and have a good time.
Creating a Lifestyle Brand
When creating a lifestyle brand, you go further than just the features of your product. You have to define your target market carefully in terms of their opinions, interests, and ideas. It is about marketing a particular culture, something that your target market wants to achieve.
It’s about connecting your product to the needs of your consumers at a deeper level.
What Are Lifestyle Products?
Lifestyle products are items that have a unique selling proposition that is appealing to your target market. We are already surrounded by them in our day to day lives. We use these products to fit in with a specific culture.
Take a look at marketing that has been really effective for you in the past. What were you buying – the product itself specifically, or the lifestyle behind it? Why do you choose a particular brand of soda?
Take vaping, for example. It is seen as a cooler and safer alternative to smoking. People who buy these products are buying into a lifestyle. If you smoke real cigarettes, you are seen as being inconsiderate and unhealthy.
If you smoke electronic cigarettes, it is more like you are one of the cool kids.
What is key here is that a perception is created. Vaping is more socially acceptable than smoking because it doesn’t produce such a foul smell. However, the liquids vaporized might still contain nicotine and other harmful substances.
You can get just as addicted to vaping as you can to cigarettes.
How Small Companies Can Benefit
Small companies are ideally suited to building a lifestyle brand. Think about the artisan baker, or the organic farmer. Organic food and artisan goods can be sold at a higher price if the business can establish a lifestyle brand.
A good example of how a small company can leverage this is, believe it or not, Starbucks. It’s huge now but, initially, the idea behind it was producing good coffee. Former CEO, Howard Schultz had a vision of the coffee shop becoming a sort of home away from home and being warm and inviting.
Starbucks employees are trained to focus on making the customer experience a great one. They are encouraged to learn client’s names, to be happy and outgoing and to go the extra mile wherever possible.
People go to Starbucks for the coffee certainly, but it’s about more than the coffee for most people. It’s about a warm atmosphere and the vibe. The idea of a fun place that makes it easy for you to relax and enjoy your coffee.
It was a simple concept that proved highly effective, and it is something that every business can apply. Instead of featuring your product, start looking at what lifestyle your product allows your clients to enjoy. Then create a marketing strategy to match – everything from lifestyle websites to a simple flyer.
Find your own “Starbucks” effect and your business will also be able to grow.