WHOLE FOODS MESSAGES: a case study for Communications & Design

in Service Marketing

Looks like a

neighborhood store

Do they have a place to

put my wet umbrella?

So quaint!

Messages are generated through all the interactions of the customer with the service. These can be either planned or unplanned, controlled and not-controlled and come from a variety of channels.

SERVICE MESSAGES

Look into my

eyes and buy at Whole

Foods Planned messages are of te n co m mu n i c ate d through traditional media like TV, print, direct mail and sales representatives.

TRADITIONAL MARKETING

We interrupt

this broadcast because we want you to

like us

TRADITIONAL MARKETING | ISSUES

TELEVISION COMMERCIAL

Some of the issues with traditional marketing methods are that they can interrupt entertainment (like it happens, for example, with TV commercials) and that, because they are motivated by a desire to sell, they tend to be less trusted.

CORPORATE MAGAZINE

CORPORATE BLOG

SWEET SPOT

This is a way of marketing products and services to people that takes into account their needs, their opinions and their interests. With content marketing, customers and suppliers engage in a “give and take” that produces a mutually beneficial relationship.

CONTENT SWEET SPOT

CUSTOMER INTERESTSAND NEEDS

UNIQUE BRANDEXPERTISEAND VALUE

CONTENT MARKETING

I’m hip

I’m friendly

I’m a free spirit

I’m an original

Another source of messages is the service itself: messages that result from service processes, the employee’s appearance, attitude and behavior and the servicescape, the facility’s exterior and interior. Customers can get valuable information from these encounters and develop a sense of trust or the contrary.

MESSAGES FROM THE SERVICE DELIVERY

BAGSPACKAGING

Of course, many services either sell or provide tangible products. The product sold or provided at a service will communicate the brand either through physical design or how it functions.

MESSAGES FROM PRODUCT

WORD OF MOUTH

Unplanned messages tend to strike users as more trustworthy. These are sent by fellow customers who interact with others. This includes word of mouth, articles in newspapers magazines or on TV.

UNPLANNED MESSAGES

If a tree falls on the

Whole Foods parking lot, and we

don’t tell you...does it make a

sound?

Lack of communication and lack of transparency can frequently be detrimental if the user wil l subsequently feel that he could have used the information or that he is being lied to. On the other side of the spectrum, it is better to not communicate information until the service provider is sure of its accuracy.

LACK OF COMMUNICATION (NO MESSAGE)

WHAT COMMUNICATION & DESIGN CAN DO

The roles of C&D are as follows:1. Solve for intangibility2. Position and differentiate3. Add value through communicating content4. Promote the contribution of service personnel 5. Facilitate customer involvement in service production6. Stimulate or dampen the demand to match capacity

1.SOLVING FOR INTANGIBILITY | DEFINITION

One great challenge of marketing services is that the customer is unable to assess the value gained from engaging in an activity using a product that he or she can purchase, see, taste or touch. For example, it is very easy to evaluate a car. A user can see its color and shape, sit inside and touch its upholstery. But services are complex systems that cannot be held, seen or touched.

There are four issues caused by the intangible nature of services:• Generality• Abstractness• Non-searchability• Mental impalpability

SOLVING FOR INTANGIBILITY | 4 PROBLEMS

GENERALITY

Most consumers know what comprises a grocery store. They have a general idea of what items make the category: fresh produce, checkout lanes, aisle numbers. But, because of how vast a service system is and how many parts are intangible, marketers need to communicate what makes a specific offering distinctly different and or better.

What you talking about“sustainable”?

Many differentiating aspects are abstract concepts like security, fun, expert advice, entertainment and sustainability. Marketers need to find ways to make these easier to grasp.

ABSTRACTNESS

Intangibles cannot be inspected before they are purchased. Physical service attributes, such as the appearance of the Whole Foods prepared foods area can be checked in advance, but the experience of eating the food, using the self-serve station and sitting at the tables can only be determined through actually using the service.

NON-SEARCHABILITY

Many services are sufficiently complex, multidimensional or novel that it is difficult for consumers -especially new prospects- to understand what the experience of using them will be like and what benefits will result.

MENTAL IMPALPABILITY

CUES

METAPHORS

This “o” is a

metaphor for a seed.

see?

We do things by

hand so we are personal and

quirky.

SOLVING FOR INTANGIBILITY | 2 TOOLS

Marketers can use cues and metaphors to make intangible qualities tangible. Cues, l ike this blackboard with handwritten lettering, use their own tangibil ity to point to a service quality. Handwritten blackboards are common in small and local stores and communicate the informal and warm environment that Whole Food strives to create. Metaphors help users better understand abstract terms by linking them to concrete concepts.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE AISLES

C&D is not only used to attract but to convince of the firm’s superior performance in certain attributes.Even if customers understand what a service does they may find it hard to tell the difference between offerings from different suppliers.

2. POSITION AND DIFFERENTIATE

What makes the

Whole Foods fresh produce

area different and better than any

other?

3. ADD VALUE THROUGH CONTENT

Communication should be regarded as an opportunity to create value. In this example, the sticker of this Whole Foods cold meat package includes safe handling instructions.

We care about

cheese so much we made a special

poster for it

I’m Whole

Food’s resident expert on

humongous cheeses

4. PROMOTE THE CONTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEES

Communication needs to help the employees identify with the brand’s personality, know what is expected of them and keep up with the events of the company. This subset of marketing is called Internal Marketing.

5.FACILITATE CUSTOMER INVOLVEMENT IN SERVICE PRODUCTION

Grab a bag here

and buy some cookies

Services are frequently co-produced with the customer. This requires that instructions of how to self-serve and how to behave are clearly communicated.

Here are the

ingredients for all these

cookies

This is what

this cookie is called

6. STIMULATE OR DAMPEN DEMAND TO MATCH CAPACITY

Some times services must attract or deflect customers to match their own capacity. This is seen in any situation where there is waiting involved. For Whole Foods we see it in the system of check-out lines, different from most supermarkets in the US.

Article on Whole

Foods: in top 100 places

to work

I love the

blackboard signs

It’s easy

to take by-pound products

Employees sang to me on my birthday

Informative video on youtube

Funny commercial

Took recipe

from Whole Foods blog

The tables

are kept clean

I can find what

I’m looking for

This place smells nice

My mom

loves Whole Foods

Love the tats on these people

My complaint

was answered quickly

Paying is

easy

Free cooking

class

Sweet promotion

in cosmetics

They care

about the environment

Organic everything

BRAND CONTACTS DEVELOP A BRAND RELATIONSHIP

Over time, the accrued contacts with a brand and its messages will create brand equity.

1. http://flavorwire.com/267713/40-of-don-drapers-best-lines/2/

2. http://www.expressions-uk.co.uk/hypnosis/

3. http://www.gaiahealthblog.com/wordpress1/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/whole-foods1.jpg

4. http://www.stephenhorvath.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/bag.jpg

5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0xrvYsO9FA

6. http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/22/02/56/4729780/5/rawImage.jpg

7. http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/lightpoet/lightpoet1106/lightpoet110601806/9803396-beautiful-young-woman-shopping-for-fruits-and-vegetables-at-a-

supermarket.jpg

8. http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/lightpoet/lightpoet1107/lightpoet110701040/9936010-beautiful-young-woman-buying-fruits-and-vegetables-at-a-produce-

department-of-a-supermarket-grocery-.jpg

9. http://www.moibibiki.com/images/hummer-h3-6.jpg

10. http://www.smart-car-blog.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/smart-fortwo.jpg

11. http://img2.rnkr-static.com/user_node_img/53/1045729/full/gary-coleman-people-in-tv-photo-u6.jpg

12. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-efzbBQcCnmc/T2kke1osdCI/AAAAAAAAAFo/2Xgj-fJR3bo/s1600/RawFood101Class-WF-blackboard.jpg

13. http://triadmomsonmain.com/images/paid%20blogs/DSC_9586.JPG

14. http://toomanysweetaddictions.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/whole-foods-cookies.jpg

15. http://www.yourpowerfulmind-coaching.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Happy-woman.jpg

16. http://www.customcontentcouncil.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/cs-slide/images/case-studies/wf.jpg

IMAGE CREDITS