If opportunity doesn't Knock, build a door

June 18, 2009  |  by Kent Stones

Milton Berle may have been a comedian of the '50s and '60s, but his quote about opportunity knocking speaks to many of those facing retail challenges today.  Just how does a retailer look at change management and marketing performance of a store, when there are going out of business sales looming all around the neighborhood?  That retailer is constantly looking to build a better door.

Retail Science, Art & Luck
Improving a retail store's marketing performance is never an exact science. Some may call this process a black art, despite the sheer number and promise of the sophisticated analytical tools we have at our keyboards. At the end of the day, success at improving store sales requires a mixture of science, art, and yes, believe it or not, some good old-fashioned luck. The science comes in the form of retail trade area analysis, sales attribution (what we call data mining) and geographic/demographic influences on traffic. The art is applied through studying elements such as proxemics, a complicated word meaning uncovering the unknown through observation and interviews or creating beautiful, relevant symbolism displayed in signs, price tags and the like. We often classify the remaining uncertainty as a fact of marketing, the randomness we can't control.

Perhaps we need to recognize that much of what we think is outside our control is actually a lack of consideration of the target's readiness for change.  Again, we need to study building that new door. While inevitably there will be those in our target that are not ready to buy for very valid reasons, there are likely many that are not ready to buy simply because they do not perceive a need that may truly exist.
 
Consider, as an example, those with medical conditions who do not yet perceive the need to change their lifestyles because they don't yet experience any meaningful symptoms. An intervention is in order to see behavior changes from them, as opposed to those actually experiencing symptoms of their condition.  Many of those in our target that are not ready to buy are in need of a different message and medium, or need to be sent through a 'different' door in order to move them down the path to contemplation of purchasing. This readiness for change directly influences receptivity to the medium AND message, and if some members of your target are not consciously ready to change their behavior in the way you seek, they will ignore your message - no matter how blatant or outrageous. That's not bad luck or randomness, that mismanaging change.

Six Stages of Behavior
A breakthrough study by James Prochaska and colleagues began development of the transtheoretical model of change in the late '70s. Based on the field of psychotherapy, the model suggests that behavior changes progress through six stages:

Pre-contemplation: people not intending to take action in the foreseeable future (six months)
Contemplation: people intending to change in the next six months
Preparation: people intending to take action in the immediate future (the next month)
Action: people who have made overt modifications in a behavior (last six months)
Maintenance: people working to prevent relapse (lasts six months to five years)
Termination: people with zero temptation and 100% self-efficacy

The study also suggests that people typically approach change differently depending on the progress they've already made. This model is not unlike classic marketing models we're used to working with that talk about awareness, interest, trial, repeat, loyalty, etc.

We can improve our success of moving prospects through the door to purchase by applying Prochaska's thinking to our strategies and tactics in all stages, even those who may be 'pre-contemplative,' i.e., unaware of a problem or need that exists. Some suggestions from Prochaska regarding progression through stages of change:

• For movement from pre-contemplation to contemplation, emphasize experiential strategies oriented toward raising consciousness of the causes, consequences and outcomes of a particular behavior. Strive for an emotional or instinctual connection with the individual and enlighten on the social implications of the current behavior (or the social opportunities of changing behavior).

• Between contemplation and preparation, the focus should be on self-evaluation and how the presence or absence of a behavior affects one's social environment or standing.

• Between preparation and action, help the individual to become purposefully 'liberated' from the old behavior with support opportunities that reinforce the new behavior. Advocacy, social opportunities or environmental changes all reinforce the transition from the old behavior to new ones.

• Between action and maintenance, the emphasis is on support. Removing cues that tempt a relapse, continually offering prompts for new alternatives to old behaviors, connecting individuals with others for a form of social support and finding ways to overtly and covertly reinforce the new behavior lead to a higher probability of sustained change.

Prochaska and colleagues suggest that interventions to change behavior must be stage-matched, that is, "matched to each individual's stage of change." Likewise, marketers must also ensure their marketing 'interventions' are stage-matched, or matched to a target's stage of product or service change. In other words, build the door that tailors marketing and promotion to reflect these stages of change, in effect managing individuals, moving them more quickly down the path toward sustained buying and brand advocacy.