Focus on the essential – Leica
It is imperative that businesses determine exactly who they want to serve, exactly what products or service they want to deliver. They must not try to be all things to all people. Previously on this post I gave the example of a niche product being the Savile Row Tailors. In this post I pass on some lessons from a company who has got it right. ( I have no inside information just a keen interest).
The company is Leica Camera AG.
Leica make beautiful cameras and if anyone wants to be generous I would love the new M9.
Lieca cameras are very expensive but they create an experience for enthusiast, artistic or professional photographers. They are made in Soims Germany and also a second location in Portugal.
They have focused on building the best lenses, the essential camera that serves a market. They employ about 100 people and last year turned over 156 million Euro. They are not an insignificant business that is focused on serving a particular customer with a specfic product. They are not trying to take on Canon & Nikon etc but rather they are creating a different product and charging a premium price. There are forums, user groups both online and offline the world over. These people get together to talk about the products and what they have been able to create with the product. This just reinforces the word of mouth marketing of the brand which adds to the premium price that can be charged for the products.
On Leica’s website they say the brand speaks for visual enjoyment and lasting value. Also state that their values are building the best lenses and focusing on the essential. It is this point of “focus on the essential” which I wish to cover a little more.
To quote from their website
“In today’s market, many products attempt to attract buyers with countless features and unusual forms. Almost anything is possible. But it is often the things that appear simple which prove to be the most difficult to attain. For Leica, the focus is first and foremost on the needs of the user. Innovations are never ends in themselves but are always the result of countless discussions with and feedback from users. Leica products are designed from the ground up as tools for creating completely unique visual experiences – nothing more and nothing less. For this reason since the very first Leica, the focus during mechanical and optical development of mechanics and lenses has been on providing truly relevant functions. It is this focus on the essential that lies at the heart of the fascination inspired by the Leica brand. “
If only this was the focus of all businesses. Leica not only say this but deliver. They have the focus of their customers. Their customers are not all photographers. They are not trying to be everything to everybody. Focus on the needs of the customers you want to deal with. How can you focus on the essential in your business, with your product or service.
A Real Brand – Real Customer Loyalty
I love to hear of stories of great companies who have built a real brand. This is a brand that has a loyal customer base and when the brand is mentioned people can tell you stories (great stories) of this brand. Recently Peter Day of the BBC interviewed the CEO of WD-40. Yes those distinctive blue and yellow cans with that spray we use to solve all sorts of problems.
As Peter stated in his notes – ” it starts off as a lubricant and then generates all kinds of other uses, most of which give the users the wonderful feeling that it’s their cleverness to spray on the WD–40, rather than the product’s versatility.”
Originally WD-40 was designed to stop space rockets corroding. This formula was the 40th attempt to come up with a water dispersant. However as some of the people who worked for the company started taking the product home it started to gain other markets.
There are a number of lessons that can be learnt from the business.
It has been a business significantly built on sampling. They give a sample to someone to try which has led people to purchase. From this word of mouth has done a lot of the business building.
But this word of mouth has been helped by the company. It you visit their website you will fine a fanclub and a page devoted to 2000 plus uses of the product. The 2000 plus uses are full of stories that people can tell each other, try out and otherwise create word of mouth marketing.WD40 ask people to continue to send in examples of how they use the product.They are fostering the word of mouth.They are creating a tribe around a spray can.
The brand has a promise of being able to solve all those little lubricant issues around the house or business. But more than that even keep squirrels from climbing a pole. Read some of the 2000 uses for some crazy examples.
Also it is interesting how little detail is important. The smell that comes with the spray is added. It is not necessary to make the product work. But the smell is important for us to remember the product.
WD40 really take the time to understand the customers need and how their products can help.
So the lessons in summary -
- how are you fostering word of mouth
- how can you allow your customers to sample your product or service
- what little details can you do to your product or service that will leave a memory eg smell, touch etc
- how can you really understand the customers needs better.
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