home : hartbeat : 2005-06-16

06.16.2005

“HartBeat” is The Hartman Group's FREE online newsletter, providing insight, analysis, information and strategy to give business leaders the knowledge and vision to build sustainable brands.

For more Hartman Group articles on HEALTH CLAIMS, click here...

06.02.2005 "What's on the Labeling?: How Consumers Evaluate Product Labeling"

03.31.2005 "How Consumers Make Sense of Functional Foods"

01.27.2005 "Redefining Our (Consumer) Understanding of Functional Foods"

NATURAL SENSIBILITY
01.15.2002 "Wellness Trends to Watch in 2002"

04.17.2000 "Organic Products: How Do Consumers Choose?"

Archives »
Click here for an archive of past HartBeat articles

digg
del.icio.us

reddit
twitter

friendfeed

StumbleUpon

Dog Tails And Itchy Feet: why Selling On Health Benefits Alone May Be A Losing Proposition

Dog Tails

An East Indian colleague of mine once made reference to a co-worker as "dog tail." I looked at him blankly, somewhat concerned that the canine metaphor could amount to a serious insult. He went on to explain that our associate would do what he should as long as he was kept under close supervision, however, barring tight control, his regular habits (in this case, habits indicative of laziness) would resurface and he'd no longer contribute to our mutual efforts. This "dog tail" reference, apparently, comes from the well-known Swami Vivekananda, who said, "There is no use trying to make the dog's curly trail straight." In other words, the tail stays straight as long as you hold it, but as soon as you let go, it curls right back up.

Itchy Feet

I have an acquaitance who's had athlete's foot for about 15 years. Periodically, it flares up and he complains about intense itching, and sometimes cracking between his toes. When the last flare up became sufficiently irritating, he went out and bought an OTC product to treat it. At first he followed the instructions on the can religiously: Wash feet. Dry feet. Spray liberally on affected area. Wear white socks. This use regime is supposed to be kept up for at least a month.

On day four, half asleep, he left the shower having forgotten to wash his feet, failing to remember the new routine. When he noticed the treatment product on the bathroom counter, he emitted a mild curse and unceremoniously sprayed the still-damp foot. He missed getting between the toes. He continued to use the product for a few more days, each day slipping further from the recommended use.

On day eight while cleaning his apartment in anticipation of a female visitor, he put the athlete's foot treatment in a bathroom cabinet. By that time "flare up" wasn't so bad, and treating the foot was no longer a big priority. It stayed in the cabinet, eventually migrating to the back. And it's still there, and happy, as it has company: another athlete's foot spray, a powder or two, and even a tube of prescription anti-fungal, all hardly used.

Consumers Are Undisciplined

Like my friend with the itchy foot, most of us tolerate the inconvenience of product use regimes only when there is an acute problem that a product claims to address. Barring a serious medical condition to "hold us straight," we do not follow product directions for very long, if at all, and we "curl right back up" at the first convenient excuse. Even doctor-directed prescriptions fall into neglect at a surprisingly high rate.

This has some important implications for food and beverage companies that are trying to sell products on efficacy - and lots of them are. Consumers in most cases simply are not going to use a product in the way it was intended to be used. If you are relying on a strong impression of concrete benefits from your product to bring in repeat sales, you may want to reconsider your strategy. While benefits may have been clearly evident in clinical trials for a specific ingredient in your product, those benefits won't be apparent when consumers use your product willy-nilly.

In addition to being undisciplined, consumers are also impatient, harsh critics. When you make a benefit claim, they will be looking for that benefit, fast. However, they still won't stick to use recommendations. What happens? Consumers end up saying a product "doesn't do what it says it will" and are quick to jump ship for the next one that appeals to them.

So, if efficacy and health claims don't work...what does? Consumers react more positively to the absence or reminder of an ingredient, such as "No Added Sugar" or "High in Dietary Fiber" than to a health claim stating "May Reduce the Risk of Cancer, Heart Disease or Elevated Cholesterol Levels." While consumers want to know what a product contains, too much added content may give the impression that a food is highly processed. Yet, "reduced" or "no" language is believable since it's a simple deduction.

Recommendations

Try to avoid selling on efficacy alone. Any health (or perhaps cosmetic) benefit of your product should not be the primary selling point. Use the health effects of the product as a "bonus," and don't beat the consumer over the head with benefit claims.
If you have a healthy ingredient in your product, let people know that it's present (e.g., "8g of dietary fiber"), but let them draw their own conclusions about its health impact (our research shows that consumers prefer to develop their own ideas about healthy products, and don't tend to believe most manufacturers' claims).
Focus on making products taste good and the "absence of negatives," that is, avoiding product attributes such as high sugar content that may prompt many consumers to reject the product categorically. (These two may seem obvious but they are frequently neglected in new food products.)

Comment »