Outthink. Outperform.: Transform Your Organization Through Behavioral Marketing

By Roger Hurni

Gain the valuable steps to consciously shift customer behavior with Behavioral Marketing.

In today's fast-paced business world, understanding customer motivation and behavior is the key to driving success. All the marketing tricks or trends in the world amount to nothing if a customer doesn't take action. It's time to change how you look at marketing and apply the science of persuasion and psychology to understand your customer's motivations.

Renowned behavioral strategist and marketing expert Roger Hurni draws from his extensive experience working with iconic brands to provide a clear, actionable framework for applying Behavioral Marketing in any organization. Built with business leaders, CEOs, CMOs, and visionary entrepreneurs—and their unique challenges—in mind, Outthink. Outperform. is a tactical tool kit with practical insights on incrementally changing consumer behavior to align with your brand's objectives and aspirations. Roger brings his expertise, honed through real-world successes and the application of persuasive methodologies, to provide a hands-on manual that goes beyond theory.

Explore how to: 

• Identify the three key elements of human behavior and harness them to influence customer decisions.
• Develop a deep understanding of your audience's motivations, then craft targeted campaigns that resonate.
• Break down complex customer behaviors into manageable steps to create a seamless journey from brand awareness to loyalty.
• Leverage real-world case studies and success stories to inspire your own Behavioral Marketing initiatives.
• Transform your organization's mindset and approach to marketing, leading to increased sales and long-term growth.

Outthink. Outperform. will provide you with the tools and knowledge you need to thrive in the modern marketplace. Move beyond the transactional and foster deep connections with your customers by making them feel something profound with every interaction. Get your copy today and begin to outthink and outperform your competition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DoGood Publishing
• Release date: Jun 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9798990112315

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

DON’T TELL YOUR

CUSTOMERS

ANYTHING.

MAKE THEM FEEL

SOMETHING.

In the late 1980s, Joe Salembier walked into a client meeting with an idea—an incredibly simple idea—but a powerful one. At the time, no one realized just how powerful the idea was. Joe was the lead account supervisor at an agency named Phillips-Ramsey. The client was DoubleTree Hotels.

Joe sat down at a large conference table surrounded by the C-suite of the hotel company. It was a pivotal moment for the hotel chain. They had nine hotels under their belt, and they wanted to engage in massive expansion. The question they wrestled with was how to separate themselves from every other hotel brand out there.

Joe said, Chocolate chip cookies.

Although the clients were a little dumbfounded, they trusted Joe and asked him to explain.

Joe told the DoubleTree executives that they had an opportunity to position the company as the upscale business travelers’ hotel. DoubleTree could become the hotel of choice for businesspeople who wanted a high-end experience combined with affordability.

Plus, their business travel experiences could lead to second and third visits for personal use because of the upscale nature of the accommodations with the affordable price. Today, marketers call that category Affordable Luxury.

At that time, there were basically three kinds of hotels. There were luxury hotels for people of means who traveled on vacation and wanted that level of service. There were cheap motels that people used because of the cost and convenience. Lastly, there was this middle level. They weren’t too expensive.

They weren’t too cheap. They were nice enough. And they were mostly used by the middle class when they vacationed. They were also the typical choice for business travelers.

Joe reminded the DoubleTree executives that business travel was a necessity, explaining that no matter how much they might enjoy it, people who travel for business do miss home. DoubleTree could provide a little home away from home for those business travelers. Joe continued to explain that the cookies he described couldn’t be ordinary chocolate chip cookies. They had to be luxurious—the type of cookie that you couldn’t get anywhere else. And they were.

Each cookie had a combination of walnuts and pecans mixed in with rich, dark chocolate chips. They were about five inches in diameter and an inch thick at the center. When guests entered their hotel room, on their bed pillow would be a small box containing two cookies. Freshly baked, of course.

Furthermore, when they checked out of the hotel, each guest had the opportunity to purchase a tin of six cookies for the low price of $6.95. Some of the hotels were really smart by baking the cookies during high peak check-out times and allowing the aroma to fill the lobby. If the cookies weren’t so inexpensive, I’m certain they would have provided a new revenue stream for the hotel.

Joe’s point was that what is more home than freshly baked chocolate chip cookies? The aroma strikes an emotional chord with everyone—even with those people who don’t even like chocolate chip cookies. Personally, I can’t understand that dislike, but I know those people are out there.

I was privileged to work with Joe on the DoubleTree account, and his approach was my introduction to success in the business. I was 19 years old with a lot to learn, and Phillips-Ramsey was my first advertising job. I learned very valuable lessons from Joe, the main one being that cleverness alone doesn’t win the day when it comes to advertising and marketing. The real impact comes from connecting with people on an emotional level. He told me that if you can do that, people won’t just purchase from the brand, they’ll have a relationship with it.

Little did I know then that his marketing direction would not only grow DoubleTree to more than 200 hotels over the next 10 years, but it would lead to all kinds of marketing campaigns and awards for the client.

DoubleTree’s positioning was also the catalyst for hotel chain growth in all kinds of categories. Today, you will see a wide variety of hotel options. From micro-hotels to help-yourself business traveler hotels, to family vacation hotel suites, and more. At this point, I don’t believe there’s an empty category out there.

Furthermore, I can easily see how these chocolate chip cookies even had an influence on the real estate industry. Several years later, you couldn’t walk into an open house for sale without the real estate agent baking some chocolate chip cookies for all the potential buyers. And it worked, because the aroma conjured up all kinds of memories for anyone who walked into the house.

A few years ago, my wife, Joanne, and I were going on a business trip to Hong Kong. Based on the scheduling, we knew we’d have four or five days to ourselves after the trip. So, we decided to go on a little adventure. Since it was our first time in China, we decided to go to Beijing. We thought it would be fun to see the Great Wall, The Forbidden City, and eat some Chinese food—or just food, as they call it over there.

China by all measures is a very different country than America. Honestly, it can be intimidating, even for well-traveled globetrotters like my wife and me. Since it’s a Communist country, we were not familiar with all the rules and cultural nuances. So, to be on the safe side, we decided to book a hotel brand that we were familiar with.

Seeing as my wife is an ex-flight attendant, she’s pretty good at uncovering travel deals. So, I left it in her charge to find the right place to stay.

A few weeks later, she came to me and said, Hey, I found a deal at the Four Seasons Beijing for just $285 a night!

Are you sure that’s right? I asked. "It is the Four Seasons, as in F-O-U-R, not one of those Chinese knockoffs with an odd spelling, right?"

In all our travels, we’d never seen prices that low at a Four Seasons, so I was wary.

I believe it is. It looks legit, she told me.

Well, I wanted to be sure. We went to the Four Seasons corporate website and looked up their Beijing location. We also had the website for the Four Seasons in China that my wife had found on another screen.

Back and forth we scrutinized the websites to compare addresses, pictures of the location, and logos on each site to make sure they matched. That confirmed it, we were reassured that this Four Seasons deal was in fact from the actual Four Seasons—as in F-O-U-R. Awesome, I said.

I was flabbergasted. We had stayed at the Four Seasons only twice before, and we’d never gotten a room for less than $800 a night. Since we aren’t loyalty members, I never expected to get such a low rate. With our suspicions removed, Joanne booked the room.

As I said, I had stayed at the Four Seasons a couple of times. I’m not a member. They don’t know me. I really don’t have any expectation from them other than their reputation of great service. But that level of service is universal. In other words, it applies to anyone booking a room there—regardless of membership. Such treatment is vastly different from the usual reception at many brand-name hotels, although most are striving to replicate it. But they tend to reserve it for high-level members.

For example, when I stay at a Marriot, where I am a high-level member, I receive special treatment. And, based on my status with Marriot, I do have certain expectations about service and accommodations. I’d expect them to greet me by name and provide service in accordance with the perks I get for being a high-level member.

So, going into our stay at the Four Seasons Beijing, I had no expectations. Especially at that price. I expected only the typical experience I’d get at any brand-name hotel where I’m not a member.

Still, we wanted to make certain our trip was a smooth as possible. So, before arriving in Beijing, we made sure to book a car and driver recommended by a friend who’d been there before. Once we arrived at the airport, our driver met us at the gate and escorted us through customs, luggage collection, and then to his car. All good.

It was about a 25-minute drive from the airport to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel entrance, we were greeted by the hotel manager. She opened the car door and handed Joanne a dozen roses.

Mr. and Mrs. Hurni, we’d just like to welcome you to the Four Seasons Beijing. We have already checked you in, and we will bring your bags to your room, she said. As we walked into the lobby, she added, I know this is your first time here, so I would like to let you know that there is no tipping in China. She gestured us to follow her, and as she led the way, she continued, Now, let me show you to your room.

The room was breathtaking. There was a gift basket there for us and champagne already chilling. Two decorative towel swans were displayed on the bed and rose petals had been scattered around them. It almost felt like we were newlyweds in a honeymoon suite. It was amazing.

After catching my breath, I took the manager aside and said, Okay, I’m not a Four Seasons member, so how do you create this experience, and do you do it every single time?

My curiosity was just too much—especially for someone in marketing. I continued, This welcome is an unexpected level of guest experience, and I would like to know what we’ve done to earn such treatment.

We do this every time for someone who has signed up through the app, the manager told me.

Can you explain? I asked.

We want to provide the best experience for every customer, she revealed. "Our app is our way of doing that. Since you downloaded the app to book with us, we were notified when your plane arrived, based on entering the airport’s geofence. At that point, the day manager got a message alerting us that you’d landed.

"When you left the airport, there is another geofence that notifies us you are on your way to the hotel. Based on the time of day, we can estimate how long it would take you to get here. So, while you’re on the drive here, we check you in, get your room ready, and make sure all the staff have been alerted of your arrival shortly at our hotel.

One mile out from the hotel, we get another notification, which prompts us to get the fresh flowers and ensure that all the staff are ready to greet you. Finally, when you enter the geofence in the parking lot, we get the final notification to walk outside and wait for you as your car arrives at the entrance.

When I looked at this coordination from a marketing standpoint, I could see that each of those cues happened based on explicit travel behaviors. The Four Seasons Beijing staff are prompted when guests have landed at the airport, when they are en route to the hotel, and when they will arrive based on the time of day and typical traffic patterns.

Individually, all of the Four Seasons’ staff were highly motivated to provide their guests with this immaculate experience. Moreover, they had all the ability in the world to be able to make it happen—not just because they were well trained but because each action they performed was easy for them to do. They just needed a prompt in order to complete each sequence of events. The app and geofencing were their secrets to such timing.

While expecting so little at our arrival, my wife and I were the recipients of this incredible guest experience not because we were high-level members, but because the Four Seasons identified and implemented specific staff behaviors that would lead to an incredible guest experience.

This exemplary model is exactly the DoubleTree Hotel success story. While each DoubleTree hotel and each guest situation are completely different, the common denominator is the emotional connection that guests have to their experience.

I’m sure it is easy for you to think that hotels, or any destination organization for that matter, would provide similarly great experiences because it’s part of who they are—their DNA, if you will. The truth is, any organization can provide a higher level of customer experience by identifying the positive behaviors they want their employees to model or exceptional treatment that they want their guests to receive. The idea is deceptively simple: Once each behavior is made as easy as possible, the next step is to prompt each behavior at a specific time.

The point is that you don’t have to leave to happenstance the customer experience and how personalized it can be. There is a methodology you can follow. It is Behavioral