Look who we have on Hanes...

Hanes is known not only know for their colorful, comfortable, and affordable underwear but for the funny TV commercials with the famous celebrities. This brand and product captured my attention because of the famous celebrities who promote this product like Michael Jordan, Kevin Beacon, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Cuba Gooding Jr. and others. The Hanes TV commercials use and follow the SEMs Bernd Schmitt talks about to create the overall customer experience for their products.
The lines of product from Hanes include but are not limited to Women, Men, and Children underwear tops and bottoms along with outwear such as fleece sweatshirts. However, the focus of their recent commercials includes the men’s tag-less tees and women’s bras and underwear. One of the immediate SEMs you recognize is the SENSE marketing; one of the first commercials for the men’s tag-less tees shows a guy trying to scratch his back because the tag on the t-shirt was bothering him. Then Michael Jordan comes in and presents his Hanes tag-less shirt. This portion of the commercial focuses on the relief and touch sensation of wearing a tag-less tee. Additionally in the recent commercials with the Heather Magee Dance group moving around in their Hanes underwear projects a visual and touch sensation. The visual imagery of the product is very fun, bright and colorful; also the movement of the dancers in their underwear produces the touch sensation that the product is comfortable and very wearable. “Look who we have on Hanes…if they can move comfortably so can you”. Moreover, the commercials stimulate FEEL marketing appealing to the emotions of fun, happiness and comfortableness. In all of the commercials the music is always very cheerful making the audience feel happier about the underwear lines. Another emotion the commercials evoke is humor and laughter; many of the commercials that feature celebrity duos such as Michael Jordan and Kevin Beacon and Michael Jordan and Cuba Gooding Jr. where they make you laugh with their jokes. Furthermore, Hanes creates ACT marketing by showing how the products cater to their lives. For instance, the commercial with Jennifer Love Hewitt portrays her frustrations with her bra straps and she goes and changes into the more comfortable and “fitting” Hanes bra. This depicts the sensation that Hanes will fit into your lifestyle no matter who or what type of lifestyle you have. Their marketing emphasizes that their products will enhance your underwear experience and alters your frustrations into happiness with comfortable underwear. Overall the Hanes brand does a good job meeting the different SEMs to represent their products; they catered their marketing efforts so that the customers can understand what makes Hanes stand out and part from its competitors like Fruit of the Loom. They try to deliver the message of comfortable underwear fitting into your lifestyles no matter who you are.
Hanes has many experience providers that enhances their marketing efforts of their different product lines. For example, their website and electronic media includes ways to purchase and view all of their products at www.hanes.com. Also their electronic media extends to emails and special promotions you will receive when you sign up for an account on their website. In addition, most Hanes products are sold in retail stores such as Wal-Mart, where Hanes products are included in store pamphlets and newspaper inserts. Their visual and verbal identity is included in their Hanes logo, along with their tag-less product lines. Moreover, their product design and packaging truly represent their values in comfortableness and causal/happy approach to life. Their simple packaging is easy to open and obtain through more retail stores. Also their product designs meet the needs of the “every-day” customers (i.e. tag-less shirts). The people that represent the product are their main spokesperson and model, Michael Jordan. However, the brand is also associated with other celebrities who wear the Hanes products, their brand phrase of “Look we have on Hanes right now…” always promotes a famous celebrity who uses their products. Again, overall Hanes creates a great experience for its customers beginning with their commercials and ending with their availability of product on-line and through stores around the world. However, I think Hanes need to focus on building more of the RELATE and THINK marketing modules to stand out among other underwear brands.
This exercise was a little difficult because most brands and products definitely fit into a specific SEM category but some relate to multiple categories with just one of their features. Some of the features of this brand focus mainly on the immediate needs of the customer (i.e. comfort of wearing Hanes products) instead of trying to appeal to a larger pool of consumers and therefore making it difficult to pick out additional features that relate to other SEMs. Also I might be more bias about this brand because I grew up with purchasing and using this brand of underwear.

Blog 2 - Choices, choices!

As Barry Schwartz commented, the endless choices and selections in today’s markets can help or hinder customers with making decisions for products and services. As consumers we seek out differences and similarities among products and services we need or want. We compare products on price, quality, and other features that are important and affects our consumption decisions. However, in order to make these comparisons, customers need the assortment and variety to capture the wide range of selections customers can choose from. However, the availability and the freedom to choose from a great selection of products and services can hinder the customer; they may feel overwhelmed and thus “paralyzed” by anxiety created from the autonomy of decision making. For example, during the recent Career Expo, many students were attracted to the fair because of the different choices and variety of the attending companies recruiting for various full-time and internship positions. However, once at the event, many students became paralyzed with uneasiness because of the numerous companies. They veered away from their plans for the event; but these circumstances forced the students to evaluate their situations in order to adjust for the event. Consequently, on the other hand, some students were dissatisfied that they were not able to choose because of their unexpected situations with the endless choices of companies.
As students our purchasing behaviors and decisions are affected by our financial situations along with our different wants and needs. Stereotypically, our profiles portray trendy and self-conscious individuals who love to shop for "our" products and other consumer goods. However, related to the relationship between more options and more regrets as Barry Swartz mentioned, students and other consumers fall under the “winner curse”. When we have so many options to choose from our decisions from these choices are often regretted or we feel remorseful that we could have made the wrong decision. For instance, when we buy a product after shopping and comparing similar items, we often second guess our decision and wonder if we did get the best deal or the better product. This is the winner’s curse in that no matter how good of a product or deal you received from your decisions, the many choices will always have you second guessing to whether or not if you absolutely made the right choice.
Likewise, as consumers we always think about the “next” item of choice on our internal or personal shopping list. As depicted humorously in Barry Schwartz’s presentation, we are constantly thinking of the next item on our list. As consumers in the ever growing economy with improvements to existing products and creation of new products, we are always seeking for other future items to purchase. Although we create value through comparative shopping, we also create regrets and anxieties with our continuous consumption decisions.

Blog 1 - Customer Insights

In the “Mighty Amazon”, the article details the hard efforts of CEO Bezos to gain customer insights for his company. For example, Bezos holds weekly meetings to go over various in-depth details about products and strategies to understand and to be informed about the company’s specific activities. I believe this “hands-on” approach from the CEO is an effective way for management to become aware of what is going in the company so that everyone can be responsible for creating efficiencies and seeking improvements. Similarly when I worked as a financial analyst intern this summer, my team and I had daily team huddles where we discussed each person’s tasks and any updates for the team. In this way, we were able to update each other and also help each other. We shared our challenges and problems with the team so we could help and give advice on how other could approach their problems. In addition to the weekly meetings, when it comes to customer service Bezos concentrates on not the “qualitative” conclusions but the quantitative concerns. He analyzes and scrutinizes the data with charts and tables instead of just receiving managerial updates from each of the department. I believe numbers truly tell the story and secrets of a company; by breaking down the data into conclusive numbers and averages you can pin point and fix the exact areas that need improvements. In order to maximize customer satisfaction you have to provide the basic satisfactory elements such as fast customer contacts and response. Data provides what the customers are really looking for in the company and how they are willing to get it. Then the adjustments and improvements based on these insights can help build better customer experiences.
In addition, Amazon.com utilizes a very important tool in their process of building the best customer experience: technology. Technology is an investment option for companies; you get what you put in. Although Amazon took a big risk with purchasing their big software development, it was a key factor in building the customer experience. I am not a frequent online shopper; however, I think Amazon is a great website for any type of online shopper. The investments they have made I think pays off and shows on Amazon.com. One of the key features is that it remembers the products you have viewed and recommends several products based on your past selections. The company created a “thinking” website for its customers rather than just a good working website; they have taken a “machine” and created a personable face for the customers. For instance, if you as a customer walked into a clean and organized store where you could find the items you were looking for while all of the sales associates remembered your name and recommended other items to you based on your previous purchases, you would definitely come back because of the great customer service and experience. I believe Amazon has achieved this type of experience through their use of technology and their website.
In order for companies to not only stay competitive but to stand out from their competitors they must pay attention to the customers. When the technology boom hit, many companies sought out to create efficiencies and stream line their processes to reduce costs and to effectively run their businesses. However, companies are realizing that this is not enough; they have to do more. As we discussed in class, another example of a company who has created a great customer experience is Barnes and Noble Bookstore. From their comfy couches, to the availability of huge book selection, many customers can enjoy a book in a comforting atmosphere with the freedom to sample other products such as music and magazines. For companies to retain current customers and to attract new customers, they must build on the growing want for the complete customer experience. It’s not just about producing a great product and reducing costs for maximum profits. In order for companies to stay in business they must focus on collecting valuable customer information from qualitative sources such as customer feedback surveys and quantitative information from the company data; these factors are the keys in understanding the wants and needs of today’s customers.

1st Blog Entry

This is my first blog entry.