Just Add Eggs: How and Why Your Audience Wants to Bake Up a Better Programming Mix Then What You Have Right Now

We may all recall the famous marketing story handed down to us from the folks at Betty Crocker. What they learned can tell us a great deal about how to increase your ratings. Here’s what happened. All the major food companies had embraced the notion of a “just add water” cake mix. Unfortunately nobody bought the pitch. It was a complete flop. Then General Mills hired two “business psychologists.”

These researchers discovered that housewives needed to have some ownership in the cake in order to derive the required level of product satisfaction. Out go the powdered eggs and in go the instructions: “Just add two fresh eggs.” Sales skyrocketed because GM has taken care in designing the consumer experience.

What are you doing to craft the consumer experience within your product?

New research shows that when people are actively involved in the creation of a product, not only do they like the product more, but they even perceive it to have enhanced qualities that don’t even exist! Two researchers discovered that when consumers engaged in the preparation of a dinner kit meal they believed it tasted better than the exact same meal produced independently….. even though the two meals were exactly the same.

The authors concluded that the efforts consumers put into making the self made meal kit create a special alliance between the consumer and the brand. Think of it as Cook Book Marketing 101.

How can you get your audience to cook up a special program? Do you ask for their input? Do you involve them in the process? Do you provide personalized feedback about their suggestions? Is it a work in progress, or is it just a one time deal? Are you asking them to be the head chef or are you off in the back kitchen with the doors shut tight? Don’t you think it’s about time we open the door and let them in? Involvement = Ratings. What’s in your recipe book right now?

[contact-form-7 id=”1976″ title=”Have Ted Bolton Speak at your next Managers Meeting”]