Comments on: Pushing the Big ‘O’

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:18:25 +0000

Yes, my microwave is a Cuisinart and makes for a very tidy roommate. My roommate does almost all the cooking, which is great. While the cleanup has fallen to me, I have found it to be very easy.

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:35:04 +0000

Too funny, Neil. There’s no doubt about it: home-cooked meals are best. We all know that if we select fresh, good ingredients we can whip up the healthiest meals. But let’s face it: we’re all pressed for time these days and not everyone is Julia Child, so we all choose convenience foods; some of us more than others. Given that we’re going to do that, some choices are far healthier than others. Again: it’s really important that consumers learn all they can about nutrition so we can all make informed choices.
Kudos to you and Mr. Microwave, Neil. You have the right idea here. . .

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:20:27 +0000

Ted, yes it supersedes price if I think I am getting a good value.
I am paying for a quality product and the story helps sell the idea that it is a quality product so, yes, I will pay a premium only insofar as I perceive it to be worth it.
But I study the ingredients and so on and do try and compare brands. Yes, I admit it, I am something of an oficiando of frozen dinners.
What’d I’d really like to do is learn to cook as that really jives with my values. Throw away packaged food is a stop gap solution for a guy who can only cook four things all of which I am bored with or save to cook if visiting friends and it is my turn.
I need to get moving with operation “Learn to Cook.” People tell me you turn on that stove or oven thing and just do it. They tell me you follow these formulas called recipes. They say the output beats frozen dinners and take out. I will have to look into getting one of these books they speak of. It sounds a promising way to get many hot, nutritious meals.
In the mean time, Mr. Microwave is here to help me…

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:05:17 +0000

Neil,
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions I’ve posed here. I appreciate it. There are times when we’re willing to pay more for products that have a perceived higher value–if that value correlates to the things we ourselves value. To your point: quality is important, but so are healthy and environmentally sound options to you and to many other consumers like you.
Amy’s is an interesting brand, Neil. It was founded by a husband and wife team in California who are vegetarians and who could not find frozen foods that were healthy, meat-free and containing as many organic ingredients as possible in the marketplace. They saw a void and they filled it, naming their brand after their newborn daughter, Amy. Many consumers are devotees of Amy’s because they identify with the values of the company. That supersedes price, doesn’t it?

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:58:50 +0000

Allen,
“If they ask the right questions, they will likely find that consumers mean something other than value and quality..they are actually using them as words to indicate the benefits they are looking for.” I agree. When it comes to consumer products, value goes well beyond a correlation of price to quality. . .or price comparisons among products in a specific category. It also goes beyond features and benefits when so many category products are so similar, it’s often hard to distinguish much of a difference among them.
The intangibles of brands are the real determinants of value, I believe. For example: there are many brands that offer quality motorcycles. Many of these brands offer various price points and are price competitive. So why is it that the brand Harley Davidson has such meaning among cyclists? What are the intangibles that translate to consumer value in a brand like that? There are emotional connections made here, that transcend everything else.
Thanks for weighing in on my post, Allen. I appreciate it.

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:32:32 +0000

BTW, grocery shopping seems to me to be a classic case of asymetric information — the seller knows more than the buyer.
We rely heavily on trust when we walk into a grocery store.
When that trust is breached in minor ways it merely hurts a brands’ reputation. We find out that something calling itself healthy is not not so healthy.
When trust is breached in major ways, people die. Case in point: an industrial chemical intentionally added to milk from China to boost its protein level test results thus increasing the perceived value and real price of the product on the market.
The consumer trusted that the milk was not going to have added chemicals to make their kids very, very sick (the long term effects are not known yet for those who consumed this milk) or, in some cases, kill them. To breach that sort of trust is beyond the pale. Inexcusable.

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:47:46 +0000

* Why do so many marketers seem to equate “value” uniquely with price structures?
Because, all things being equal, people assume high price = high quality. It is true some of the time; other times it is not true. But since we cannot possibly sort out the information in the market, we HAVE to rely on cues provided by marketers. Price is one. Otherwise, shopping would be a full-time job.
* Do you as a consumer equate “value” merely with price? If not, what other motivators besides price connote value to you?
Not merely but I must confess that if presented with a product with with a well written story of health and well being against a cheaper product with no story, well, I pick the more expensive. I suspect I pick the better product much of the time but I simply do not have time to be sure. I do read labels, though.
* Which brands–that are not price driven–represent value to you, and why?
Amy’s dinners seem reasonably priced, quality, and good for a divorced guy (is that a bachelor or is a bachelor or is a bachelor someone who has never been married?) like me who can only cook four things so falls back on frozen food more than I like to admit.
* Which “values” motivate your purchase decisions most?
Healthy. Environmentally sound though I suppose frozen dinners do not really support this.

By: Allen Weiss

Allen Weiss — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:18:35 +0000

Here’s the way I think of Value:
Value is a function of Quality and Price….and
Quality is a function of Benefits.
To me, marketers tend to you use Value and Quality so much that they mean nothing and consumers now use them to mean anything they want. If marketers want to understand what these words really mean, they should ask consumers. If they ask the right questions, they will likely find that consumers mean something other than value and quality..they are actually using them as words to indicate the benefits they are looking for.
Anyway, this is just my humble opinion.

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:48:45 +0000

Thanks for your insights, Lewis. They’re always on the money and much appreciated. Yes, “value” does equate to much more than price. . .if only marketers understood that. In a challenging economy like this one, the first thought is to cheapen quality and price. What does that do to customer “value” perception?

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:46:00 +0000

Ted,
I don’t and have never related to value = price. Perhaps that has to do with coming out of the publishing world and then Starbucks, where value = brand, quality, experience, and meeting wants, needs and desires.
Like so much else in business, value is defined by the consumer not the company. For those who shop discount, value = price. For those who shop brand, value = perceived quality and experience.
The bottom line: Know your customer.

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:28:35 +0000

You’re right, Paul. There is confusion at times about organic claims on food products. There are myriad certifiers with different definitions of “organic”, for one thing. This is another good reason for brands to be honest, transparent and authentic, isn’t it? Then, when they claim they have organic offerings, they are trusted.
Thanks for weighing in, Paul. I appreciate it.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:16:35 +0000

It seems to me, with so many dubious claims regarding what is truly organic, in addition to packaging, messaging and flavors, people are clamoring for a trusted brand. O gives them that.