RealitySells

What’s your Whopper?  by Bill Guertin

If you take something away from a consumer that they love, you’ll see how much brand loyalty they have.  It holds true in your business as well.

Burger King just hit a home run.

Their recent ad campaign featured a hidden camera at two different stores in Nevada.  The unsuspecting customers were told at the order counter that they could no longer order a Whopper sandwich, because it had been removed from the menu. 

*What?  No Whopper?* the unsuspecting customers roared.  *This is the home of the Whopper.  What are you going to put on the logo now - home of the Whatever We Got?*

It was exactly the reaction Burger King was hoping for. 

It was a hoax, of course.  Their reactions were priceless.  People were stunned, dumbfounded, even outraged.  The ads began running on December 9th.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that BK posted double-digit sales increases in the 4th quarter.  The company said the new campaign was largely responsible for *significant brand relevance and incremental sales,*

Wow. 

Marketers call this technique Deprivation Research.  It involves taking something away that people like, observing their reaction, and measuring their loyalty by the extent of their reaction. 

Burger King sure found out whether or not people like their Whopper.  What about your business? 

What would happen if YOUR most popular product or service were suddenly no longer available?  What would be the reaction from your customers?  If you had a hidden camera in your business, would you have something strong enough to put on national TV? 

In our book, Reality Sells, we posed the question: If you were to close your doors today, what would your customers miss most?  Sadly, the reality is that you and your business are replaceable, because what you do is probably not unique. 

We believe the buying public should have at least one solid reason to choose you over all the others in your business category.  The question we pose is: Why You? 

If you don’t have a Whopper, maybe it’s time to rethink your Genuine story.