New Moves Ahoy!

One really can’t sit on your laurels forever, no matter how popular you are. So then - having already shown up in some stores, and coming everywhere next month, are reimagined Chips Ahoy! cookies.

Now when is the last time you thought about a Chips Ahoy! cookie? I imagine it has probably been a long time even if you keep them in your pantry all the time. At some point some things become so ubiquitous that they are just there. Their presence becomes comfortable and at that point they no longer take up any space among conscious thoughts.

Getting to this point is obviously a great thing for a product, you gain built-in business by becoming a habit. At the same time, though, that type of omnipresence must also make it difficult to draw in new customers. If you have just always been there, then people think they know what you are, and moving up in someone’s mind becomes difficult.

This type of reimagining that Chips Ahoy! is doing then makes sense. First, one must imagine that in the end the cookie isn’t going to be THAT different. If that were the case, then it would likely be packaged as a new product so as not to lose those who do have the habit of enjoying the original. But then one must also think that making such a move will drive some who have not had their cookies in a while to try it again. For this change is enough to shift thinking of their product to the forefront of someone’s mind.

After all, I am discussing them here. Last week I never imagined this space would be filled with cookie talk.

The lesson here is that it doesn’t always take huge changes to gain some business advantage. Sometimes you just want to frame something in a new way to gain a little extra notice – and hey, maybe after that, your higher cocoa content and Madagascar vanilla extract will even grab some new longtime fans.

Also key is that such moves are difficult to turn into losing propositions. Those who are already avid users of your product will not be turned away for you haven’t done anything monstrous to what they are already enjoying. Instead, you just give yourself a chance for growth.

So if you are a business owner who has been wanting to grow a little without making any drastic changes, sit back, have a cookie, and think of the power of sounding new.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
Connect to Us ~ Facebook ~ Twitter