Clayton Homes Gives Us All a Business Success Lesson
Clayton Homes unveiled it’s green i-house this week for the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. (What you didn’t know that the Buffet giant owned the mobile home sweetheart?) Interestingly, there is a lesson for any one who wants to grow their business in these tough times.
Let’s look at three tips from their latest move:
1. Go Green – or tap into a current trend
Being ecologically friendly is hot, hot, hot, and its a trend that is not going away. The more you can tie your business or your message into environmental goodness, the better.
If Green is not your thing, than find something that helps people feel that they’re “doing good” while using your product or service.
2. Look Cool – or create aesthetics that please your client
Even though “going green” is very hip, today’s consumer isn’t going to clamour after a product that looks outdated or un-cool.
People associate feelings with aesthetics, and like it or not, they make purchases based on emotion more often than logic. So step back and ask yourself what you can do to present an image and experience to your clients that makes them feel great?
3. Tap a Market – and possibly more than one
Clayton homes has always catered to mostly the first-time home buyer, and with their affordable housing, this is still the case. However, in any recession, the more you can court those the least affected by economic issues, the better.
In this case, Clayton is targeting those who are in the market for a vacation home. Perfect.
What can you do in your business to appeal to the affluent? Do you understand what motivates them? Do you understand how to vary your marketing message for different segments of your target niches? The more you do, the better.
It’s always encouraging to see businesses that thrive during tough times. If you study strong companies like Berkshire Hathaway and Clayton Homes, you can find yourself playing like a business champion.
May 7, 2009 3 Comments
