The Nutella Condition

I have a confession: I don’t understand the allure of Nutella. I’ve tried it on a number of occasions and used a variety of delivery vehicles, but I just don’t care for it. It’s marketed as a “sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread” and, from my perspective, fails to deliver on every promise: it’s not terribly sweet, the hazelnut flavor is flat, and cocoa is just a rumor.

It certainly looks like chocolate and smells like hazelnut, but the taste is just off – way off.

This is neither a product review nor an indictment of my taste buds (although I know there will be many who will vehemently disagree with my thoughts on Nutella). It’s a tongue-in-cheek metaphor for brands that don’t deliver on their marketing promises and what I call, "The Nutella Condition."

It’s really very simple: If you market yourself as responsive, find out from your clients what responsive means to them and deliver on the promise. The same could be said for customer service, cost-effectiveness, or even creativity.

The real key is understanding is that the client is the one who decides if you deliver on the promise, not you. So while it would seem I’m in the minority when it comes to Nutella, the fact remains that the product simply does not deliver what it promises to me.

Just because you think you are responsive (or creative, have outstanding customer service, are cost-effective, etc.), don’t automatically assume your audience is in agreement. For example, what is responsive to one client may be unresponsive to another which is why it’s important to clarify as early in the sales relationship as possible.

I certainly don’t expect the Ferraro company to ask me what cocoa should taste like, but they are doing fine without me as a customer. However, I'm not so sure most promotional products distributors or suppliers have that sort of cushion when it comes to client retention. When a brand fails to deliver on a brand promise, clients will find one that does.

Bill is president of PromoCorner, the leading digital marketing service provider to the promotional products industry, and has over 18 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, immediate past president of the Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS), vice president of the Regional Association Council (RAC) board, and PromoKitchen chef, Bill has extensive experience coaching sales teams, creating successful marketing campaigns, and developing branding that resonates with a target audience. He can be reached at bill@PromoCorner.com.