Bacon Spam

I was walking through Wal-Mart the other day when I came across a startling discovery that changed my life. This is a common occurrence for me in Wal-Mart as one might suspect.  The word innovation gets tossed around quite a bit today. We’ve diluted its true power by calling small product improvements “innovative” simply because they put a new twist on an old product.

However, that day in the canned meat-like substance aisle forever changed my understanding of true innovation. For it was there, next to ordinary Spam, that I stumbled upon “Bacon Spam”. As fantastic as it sounds, Bacon Spam consists of Spam flavored with Bacon. I’m serious.

In this earth shattering moment, two thoughts immediately crossed my mind: 1: Why would anyone ever do this to Bacon? And 2: I have to buy this.

From a marketing perspective I began to reflect upon the reasoning in creating such a product. As near as I could tell, this represented the first major product innovation in the canned meat-like substance category in decades. Surely it would rock the Spam world as the product has taken quite a beating over the years. So downtrodden is Spam’s brand, that we’ve named our unwanted junk emails “spam”. As if canned meat-like substance had no intrinsic value, or could provide you with free long distance, or enlarge your manhood.

The more I pondered the quantum leap in this beleaguered product segment the more excited I became at the possibilities. What other less desirable products might benefit from a bacon endorsement? Might we see “Bacon AOL”? Perhaps GM capitalizing on bacon’s saving grace with a similar breakfast meat inspired SUV? The possibilities are endless.

As undeniably groundbreaking as the discovery of the fusion of canned faux meat and the best breakfast meat was, soon a profound truth emerged. I became fairly certain that I was the Spam to my wife’s Bacon.

This metaphor can also be applied to business. I believe business is built on relationships. We do business with those we know and trust. A great deal of time and energy is exerted in developing and maintaining those relationships and these are among the reasons that customer service is so important. Most of us realize how important our customers are to our business. We know they are our Bacon. We need them.

But how do our customers view us? Are we the Spam to their Bacon? Are our businesses edible only because our customers have never tasted filet mignon? Is our main benefit merely shelf life? Do we simply provide decent, if uninspiring, security? Do our customers do business with us mainly because they’ve been with us for years? Do we provide them any value? Or are we just lucky they’re stuck in the same can as us?  If so we are in danger of losing them to the competition.

Remind your customers why they do business with you. Demonstrate your value to them in solving their problems and making their lives easier. Show your appreciation to them for doing business with you. Good customer service starts before the sale and sometimes when no sale occurs at all. If you provide value to a prospect, eventually they will become a customer. If you constantly provide value to your customers they will never have a reason to look elsewhere. Remember, your customers have other options. Never give them a reason to see you as just ordinary Spam.

This post was first featured in The Idaho Business Review.

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