This article also features on Ian Probert's Sports Marketing 101 blog
Some interesting developments at Mars UK this past week. In a nutshell, Mars announced plans to use the animal product rennet to make its chocolate products, thereby making them no longer suitable for vegetarians.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the decision created a mass pr backlash against the firm, as reported by The Guardian:
“Within a week of the decision being announced, more than 6,000 people had called and emailed the multinational's switchboard, which usually receives 500 comments a week. More than 40 MPs also signed a petition to voice their disapproval.”
Over the weekend, Mars performed a u-turn, attempting to fight the proverbial fire by reversing the decision to use animal extracts in a number of its product lines, and by taking out adverts in a number of national newspapers. The full-page ads feature an open letter from Mars MD Fiona Dawson, who says the company has listened to complaints:
“We made a mistake. We apologise. The customer is our boss. Therefore we listen to you and your feedback”
It also says the company will "commit" to ensuring that a selection of its brand will be suitable for vegetarians in the future and will start changing its manufacturing process immediately, ending; “We will keep you informed of our progress against this commitment - expect to hear from us soon.”
But, exactly what does this have to do with sport? Perhaps more than you think. The Mars reaction is a clear example of recovery marketing, a concept with which all sports marketers need to be familiar.
By definition, recovery marketing entails returning a disaffected customer to satisfaction after a service breakdown.
As Burton and Howard explain in their 2000 article ‘Recovery Strategies for Sports Marketers’ [Marketing Management, Spring 2000], it is difficult to find any organization or sector that doesn't periodically face service breakdowns. Yet in the ‘high-visibility world of sports marketing’ - where the script is rarely known and the outcomes are frequently unpredictable – such breakdowns may be even more common. Add to this the “modest profit margins noted by many professional sport franchises”, and the (over) dependence on placing ‘bums in seats’ to secure revenue, and the economics of customer retention take on an even more critical monetary significance in the sports business.
In the past few years, there have been many notable ‘service breakdowns’ in the world of sport. Burton and Howard list the player/league disputes in the NBA and NHL, yet UK-based marketers need look no further than the Bowyer/Dyer fight at Newcastle United, or the Premiership season-ticket pricing debate for examples of how high profile service breakdowns can occur readily in sport.
So what should be done? Citing Zemke (1999), Burton and Howard list a “5 Step Action-Plan” for dealing with service breakdowns;
- Apologize to the consumers experiencing the service failure.
- Make it personal.
- Offer a value-added solution to the problem.
- Atone for the inconvenience by offering risk-reducing incentives {e.g. satisfaction guarantee) and/or rewards for repurchase (e.g. attractive branded gifts).
- Follow up.
While Mars’ example ticks a number of these boxes (it is an apology, its written as a personal letter signed by the MD, and it suggests a follow up) it fails to meet the two most important points. The ‘solution’ provided by Mars (adjusting only a “selection” of its bars to meet vegetarian needs) is almost certainly not enough to solve the problem, and served only to fan the flames further: “Mars backs down but vegetarians left baffled” reported the Guardian. The company also offered no incentives for vegetarians to repurchase the product, and admitted that it could not even tell vegetarian consumers when the products would be safe to eat.
Despite insistences from Mars that sales of its products have not fallen, with over 3 million of the UK’s population thought to be vegetarian one must wonder when the damage to the brand is likely to be reflected.
Mars could - arguably should - have used this mistake to their advantage. The fact that they can make “a selection” of their bars vegetarian-friendly suggests that it is neither expensive nor difficult to do so. Why then, not extend the vege-safe ingredients to the whole of the product line, and immediately establish a valuable USP for the company? As Burton and Howard note, “effective recovery can actually result in higher levels of customer satisfaction”.
Sports marketers take note:
“The beauty of sport, be it participatory or spectator-driven, is that every performance allows for the possibility of the unknown. That means, however, that marketers involved with sports must be fully prepared for sudden, unscripted activities or outcomes.”
Burton and Howard (2000)
