Sometime in September a heated argument broke out in the Internet, specifically among Filofax fans and users due to the comments of a representative of a marketing company about the features that identify the "filofax customers". I didn't know about this until yesterday, though I had noticed a couple of disturbing publications I'll talk about later. This person basically said that their studies showed that filofax users were basically "people who like to take notes and are interested in fashion". The moment I read that I heard in my head the sound of a car hitting the breaks fast and hard and screeching across the asphalt. Wait, WHAT? That's like saying that gardners are people who like to dig holes, or students are people who like to sharpen pencils. Well, this didn't sit well with the many regular customers of filofax.
Now, to put you quickly on black and white about what's going on, on one hand it seems that filofax has been lagging in the areas of product quality and customer service. You can notice that from comments people do around the Internet about it. I didn't think much about it, but did noticed when I was browsing for my filofax that many looked really nice and shiny outside, but the inside was less-than-perfect. Take for instance the Metropol, where the edges of the outer cover material aren't nicely tucked under some lining. Specially look at how the corners look like with that unfinished frilling - or whatever you call it. And before you argue, no, there are other ways to solve this, such as the way they did it for the Sketch model, which is the one I have, and which - good grace! - is cheaper than the Metropol!
On the other hand, we all know that the world is changing and this change is taking people towards the digital universe. More and more people - and therefore the market - deepens its dependence on electronic divises - particularly those connected to the web. The PDA's - also known once as palm pilots, though that was the brand - came and went, so what's teh future of paper planners, particularly an expensive type of planner in a binder like filofax? It's going to become a casualty in the battle of smartphones? What can they do to keep hold or earn a stronger hold of their market share? Maybe get more clients? Well, as step one they hired this marketing company, which made a study, upon which they decided to work together with some designers to come up with a trendy, fashionable product that appeals to the customers. (BTW, according to the interview, the "attitude studies" were applied to a sample of 1200 people, 300 of which are current customers. I personally found the sample size small, and the proportion of current customers non-significant, particularly considering the characteristics of the product - this having turned into a product with a loyal customer base. This would be similar as to evaluate the idea of making a new Japan Animation movie sampling 1000 people from which only 250 watch currently this type of movies. The results wouldn't speak about the current market conditions. Oh yes, and it would say that otakus like to watch doodles and are aware of fashion.) So yes, they came out with carpetbag filofaxes, which appeal to the fashionable... who in turn would rather keep their lives and appointments on an iPhone/Samsung Galaxy.
Now, what's going on here? Well, first of all, filofax is throwing money to anyone willing to give them an answer, a magical solution as to how to increase their income. As result, however, they may not only not see the return of their investment, but they may end up loosing what they have so far. Let's hope this won't happen.
You see, companies, enterprises, they produce stuff or give a service and they have clients, customers. Basically they need these customers to get an income, since the customers are the ones paying for what they do. However at some point some companies forget about this organic link, and start believing that customers are a nag and they (the customers) should be glad they (the company) even dains to throw something in their direction. Examples of this we have with Facebook and Windows, but I bet many of you automatically thought about phone companies and computer companies. Has Facebook or Windows ever considered what their users/customers want when they implement some change? No, they don't. Do they care about people trashing them for their latest stupid innovation that nobody likes? No. Facebook say "deal with it", becaus they know people can't leave them, and even if they do, Facebook keeps all their data, all their uploaded pictures and documents. Have you tried to leave Facebook? I did. The last thing they say to you is "we know you'll be back".
Windows is pretty much the same, they don't care if you like the newest innovations, because they have such a big market share that even if you move to another segment, you'll have to deal with Microsoft products eventually, and if you manage not to, then you'll be part of a slim percentage that keeps the Government off their backs about "monopoly". But not everybody can do this and live to tell. Ford has it's time back in the day, when they could even decide that all cars would be black, but then times changed and if they don't adjust to the market, then they fall out of it.
Trends can be killers for products that either don't keep up with them, or that have bet on the hype of the moment, became a fashionable article and then the whim of the market killed them. Examples of these are the PDA's murdered in cold blood by the smartphones - starting with the Blackberry, and then the QWERTY keyboards on smartphones - such as the Blackberry's (isn't karma a bitch?) - which were gunned down by the touchscreen. The Blackberry making company, Research in Motion (RIM), has been rumoured to be about to cave in and go bankrupt, with it making an effort to keep their heads over the water and maybe be saved with the latest phone that would be unveiled on January 2013. What went wrong? Nothing, it's just that iPhone and Samsung Galaxy happened, and when a product strives so hard to remain fashionable, it will eventually plunge into the darkest pits of oblivion. These products are short lived, so if you are into one of these, you basically have to create disposable brands and companies, cash in as fast as you can, and harvest as soon as the first signs of decay happen. These companies need to take the pulse of the market closely. They will be the top notch when they are up, but nobody will remember them when they fall down one step.
Then there are other types of products, products that are eternal and that cater to a very particular segment of the market. These are the "eternal products". Examples of these are Apple, Channel, luxury car brands and, yes, filofax. What are the distinctives of these brands? That they have formed around their products a very loyal customer base, one that would remain for ages with their products. For instance, maybe the Samsung Galaxy does end up being the best mobile phone ever, and will win the market battle, and the market massively will move to the Samsung Galaxy, but the true Apple fan would never leave the iPhone. Their markets are smaller, more compact, have specific needs, are prone to communicate with the company, and are willing to try out all their new products even if they don't really need them in the begining. The customers of these companies take the shot with the company and have a higher tolerance towards the shortcomings of the company - which they signal! but they stay waiting for the correction.
Their revenues may not be as astronomical as that of fashionable products - filofax would hardly compete with Lady Gaga - but when they do recognize their customer base and attend to them, they can count on a sustainable income that will outlast any fashion icon.
The marketing company should have done their homework first, should have mapped out the company, understand it, and then work from that on. Well, evidently they keep their appointments in their smartphones, and must hate making notes.
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