Squatty Potty Case Study: A Digital Marketing Success
Chapter 1.1: Introduction to Marketing
Terms:
Marketing – The identification and meeting of individual and social needs in a way that harmonizes with the goals of the organization.
Marketing Management – The art and science of choosing target markets and getting, retaining, and growing customers by delivering superior value.
Social Marketing – The role marketing plays in society (e.g., delivering a higher standard of living). It is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and services of value with others.
Chapter 3: Consumer Behavior
Terms:
Perception – The process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information to create a meaningful picture of the world.
Selective Attention – The process of focusing on specific environmental stimuli while ignoring others (e.g., things they need, things they anticipate, large deviations).
Subliminal Perception – Messages that consumers are not consciously aware of but that affect their behavior.
Selective Distortion – The tendency to interpret information to fit our preconceptions.
Short-Term Memory – The capacity to keep a limited amount of information in mind for a short time.
Long-Term Memory – The capacity to store information indefinitely, or even permanently.
- Episodic Memory – Events
- Semantic Memory – Facts
- Procedural Memory – Performance
Brand Associations – All thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, and attitudes that are attributed to the brand.
Expectancy-Value Model – The process by which people evaluate products and services by combining their assessments according to the weighted importance of those assessments.
Elaboration Likelihood Model – A description of the process by which consumers make evaluations in both low- and high-involvement circumstances.
Chapter 4: Business Markets
Terms:
Business Markets – All the organizations that acquire goods and services used in the production of other products or services that are sold, rented, or supplied to others.
Product-Value Analysis – The assessment of a product’s value by examining ways components or processes can be modified to reduce costs without adversely affecting product performance.
Selling is not the most important part of marketing – only the tip of the iceberg.
Terms (Chapter 4 Continued):
Corporate Credibility – Belief in a firm’s ability to design and deliver satisfaction.
Corporate Expertise – Ability to make and sell products/services.
Corporate Trustworthiness – Company seen as honest, dependable, and sensitive.
Corporate Likeability – Company seen as likeable, attractive, prestigious, and dynamic.
Institutional Market – Schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other entities that provide goods and services to people in their care.
Chapter 5: Marketing Information and Research
Terms:
Secondary Data – Existing information collected for another purpose.
Primary Data – Information gathered for a specific purpose or project.
Observational Data – A means of obtaining data by unobtrusive observation of customers’ shopping or consumption habits.
Ethnographic Research – A particular observational research approach that uses concepts and tools from anthropology and other social science disciplines to provide a deep cultural understanding of how people live and work.
Focus Group – A small group of people who are selected based on certain demographic, psychographic, or other considerations and brought together to discuss various topics of interest.
Survey Research – Assesses people’s knowledge.
Questionnaire – A set of questions presented to respondents to collect primary data.
Word Association – A research method that involves asking respondents what words come to mind when they hear the brand name.
Projective Techniques – A process of presenting consumers with an incomplete or ambiguous stimulus, such as word association or choice ordering, to get a better understanding of their thought processes.
Visualization – A way for marketers to gain insight into people’s perceptions by asking them to create a collage or drawing.
Brand Personification – A means to determine consumers’ brand associations by asking them to equate the brand to a person, animal, or object.
Laddering – A series of increasingly specific questions that can reveal consumers’ motivations and deeper goals.
Sampling Unit – The respondents who should be surveyed to glean information about a specific market, product, or behavior.
Sample Size – The number of people who should be surveyed to provide credible results that can be extrapolated to the entire target population.
Sampling Procedure – A means of choosing survey respondents that makes the sample more representative of the total target population.
Market Demand – The total volume of a product that would be bought by a defined customer group in a defined geographic area in a defined time period in a defined marketing environment under a defined marketing program.
Company Demand – The company’s estimated share of market demand in a given time period.
Market Forecast – The market demand projected for a future time period.
Terms (Chapter 5 Continued):
Market Forecast – The market demand projected for a future time period.
Company Sales Forecast – The expected level of company sales for a given time period based on market trends and company marketing efforts.
Market Potential – The maximum sales that can be achieved in a specific market in a given time period.
Company Sales Potential – The upper limit of sales that a company can achieve in a specific market in a given time period.
Marketing Dashboards – A structured way to disseminate the insights gleaned from marketing metrics and marketing mix modeling.
Marketing Mix Models – A way to analyze data from multiple sources to understand the effects of specific marketing activities.
Chapter 6: Identifying Market Segments and Target Customers
Terms:
Mass Marketing – Addressing the entire market with a single offering.
Mass Customization – The use of mass production techniques to produce offerings that can be customized to meet the needs of individual customers.
Strategic Targeting – A focus on customers whose needs the company can fulfill better than the competition.
Target Compatibility – A reflection of the company’s ability to fulfill the needs of target customers.
Core Competency – Expertise in an area that gives a company a competitive advantage.
Customer Revenue – Money received by a company from customers for the right to own or use its offering.
Target Attractiveness – The ability of a market segment to create value for the company.
Social Value – Reflects the influence of target customers on other potential buyers.
Scale Value – Denotes benefits derived from the scale of the company’s operations.
Information Value – Worth of information that customers provide.
Tactical Targeting – Identifying the means to reach strategically viable customers to communicate and deliver the company’s offering. Two main principles = effectiveness (degree to reach all strategically viable customers) & cost efficiency (only target strategically viable customers).
Customer Profile – The observable demographic, geographic, behavioral, and psychographic customer descriptors.
Personas – The detailed profiles of one or more target consumers that depict the typical consumer in the target market.
Product Specialization – Firm sells a certain product to several different market segments.
Market Specialization – Firm concentration on many needs of a particular customer group.
Market Segmentation – The division of a consumer group into subsets that share a similar set of needs and/or profile characteristics.
- Demographic Segmentation – Age, family size, social class, gender, income, occupation, race, religion, nationality.
- Geographic Segmentation – The division of a consumer group into subsets that share a similar set of needs and/or profile characteristics.
- Behavioral Segmentation – The division of target customers into groups based on their actions.
- Psychographic Segmentation – Division of target customers into groups based on psychological traits, lifestyles, or values.
Terms (Chapter 7):
Total Customer Benefit – The perceived functional, psychological, and monetary value that customers derive from a market offering.
Total Customer Cost – The perceived functional, psychological, and monetary costs that customers incur to evaluate, obtain, use, and dispose of an offering.
Customer Value Proposition – The value the company aims to create for its target customers.
Customer Value Analysis – Assessment of how consumers view the company’s strengths and weaknesses relative to the competition.
Positioning – Designing a company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market.
Frame of Reference – A benchmark against which customers can evaluate the benefits of a company’s offering.
Points of Difference (PODs) – Attributes or benefits that differentiate the company’s offering from the competition.
Points of Parity (POPs) – Attributes or benefits that are not unique and are shared with other brands.
Straddle – Two frames of reference with some points of POD and some of POP.
Perceptual Maps – A visual representation of consumer perceptions and preferences.
Competitive Advantage – A company’s ability to create market value in a way that competitors are unable to match.
Positioning Statement – A summary of a product or brand’s strategy that aims to guide the company’s actions.
Chapter 3 (Continued): Understanding Consumer Behavior
Terms:
Reference Groups – All groups that have a direct or indirect effect on an individual’s beliefs, decisions, and behavior.
Opinion Leader – A person who offers informal advice or information on how best a specific product or product category can be used; also known as an influencer.
Personality – A set of distinguishing human psychological traits that lead to relatively consistent responses to environmental stimuli, including buying behavior.
Purpose of Marketing:
Big ‘M’ Marketing (Strategy) – Value creation for a particular customer (e.g., price, convenience, service, specialization).
- Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning = Target segment is a set of customers who value the differentiation (positioning) your product or service offers.
Little ‘m’ Marketing (Tactics) – Brand Marketing (Awareness, Consideration) – Performance Marketing (Conversion).
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV, CLTV):
CLV = Average value per customer x length of relationship
CLV = Margin x (Retention Rate / 1 + Discount Rate – Retention Rate) or Margin / 1
Reasonable people can look at data and have different decisions.
Business is always building a persuasive case supported by evidence.
Goal: Right customer, right message, right time (right channel).
Consumer Characteristics:
Cultural / Social / Personal – Buying Behavior
Cultural – Behaviors, Beliefs, Values, Symbols (e.g., growing up in a different country).
Social – Reference Groups = Influencer, Opinion Leader, Dissociative Group = Family A-B-C-D-E classes.
Personal Factors – Demographics and Psychographics = age, stage in life, economic situation, lifestyle.
Personality and Self-Concept – Actual self, ideal self, other’s perception.
Values and Lifestyle = Pattern of living, activities, interests, opinions.
Family is the most influential primary reference group.
Marketing Tactics – Product/Service/Brand/Price/Incentives/Communication/Distribution.
Market Context – Economic/Technological/Legal/Political/Sociocultural/Physical ->
Consumer Characteristics – Cultural/Social/Personal
Consumer Psychology – Motivation/Perception/Emotions/Memory ->
Buying Decision Process – Problem Recognition/Information Search/Evaluation of Alternatives/Purchase Decision/Post-purchase Behavior
- Purchase Decision – Product Choice/Brand Choice/Store Choice/Purchase Quantity/Purchase Timing/Purchase Method
Chapter 3 (Continued): Consumer Psychology and Decision-Making
Motivation = Needs
- Physiological (biological): air, food, water, shelter.
- Psychological: status, belonging.
Properties
- Prioritization (often this requires tradeoffs).
- Intensity (how vigorously we pursue a goal).
Perception – Frequency Illusion – Awareness = More notice / Don’t do too much.
Consumer Psychology
- Emotions = Brand marketing should resonate emotionally, performance advertising should drive action.
- Memory – Operates via activation of related ideas (nodes) – Brand marketing is relevant for top-of-mind recall.
Purchase Decision – Heuristics (rule of thumb), Satisficing – Choice Architecture – Level of Consumer Involvement – Intervening Factors: situation, external opinions.
Post Purchase = Satisfaction – Use and disposal – Repurchase = Subscription Model – Subscription Boxes – Amazon Subscribe (e.g., Dollar Shave Club).
Value Creation <> Consumer Needs —– Understanding needs drives strategy.
Why would Unilever acquire Dollar Shave Club? Team, Technology, Customer Base.
Chapter 4: Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing
B2B – Business to Business (Caterpillar/HP/Intel) – B2C Business to Consumer.
B2B – Fewer but larger buyers/Close supplier-customer relationships/Professional purchasing/Multiple buying influences/Derived demand/Inelastic demand (especially for essentials)/Fluctuating demand/Geographically concentrated buyers/Direct purchasing.
Understand B2B
- Inertia and Switching Costs
- Types of Buying Decisions = Straight Rebuy (routine), Modified Rebuy (specification change), New Buy (longer runway, more buy-in, risk).
- Decision-makers and organizational chart – Traditionally, buying decisions were made at the top of the organization – In modern organizations, things are more fragmented with multiple entry points.
Buying Process – Do businesses understand their needs?
From Product to Solution – Businesses prefer integrated solutions = end-to-end/turnkey – Often, vendors subcontract with other B2B companies = stack of services/portfolio of partners/may or may not be transparent.
B2B Brands – Brand marketing = credibility/expertise/reliability/dependability.
B2G – Business to Government = Many similarities to B2B/Often explicit rules/approvals/Often solicits vendors through a request for proposal process/Relationships and reputation matter.
Initiators – Users in the organization that require something to be purchased.
Influencers – You know.
Deciders – Decide on product requirements or on suppliers.
Approvers – People who authorize actions.
Buyers – Select suppliers and arrange the purchase.
Gatekeepers – Power to prevent sellers or information from reaching members of the buying center.
Vertical Markets – Search one item and get a lot of results.
Catalog Sites – Electronic catalogs.
Spot Markets – Always changing prices.
Private Exchanges – IBM invitation-only supply chain.
Supplier responsible for inventory = vendor-managed inventory.
4 Relevant Forces are the availability of alternatives/importance of supply/complexity of supply/supply market dynamism.
Chapter 5: Marketing Information and Insights
Qualtrics is the leader in online marketing research software, offering an online platform that companies use to collect, manage, and act on experience data. Research varies:
- Exploratory: its goal is to identify the problem and suggest possible solutions.
- Descriptive: it seeks to quantify demand.
Data can be used in many ways: Identify prospects/Which customers should receive a particular offer/Deepen customer loyalty/Reactivate customer purchases/Avoid serious customer mistakes.
Analyze Records = Industry sales & market shares/Survey of buyer’s intentions/Composite of sales force opinions/Expert opinion/Past sales analysis/Market test method.
Research Costs & Benefits = 1-2% of revenue – Ongoing maintenance, satisfaction tracking/Ad hoc: generative, validation/$1M revenue -> $10-20k research budget/In-air WiFi $90k investment (estimate)/Revenue upside? Go/No-go.
For research objectives in the market research process: Type of information: Exploratory, descriptive, causal. You want data sources of primary or secondary data.
Approaches: Observation/Ethnographic/Focus group/Survey/Behavioral.
Instruments: Questionnaires/Qualitative (visual)/Physiognomy (eye tracking, MRI).
Information -> Analysis = Data Mining: Sophisticated statistical and mathematical techniques: cluster analysis/predictive modeling/cognitive modeling (obtain and clean data).
Don’t waste research on stuff that cannot be tested.
Data → Information → Analysis → Interpretation → Insight / Research should drive insights → insights help you decide / Research is costly and requires prioritization. If the decision is known, does research help?
Chapter 6: Identifying Market Segments and Target Customers
Effective targeting requires:
- Identify distinct groups of buyers who differ in needs or wants (segmentation).
- Select one or more market segments to enter (targeting).
- For each target segment, establish, communicate, and deliver the right benefits (developing a value proposition and positioning).
One-to-One Approach – Market segment comprised of a single customer/Best when there is a high volume of individual needs/a lot to sell. THIS IS CALLED ABM (ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING).
Tactical Targeting – Identify how a company can reach strategically important customers.
Essential resources for targeting: Business infrastructure/Access to scarce resources/Skilled employees/Technological expertise/Strong brands/Collaborator networks.
Monetary Value: Customer revenue/Costs of serving target customers.
3 Main Types of Strategic Value: Social/Scale/Information.
Single-Segment Targeting – Market to one particular segment.
Behavior Segmentation = User status/Usage rate/Buyer-readiness/Loyalty/Occasion.
Common Segmentations: Demographic factors/Operating variables/Purchasing approaches/Situational factors/Personal characteristics.
If you do not need to segment, don’t | Why segment? Different customers have different needs.
Chapter 6 (Wrap-up): Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP)
One-to-One Marketing – Works best with a high volume of individual customer needs/lots of products to sell/periodic replacement/upgrading/high value: often high margins, high volume, or both: algorithm recommendations = Amazon/Netflix.
Market Demand = Total sales for a defined: Customer group/Time period (annual)/Marketing environment/Marketing program | TECH/VC This is a TAM (Total Addressable Market) in other contexts, could be market size.
Target Attractiveness = Customer revenue/Cost of serving customers.
Tactical Targeting = Customer Profile = Demographics/Geographic factors/Behavior/Personas/Psychological factors (Align value and profile).
Brands that single-segment: Volkswagen (small-car market)/Porsche (sports car enthusiasts)/Audi (luxury performance segment)/Bentley (ultra-luxury segment).
Single Segment = Attractive niche segments: distinct set of needs/willing to pay a premium.
Chapter 7: Customer Value and Positioning – Mapping Needs to Consumers
Positioning addresses a target segment’s common needs.
Developing a Value Proposition – Total Customer Benefit = Perceived value of the bundle of – Functional benefits/Psychological benefits/Monetary benefits for a market offering based on product, service, and/or image / Total Customer Cost – Perceived value of the bundle of functional costs/psychological costs/monetary costs associated with evaluating, obtaining, using, and disposing.
Customer Value Proposition – Balance of costs and benefits.
Developing a Positioning Strategy – The act of designing a company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market.
Brand Positioning Statement – To (target consumer) our brand is the (product/category) that (value proposition).
Example: For convenience-minded pizza lovers (target customers), Domino’s offers a delicious hot pizza, delivered promptly to your door (value proposition).
This statement must consider:
- Target market: Who will be interested in the product or service?
- Frame of reference: Who is the competition?
- Point of Difference: What separates you from the competition?
Positioning Statement: Internal company concept/Informs strategy/Not intended to be visible to consumers.
You can have ONE position for a brand/Should be clear in the consumer’s mind.
- Your brand should strive to maximize its potential within its position.
Competitive Advantage = Company’s ability to perform in one or more ways that competitors cannot or will not match.
Leverageable Advantages = A springboard for new products and initiatives.
Strategies: Differentiate an existing attribute/Introduce a new attribute/Build a strong brand.
Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning (STP) – BASIC GOAL OF MARKETING
Deliver the right products (targeting), to the right people (segmentation), in the right way (positioning).
Chapter 7 (Wrap-up): Why Does STP Matter?
Why Does STP Matter? For the Customer:
- Customized products and services.
- Personalized experiences.
- Higher customer satisfaction = Loyalty and retention.
For the Firm:
- Identify high-value customers.
- Targeted marketing actions.
- Greater price premium.
- Higher CLV = Sustainable profit growth.
Strength & Weakness Analysis:
- Identify relevant attributes/benefits for customer value.
- Assess the relative importance of attributes and benefits.
- Assess company and competitor performance on key attributes and benefits.
- Monitor customer value over time.
PODs Considerations: Desirable/Deliverable/Differentiating.
POPs Associations: Category/Correlational/Competitive.
Differentiate by adding a new attribute.
Convey brand category membership:
- Announce category benefits.
- Compare to exemplars.
- Relying on product descriptors.
ALIGN NEEDS AND VALUE PROPOSITION.
CASE – SQUATTY POTTY
What needs does Squatty Potty (SP) fulfill?
A need to speed up and relax the pooping experience.
Do all consumers have the same need?
No.
Is the mom segment distinct?
Yes.
Summary vs. Analysis
Summary: Here is a linear story of everything I did along with a file of all the results and calculations. More research is needed.
Analysis: This specific action is recommended based on key points and logical development.
Working on Undefined Problems:
Most problems involve ambiguity/Frameworks allow us to unpack/How can we de-risk? What are the costs? What is next?
Is mass marketing an option? Is there a limit? Has SP reached this limit?
Case Timeline:
- 2011 – Influencer strategy with 50 units.
- 2012 – Dr. Oz segment (2.9M daily viewers).
- 2012 – Robin Quivers endorsement (followed by ad buy).
- 2014 – Shark Tank $350k 10% deal.
- 2015 – Viral video.
- 2016 – Promoted video.
Video Strategy: $250k in production costs | 3 videos produced (and tested!) but only one would come out [test and learn].
Case Description – Squatty Potty
The case study “Squatty Potty: Assessing Digital Marketing Campaign Data”, authored by John Dinsmore, focuses on analyzing a real-world digital marketing campaign for Squatty Potty, a consumer product designed to improve bathroom posture. The case explores how the company uses viral marketing, particularly leveraging platforms like social media, to increase brand awareness and drive sales. The campaign’s success was largely due to a viral video featuring humor and education about the product’s health benefits, leading to widespread media attention.
The case encourages students to examine the effectiveness of digital marketing efforts using various data analytics, including metrics such as impressions, click-through rates, and sales conversions. Additionally, it offers a chance to apply marketing strategy frameworks like the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) and the 5Cs (Company, Customers, Competitors, Collaborators, and Context) to assess the campaign’s overall impact and sustainability.
The study also emphasizes the importance of segmentation, targeting, and positioning in digital marketing, showing how Squatty Potty tailored its campaign to different customer demographics and needs.
The big challenge was taking the gross world of the colon and taking it to a clean, fantasy place.
Here are some key facts presented in the Squatty Potty case study:
Viral Marketing Success: The Squatty Potty viral video, featuring a humorous portrayal of a unicorn and ice cream to explain digestive health, was a major factor in the product’s market success. The video quickly gained millions of views, driving both brand awareness and sales.
Sales Impact: Following the viral campaign, Squatty Potty saw a significant boost in sales. This highlights how effective digital content can be when it resonates with a broad audience, particularly through humorous and educational content.
Target Audience Expansion: Initially marketed to a niche group focused on health and wellness, Squatty Potty successfully broadened its target market through viral content, reaching mainstream audiences interested in digestive health.
Analytics and Performance: The case includes detailed digital marketing data, allowing for analysis of metrics like impressions, click-through rates, and conversion rates, which provide insight into the campaign’s performance across different platforms.
Brand Positioning: Squatty Potty was positioned as both a practical and humorous solution to a health issue many people face but are often reluctant to discuss, which contributed to its success. These facts form the backbone of the case’s analysis of how a small company used a highly creative digital marketing strategy to achieve widespread brand recognition.