What does Walmart have to do with CAP's marketing?

[Mustang]

Quite a bit, as it turns out.  Caught this little snippet in an article on CNNMoney.com and it immediately struck me how much CAP suffers from similar woes:

One reason Wal-Mart struggled to adapt was its insular mindset. Says Craig Johnson of the consulting firm Customer Growth Partners: "Wal-Mart was inward-looking, not outward-looking."

Quinn pushed to change that. He applied practices common at consumer product companies like PepsiCo's Frito-Lay North American unit, where he'd been chief marketing officer. Quinn spent two years conducting quantitative research - something Wal-Mart had avoided - to determine why consumers shop at the retailer and what they want. When, for example, pharmacy customers told researchers that they broke pills in half because they couldn't afford their full prescription, Wal-Mart conceived its wildly successful $4 prescription drug plan.

Perhaps the most important finding: Wal-Mart's most profitable customers are also its most price-sensitive. That told Quinn's team that Wal-Mart didn't need to mimic Target; the low-price mantra still resonated. "We simply needed to articulate it in a modern way," Quinn says.

Oftentimes, it seems we're selling the program WE want to sell, not the program potential members want to "buy".   Or worse, convincing them that what we offer is actually what they want--which results in the horrid retention rates we suffer of first-year members when they find out they've been had.

So do we need to change what we're selling?  Or just how we're selling it?  As the article suggests, Walmart didn't need to change its core message, just how they phrased it. Maybe CAP should do the same.

[RiverAux]

Well, considering that the purposes of our organization are set out in federal law, we have some boundaries put on us that Wal-Mart doesn't.  It would be a little hard for us to justify all of a sudden deciding that there was a big need for AIDS prevention and that we should re-focus our efforts on that. 

Now, we've got some wiggle room in exactly what we choose to do within our programs and how we implement them, but we do need to stick generally within the aerospace/aviation umbrella.  This is probably why we are not considered the premier ground SAR organization in the country even though we've got everything in place that would make it possible for us to claim that title if we wanted to and put a little more effort into it. 

Now, does our cadet program, for example, HAVE to be a very rigid, structured program such as it is?  Of course not.  Heck, the new AE-focused junior cadet program might turn out to be a better model for getting more kids involved. 

[TEAM SURGE]

If you ask me I thinking we need to change what we are selling!

People come into the program thinking they are getting a taste of the military!

I think too much of the seriousness has been taken out of the program!

I think we need to add that back into the program!

[Eclipse]

If you ask me I thinking we need to change what we are selling!

People come into the program thinking they are getting a taste of the military!

I think too much of the seriousness has been taken out of the program!

I think we need to add that back into the program!

You 're making the assumption that your experience is consistent with the rest of CAP's universe.

Rest assured there are plenty of units all over that give our members all the military taste the average civilian needs and
can handle - enough to understand what it really means, not enough to make them cry.

[TEAM SURGE]

If you ask me I thinking we need to change what we are selling!

People come into the program thinking they are getting a taste of the military!

I think too much of the seriousness has been taken out of the program!

I think we need to add that back into the program!

You 're making the assumption that your experience is consistent with the rest of CAP's universe.

Rest assured there are plenty of units all over that give our members all the military taste the average civilian needs and
can handle - enough to understand what it really means, not enough to make them cry.

True I do come from a squadron with only 4 cadets and 6 SR members.

I don't know what other squadrons go through...

[jimmydeanno]

If you ask me I thinking we need to change what we are selling!

People come into the program thinking they are getting a taste of the military!

I think too much of the seriousness has been taken out of the program!

I think we need to add that back into the program!

You mean people think they are getting a taste of Hollywood's military. 

[stratoflyer]

I sort of follow with Mustang, yet I think it needs to be clarified. Are we talking about how we recruit? What we say?

Hey, I'm on the other corner of the country and I was a cadet in a real pansy squadron, and we had way more cadets. And I'm not asking more military--just enforce the standards you laid in place in writing.

I always thought CAP is very aviation oriented yet could do more in that field. We got only 600,000 pilots in the US. We need to increase that number and get even more people to understand the importance of science and technology. Oh, and on top of that, appreciate what the good ol' boys and gals overseas are doing and helping others see that as well.

I don't know, but the aforementioned is in our missions. CP=better citizens for America (also read as more informed citizens). AE=get more fliers, more science interested kids, math (my favorite), and lessen people's apprehension towards aviation as a whole. (Wait and see for people's reactions to what happened over in Spain).

Market yes, but lets be more visible and more involved in our communities and let's educate folks on aviation and how we need it like the air we breathe.

I guess I'll say more as this discussion evolves.

[TEAM SURGE]

I sort of follow with Mustang, yet I think it needs to be clarified. Are we talking about how we recruit? What we say?

Hey, I'm on the other corner of the country and I was a cadet in a real pansy squadron, and we had way more cadets. And I'm not asking more military--just enforce the standards you laid in place in writing.

I always thought CAP is very aviation oriented yet could do more in that field. We got only 600,000 pilots in the US. We need to increase that number and get even more people to understand the importance of science and technology. Oh, and on top of that, appreciate what the good ol' boys and gals overseas are doing and helping others see that as well.

I don't know, but the aforementioned is in our missions. CP=better citizens for America (also read as more informed citizens). AE=get more fliers, more science interested kids, math (my favorite), and lessen people's apprehension towards aviation as a whole. (Wait and see for people's reactions to what happened over in Spain).

Market yes, but lets be more visible and more involved in our communities and let's educate folks on aviation and how we need it like the air we breathe.

I guess I'll say more as this discussion evolves.

You basically hit the "dinger"

[brasda91]

Oftentimes, it seems we're selling the program WE want to sell, not the program potential members want to "buy".

Or just how we're selling it?

Talk to your potential members/visitors and ask them what they are interested in doing in CAP.  What brought them to you?  What do they enjoy?  Take their interests and relate them to the relative parts of CAP.  If they are interested in the aviation aspects, tell them how they can fly in CAP.  Then briefly explain the other areas of CAP, but use the aviation portion to build their excitement.

If it is a cadet that really enjoys sports, talk to them about volleyball.  More than likely, we have something in CAP that will be an interest to the majority of your guests.  Simply find the key between the two and exploit it.

[DogCollar]

Last weekend, three of the local squadrons participated in a VERY large mass casualty exercise with 32 other Fire and EMS agencies.  The CAP group consisted of well trained cadets with smattering of Senior Members, er...officers...that formed a ground team, searching for victims in 45 acres of woods.  We also had a flight team performing aerial recon and photography.  At the end of the exercise all the different agencies there were graded by the evaluators on efficiency and effectiveness.  The CAP team got the second highest rating following the well paid, well staffed, professional fire department from the large city in our region. 

This exercise exposed our local squadrons to a lot of people who are going to be talking about us and with us.  Maybe it will spark some interest in others for joining.  I know I fielded several questions from other participants about just what CAP is, and what our capabilities are.

I don't think there is any substitute in marketing that is likely as effective as performing our missions to the uppermost of our abilities.  People watch us.  They will ask questions.  How professional and welcoming we are in answering the inquiries will be key.

[stratoflyer]

^Agreed.

[DC]

Last weekend, three of the local squadrons participated in a VERY large mass casualty exercise with 32 other Fire and EMS agencies.  The CAP group consisted of well trained cadets with smattering of Senior Members, er...officers...that formed a ground team, searching for victims in 45 acres of woods.  We also had a flight team performing aerial recon and photography.  At the end of the exercise all the different agencies there were graded by the evaluators on efficiency and effectiveness.  The CAP team got the second highest rating following the well paid, well staffed, professional fire department from the large city in our region. 

This exercise exposed our local squadrons to a lot of people who are going to be talking about us and with us.  Maybe it will spark some interest in others for joining.  I know I fielded several questions from other participants about just what CAP is, and what our capabilities are.

I don't think there is any substitute in marketing that is likely as effective as performing our missions to the uppermost of our abilities.  People watch us.  They will ask questions.  How professional and welcoming we are in answering the inquiries will be key.

That is fantastic. I hope a PAO took full advantage of this. We would be much better off if we could focus on performing this well, rather than trying to decide how many patches we can wear.. THIS is the kind of publicity CAP needs to be taken seriously.

[DogCollar]

Yes we were pretty proud.  Actually all the accolades that came our way that day got somewhat embarrassing.