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When Wrighty grew up in the 1970s it was a single or multi bar heater in your lounge to keep you warm on a cold winters night. The bar was always orange and it radiated heat but the bills were astronomical and even back then you could be looking at a $400 power bill.
Heat pumps appeared around the year 2000 but the role of a heater has never disappeared. Especially for Kiwis who grew up with memories of a single bar heater.
Oil Column heaters have been in vogue for about twenty years and seem to be the preferred choice for those who want a heater.
What I want to focus on in this blog is a rather clever marketing feature the Oil Column sector has come up with.
They let you choose the number of Fins you want with your heater. The picture in this blog is of a Nine Fin heater and they go up to Eleven Fins.
It was my mothers birthday a few weeks ago and she wanted a new oil column heater as her gift from me. I googled which store had the best prices which turned out to be Mitre 10. Then as we drove to Mitre 10 a detailed conversation broke out between us as to how many Fins she wanted. She had given the matter a great deal of thought. Her current model had 5 fins and she thought she needed 7.
I told her to get the maximum 11 Fins but not turn the temperature up all the way. But she wanted the optimum number of Fins to match her room. So was pretty set on getting 7 Fins.
We arrived a Mitre 10 and they had laid out maybe 10 choices of Oil Column heaters with many different Fin options and price points. We paid no attention to the brand name and focused on how many Fins we wanted.
After much discussion I got her to upgrade from 7 Fins and we walked out of there with a 9 Fin heater for $170. Which we were happy with.
I got to her house and wrestled with the dreaded wheels and feet and finally installed those. Then wheeled it in to her room and gave it a test drive.
All were happy and she was very pleased she went with 9 Fins instead of 7 Fins.
But we are still not at the crux of this blog post.
I have a marketing degree. In marketing theory they teach you that if you manage a product you should try to turn it from a "low involvement product" to more like a "high involvement product".
"The level of involvement in buying decisions may be considered a continuum from decisions that are fairly routine (consumers are not very involved) to decisions that require extensive thought and a high level of involvement. Whether a decision is low, high, or limited, involvement varies by consumer, not by product.
Examples of Low involvement - light bulbs, photo copy paper
High involvement - Luxury vehicle, wedding dress"
Involvement Levels – Introduction to Consumer Behaviour
opentextbc.ca
Getting customers who buy oil column heaters to think in advance about and actively choose how many Fins they want increases the level of involvement with oil column heaters as a product.
As a marketer when customers are more involved with your product customer satisfaction and perceived benefits of the purchase will rise. And ultimately you avoid turning your product into a commodity where only price differentiates. The Oil Column Heater sector has effectively introduced customisability of Oil Colum heaters by letting you pick how many Fins you want. Theoretically owners of Oil Column heaters should be more satisfied with their purchase and were even prepared to pay a modest premium or cushion factor in the price for getting what they wanted.
How about you?
Do you own an Oil Column heater and did you carefully choose the number of Fins?
Have you noticed any other products that have recently introduced customisability of its features to increase the level of consumer involvement?
Did you grow up with a single bar heater?
Or do you have any comments or reactions to this blog?
Welcome to the Riverina sit down and I will pour you a beer while we wait for tonight's Warriors game.
