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Marketing / Advertising to a New Breed of Consumers Marketing (as opposed to advertising which is a component of marketing,) is an interesting and important part in running / operating a business. Following a session on marketing, the thought occurred what if the person to whom you are marketing has no knowledge of the product. To the purist the answer is easy, use advertising to get them over to your brand. Fine, this assumes the person has an idea about what you are trying to do, i.e. buy this brand of baked beans, buy this shirt, this gift. Get the picture, the person to whom you are directing your message has an idea or concept about the product. All that is required of them is to swap brands. But what if you are trying to tell them about bananas and they have no idea or concept what a banana is. You want them to buy bananas because they are good for them and market research shows that this person or group buy products that are good for them, so selling to this person or group should be easy. But they don't buy because they had no concept what a banana is. It is not in their culture. For years and years they have been going to the supermarket and buying apples, oranges, pears and grapes. This is their culture, what they do, time after time, day after day. They buy healthy food, and is not a banana healthy, but they don't buy bananas because they don't know what a banana is, so to get them to buy bananas requires that they change their culture. O/K this is going somewhere. Definition of culture "A culture may be defined as a complex of symbols and artifacts created by a given society and handed down from generation to generation as determinants and regulators of human behavior. The symbols may be intangible (attitudes, beliefs, values, languages, religions) or tangible (tools, housing, products, works or art) A culture implies a totally learned and "handed down" way of life" (Fundamentals of Marketing William J Stanton) Now add another complication, the market to which you are marketing. Consumers and Businesses are different. Marketing Business to Consumer: The business is dealing with a consumer that can be more easily swayed by advertising, they are an entity that is not as aware, one that waits to be informed, well that is the text book view. Marketing Business to Business: A business dealing with another business is dealing with an informed market, one that is more likely to make rational decisions, as decisions affect bottom line profit. Again from a text book written from the Industrial Age point of view But in today's world, do businesses make rational decisions about their marketing and if not why not In today's world, is the consumer sitting around waiting to be told, I don't think so. The culture of the consumer has changed but what happened to the businesses. Who in the business environment is advising them? Is it something in the business culture that the people upon whom they rely, are failing to provide the necessary advice and direction. These are questions that are vexing many higher up the food chain. USA UK Europe and Australia all have businesses that are taking the opportunities presented by the Internet Age. Australia is light years ahead of NZ. What happened in New Zealand? Is it something in the culture Where do business owners, managers, and operators turn to, for advice, for information about how to connect with customers? Do they look to their industry leaders, the media of the industrial age, the hierarchical peer group structure that has been built up over a period of time? Do they turn to the empire of organizational and industry groups who dispense advice to their followers, but in today's world can these leaders be relied upon as knowledgeable gatekeepers Are we witnessing the decline of an empire and where does it leave the business, where do they go when the support mechanism is no longer able to provide. As one empire declines, another arises. As business knowledge about connecting with the customer undergoes a change, the consumers' knowledge about the business and product increases. Except from an article "We're not simply talking about new media here; we're talking about a new type of consumer. People are evolving as media consumers. We just need to step back to see it. And it's not just because of new technology. The technology is releasing behaviours consumers have been repressing for years under a big media model and a mass marketing structure. They are behaviours that Yankelovich consumer guru J. Walker Smith says are at the core of human nature: The freedom to choose what we want, when we want it and how we want it. Marketers and media companies who understand this rule will prosper in the age of customer control, the age of Consumer 2.0." The world is changing, the consumer knows all about bananas and many other things. Their culture is to use the media of the Internet Age. They no longer wait to be told and if any business wants to connect with the new consumer they will have to change their business culture and follow the consumer. From the Center for Media Research. Almost all affluent working women turning to the Internet. October 19 2006 According to new research by the Media Audit, affluent working women with family incomes of USD75,000.00 or more are growing in number and 94.3 percent access the Internet during an average month. From 2004 to 2005 the percent of affluent working women making five or more purchases on the Internet increased from 54.1 percent to 56.6 percent. The percent making 12 or more purchases in the same years increased from 30.0 percent to 32.2 Dramatic changes in their media habits The percentage of working women that spent at least 430 minutes a week on the Internet jumped from 48.6 percent in 2004 to 50.8 percent in 2005. Heavy use of radio television newspapers and direct mail all declined within this group. The collective Internet changes for this group are significant, and other media are paying the price. The scary part. In New Zealand we have an Industry organization with many thousands of members, The Retailers Association. Their advice "We advise caution about the Internet" "We are not sure" "People will always buy retail". I agree people will buy retail, but in order to buy people have to know what is available. The Internet and the Web has presented to retailers a wondrous communication channel with which they can advise people what they have for sale. Why don't they use it. Is it something in the culture that they have to wait for their Industry leaders to give the go ahead. Bananas: Just as customers habits change, so must the habits of the retailers 2007