Internet Marketing: The Era of the Modest Consumer.
01.12.10
Marketing on the Internet is leveling up with customers in terms of language and expectations. The economical climate and a new generation of aware consumers are tweaking the way advertisement works.
If you turn on the TV, you’ll notice that ads are a bit more low-profile than they used to be. They feel a bit more like testimonials, almost as if they were talking with us (as opposed to “talking TO us”)
It’s time to return the white tigers to nature and get rid of the flashy clothing, guys.
Austere is the new black.
What happenned to marketing?
While marketers were patting each other on the back for their ludicrous campaigns, the world was facing a crisis. The same companies that were treating customers as bottom-feeders were shutting down their operations, giving EVERYONE the pink slip and waking up every day in a really screwed-up world.
Someone realized that people, at that point, were really not interested in whatever the companies had to say. Thanks to the Internet (a reliable and now affordable source), they researched for opinions and impressions of others.
We finally accepted that advertising, the way we knew it, was stale.
What changed?
- Opinions were more important than advertisement
- Buzz was more relevant than campaigns with huge budgets
- Brand-positioning was bigger than the traditional reel of benefits.
- Biz jargon began to subside in favor of a more personal, human language.
- Added value became critical at this point.
What to do as marketers?
It’s time to do that one thing we refused to do for ages: exchange information directly with your customer.
Sure, statistics, charts, graphs and numbers help you put your marketing campaigns into perspective, but technology (and the evolution of social networking) grew in a way that allows you to have direct contact with your customers and prospects.
Time to wake up and smell the coffee: And actually enjoy it. Austere doesn’t mean “poor”. It means giving importance to the little things.
