Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors
11/26/09 11:46 AM Filed in: Segmentation
There are many reasons that companies still rely on mass marketing and segmentation but perhaps the biggest is that they don’t understand how to market to one person and it’s easier for them to take the shotgun approach to marketing. Of course these are the companies that are going to have a hard time during this transitional period in which a new, more educated, more skeptical consumer is being born.As I have written here many times the free spending consumers of the past may never return. The realities of life today, where there is no trust in anything, has led consumers to try and take charge of their lives by not spending and saving more. Even the cash for clunkers program is running out of steam because even though prices are lower on new cars in the end you’re still stuck with a car payment and you are deeper in debt.
Enter social media, a chance to engage your customers and prospects with a conversation of one on one. While a lot of Fortune 100 companies are experimenting with social media few are tying it back to business objectives. Starbucks and Microsoft, for example, are rated very high when it comes to their social media execution but both brands are in serious trouble. Starbucks brand strategy seems to be changing week after week and a lot of people are going to be really upset when they learn that they have to erase their hard drives to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. So while a lot of companies are using social media few have learned to tie it back to business objectives and benefit the brand.
With the popularity of the social Internet people move from being segments to individuals. For everyone that posts a story or comment about a product or brand there are 9 more who read those comments and thus become even more skeptical of brand and product claims. Rather than reach out to influencers marketers would prefer to ignore these people and continue to waste money on TV ads that have no impact or relevance.
What I love so much about social media is that it is a real-time barometer of consumers attitudes but in order to really leverage what you are learning companies have to respond quickly and right now they are a deer caught in the headlights. If people within your organization understand your positioning they should be able to reply to people via social media right away. If they have to attend endless meetings to develop a response and then do endless Power Points on what to say than it’s already too late.
