QUICK READ: 93% of customers read online reviews before buying a product. Amazon as a whole is suffering from a fake review profile problem that’s very bad.” About 90% of Bluetooth-enabled products in the electronics category on Amazon are fake. “Books is another bad one,” with self-published authors generating fake reviews for themselves.
KEY THOUGHTS: The CMO Council has published a report based on a survey of marketing executives, and it clearly shows why there is so much bad marketing out there. Instead of getting their names in trade magazines, perhaps they should be fostering a culture of learning and retaining talented people.
QUICK READ: 20% of consumers are following brands on social media, but marketers should not apply that blanket statement to all products. It’s more likely that consumers will follow brands that make products they care about, like hard goods (i.e., electronics) or exercise equipment.
QUICK READ: The polls on consumer behavior as a result of the pandemic don’t make sense. What consumers say in polls and what they actually do are two different things and I believe they are ready to spend again because buying makes them happy.
IN BRIEF: The so called “experts” need something to write about so they’re trying to convince you that the pandemic has changed marketing forever. That is bullshit! Despite what they say it’s still about delivering on a promise of a good brand/product experience.
QUICK READ: Consumers don’t have time to follow all the brands in their pantry but to say that “in the real world, consumers are massively not joining conversations about our brands. They are not committed to having relationships with them. They do not want to “engage with our content,” and are not fascinated by our “brand stories.” They do not consider themselves part of a “community” or “tribe” that has our brand at the center” is a mistake.
SUMMARY: The idea that consumers don’t want relationships with brands is not entirely correct. It depends on the product as well as the brand. There are some brands that consumers love to talk about on social media, but most others just give me a good product at a good price.
SUMMARY: Stuck at home and unable to spend as much as they normally would in restaurants, bars, and cinemas, consumers have accumulated $1.6trn in excess savings during the past year. They’re ready to spend, but what will they find when they return to brick-and-mortar stores?
