- Big data has been all the rage with marketers, but while they study big data consumers are leaving their brand.
- Marketers insist on making marketing more complicated than it actually is.
- Consumers want a good product at a fair price. Private label is succeeding in that promise while most brands are failing.
Before big data and information overload we used to get out of the office and visit retailers while watching people shop. We would look at competitors on the shelf and compare their products to ours. Today, marketers think big data can solve everything from bad products to global warming.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]I’ve spent a lot of time watching consumers and listening to them in focus groups. What they want is no secret: a good product at a fair price.[/inlinetweet] Read that again because a lot of brands are failing in that key marketing aspect.
Go down any grocery aisle and look at different product categories. They are stacked with options and consumers are taking notice. I have seen, more and more, people comparing products, and reading labels and asking “is it really worth it”?
Why are marketers making marketing so complicated? Because they like to quantify the unquantifiable. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]You can’t identify consumer behavior with a spreadsheet or by sitting in an office working on a PowerPoint presentation. [/inlinetweet] You need to get up off your ass and become a consumer and ask “why?” and “what’s in it for me?”. You need to stop thinking that consumers actually want to have a social media relationship with you and focus more on delivering what consumers expect. You could have an excellent frozen pizza brand, but if consumers buy your product and it has freezer burn your marketing is nullified.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Finally, we keep hearing about “full employment” but what is missing in those headlines is that wages are stagnant or flat due to higher health insurance and fuel costs[/inlinetweet]. The anger at the political divisions is carrying over to consumer products. Disappoint a customer and it will cost you five times as much to win them back.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Good marketing executives understand the importance of basic marketing principles. [/inlinetweet]Others like analysis paralysis because they are out of touch with the heartbeat of their audience. The more things try and change, the more marketers get swept up with the hype.
