Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing

I've recently read a book on the topic of persuading customers who seem impervious to marketing - which is a bit misleading because the authors don't really reject the notion of marketing, but merely suggest a different approach to the practices of marketing.  While the logic is a bit specious and its assertions are entirely theoretical, backed by anecdotal evidence when any at all, there is among the flotsam a few good points that merit some consideration.

Primarily, the global marketplace has glutted customers with options for satisfying their needs, which is a significant change from previous eras in which there were relatively few suppliers to whom customers had access, and they were limited to choosing among the options available from retailers in their geographic location.  As consumers, we tend to take this for granted, and few people seem to remember the pre-Internet era in which local retailers had a stranglehold on supply, challenged only by the odd mail-order merchant who offered a few alternatives for those who were patient enough to wait six to eight weeks for delivery.

Another critical point is that the global marketplace is also glutted with information about options, and that the manufacturers are not the only source, nor the most reliable one.  Customers have a wealth of third-party information and regard the perspectives of those without a commercial motive to be more credible.   This, too, seems to be taken for granted, with few who recall the time when most product information was available from mass-media through paid advertisements and even the editorial content was written in fear of giving offense to potential advertisers.

The problem is that the principles of marketing hail from a bygone era: many brands do not seem to realize that there has been a radical transformation in the consumer markets, and continue playing by the old rules.   To the extent that none of their competitors has broken from the herd, this approach has remained successful - but in industries where a maverick firm has broken away, sizable firms have crumbled and more will continue to fall as they remain tethered to older ways of doing business with customers who are no longer required to tolerate it.

That perhaps sounds a bit general, and I don't often throw in with those who believe anything old is no longer applicable.   There are many theories of marketing from the previous era that remain viable, but some are clearly failing and will eventually fail completely, as will the brands that play by outdated rules in a game that has rapidly changed.

I don't think the authors of this particular book have the solution, but they do seem to at least be aware of the problems that will need to be solved - and that I do expect will be solved, though likely by entirely different providers.