Tweet

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CONSUMER FATIGUE, ONLY MARKETING FATIGUE.

Written by: Billy Sharma

Article Overview: Don’t just blame the recession, there are other factors at play when trying to market to consumers.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CONSUMER FATIGUE, ONLY MARKETING FATIGUE.

Don’t just blame the recession, there are other factors at play when trying to marketto consumers.

Consumers live complex, rapidly changing lives, so understanding them and currenttrends that influence them is important.

Here are four significant new trends that are impacting practically every industry.

Trend 1: The population is aging.

Trend 2: Society is becoming more culturally diverse.

Trend 3: Family structure is shifting.

Trend 4: More choices are at hand; new technology is changing the way we do things.

Trend 1: The population is aging.

People are living longer creating a bigger division of older population. This is not only the biggestemerging market but also perhaps the most lucrative one. Baby boomers are not just a spike innumbers they are also about a change in attitudes:

· Having matured in the swinging sixties, when women burned their bras and men abandoned three-piece suits and wore their hair long, they are used to breaking rules;

· This is not one homogenous group;

· They are ready to pay for services that make their lives easier.

That last point is the most important one in reaching them. These are busy people not willingorready to retire. Many have been caregivers both to their own children and their parents so anythingthat could make their lives a bit easier appeals to them.

Just one concrete example: look at the astronomical growth of convenient frozen meals in thesupermarkets and specialty food stores. The service industry will continue to grow providing newways to ease their load.

Trend 2: Society is becoming more culturally diverse.

A quarter of the population in Canada is now made up of immigrants. The largest group comesfrom the People’s Republic of China, followed by people from India.

They are:

·Most comfortable among their own countrymen;

·Family and community oriented.

First you need to decide which cultural group you want to engage because each group presentsits ownchallenges and opportunities.

Be aware of norms, traditions and other cultural nuances that are unique to your target group.

Relate don't translate. What works well for Canadians is not necessarily going to work fornew immigrants.

On the other hand if it is based on human psychology it could work.

For example: Fighting dental cavities is universal, however, don’t just translate your mostsuccessful package but placecommunication into cultural context. You could be targetingpeople whose previous toothbrush was a twig from a neem tree.

There are two ways to reach new immigrants:

1. Through their associations, places of worship and community leaders.Treat these leaders,their organizations and community members as partners.Build shared ownership.Engage -they relate best to shared authority. Work with trusted allies and influencers.

2. Family means everything to them. If you can engage their children you will engage them.

However, here’s a word of caution:nothing happens fast with these groups; maintaina long-term perspective.

Trend 3: Family structure is shifting.



Half a century ago a child was part of a family unit made up of parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and siblings. There was ‘horizontal growth’.

Now as people live longer, move more often, divorce and remarry and have fewer children, the family has changed to ‘vertical growth’.

Children may know their grandparents but fewer know their uncles, aunts, etc.

• Married couple households are decreasing in number;

• Single-parent households are increasing and many are mothers or older women.

What does this mean?

It means that the family dynamics is shifting from the old days of “Leaver it to Beaver.’

These, children have more privileges, more buying power and are more assertive but don’t be fooled they are not going to be taken in by advertising hype.

What they will lack is the comfort; love and bonding that came with larger families when they grow up. Now, if you can market that, you’ve got it made in the coming years.

Trend 4: New technology is changing the way we do things.

Choice is growing in every area of people’s lives. This growth in choice is a result of market driven competition, but is also due to deregulation of many services:

• More TV channels are available;

• Landlines have been deregulated;

• Number of mobile phones has grown astronomically;

• Number of Internet providers has skyrocketed.

• Internet options have steadily climbed;

• The majority of people, of all ages, now own a mobile phone;

These developments are changing the way we do things, the way we work and the way we conduct our personal lives.

Today millions engage in social interaction via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. This has played a huge role in Trend 3, the shifting of family structure.

So pay special attention to it.

Related Articles
  Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L Wilson
  Chronic Fatigue in the Workplace – Why Your Alarm Clock Is To Blame!
  Shiftwork Fatigue – Going Into Work Wearing Two Different Shoes!
  What Part of Your Health Has the Biggest Impact On Your Quality Of Life
  Fatigue is Costing Business Billions In Health-Related Lost Productivity

Article Tags: compatibility, courier new, designers, endif, family auto, font definitions, gte, mso, pages 1, panose, paragraphs, pitch, signature, xml, zoom



Related Forum Posts
The Way We Were - You have to be middle aged or older to get this but I thought I would share it with you and it's all about [color=#008000:22uc7wu6]THE GREEN THING[/color:22uc7wu6] The Green Thing In the line at the supermarket, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment." He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the shop or off licence. They sent them back to the plant to be washed, sterilized and refilled and re-used. So it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day. We walked up stairs, because we didn't have lifts and escalators in every shop and office building. We walked to the local shops and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go to a supermarket. We bought fruit and veg loose - and washed them at home. We didn't have to throw away bins full of plastic, foam and paper packaging that need huge recycling plants fed by monster trucks all day, everyday. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day. Back then, we washed the baby's nappies (diapers) because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down (mostly hand made or hand knitted) clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing shipped from the other side of the planet. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day. Back then shops repaired things with funny things called spare parts - we didn't need to throw whole items away because a small part failed. Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Wales. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power and hand clippers for the hedges. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a brightly lit, air conditioned health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity and then drink millions of bottles of that special water from those plastic bottles. But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then. We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a plastic cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new plastic pen, and we replaced blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole plastic razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then. Back then, people took the bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their parents into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest Macdonalds. But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then? ------------------------------------------------------------ regards, Mal.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Importance of Master Data Management (MDM)

Living on The Edge of Chaos...

The five pillars of internet marketing strategy

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.