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THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CONSUMER FATIGUE, ONLY MARKETING FATIGUE.
Written by: Billy SharmaArticle Overview: Don’t just blame the recession, there are other factors at play when trying to market to consumers.
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Free Download - WHEN ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS OR DONORS MOST RECEPTIVE? By Billy Sharma |
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.
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About the Author: Billy Sharma RSS for Billy's articles - Visit Billy's website BILLY SHARMA Billy holds a Bachelor of Science degree and is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of J.J. School of Art (Bombay) and the Hochshüle für Gestaltung (Bauhaus School of Design, Germany). After many years of working for other companies, Billy founded Designers Inc. In 1999 he became Managing Director and Creative Director of Brann Worldwide in Toronto. Under his stewardship the agency grew three-fold in two years when Brann Worldwide was elected the number one direct marketing agency in the world in 2000. Billy has extensive advertising and direct marketing experience gained in many national and international advertising agencies in Europe, U.S. and Canada. This has honed his creative skills to help provide breakthrough creative ideas for his clients. Click here to visit Billy's website NOSTALGIA A POWERFUL BUT OFTEN NEGLECTED SELLING TOOL THE LONG AND SHORT OF WHAT REALLY WORKS CREATIVELY IN DIRECT MARKETING DO YOU KNOW WHAT STOPS YOUR RECIPIENTS FROM READING YOUR DIRECT OR ONLINE MATERIAL HERES A HINT IT COULD BE YOU WHATS DRIVING US TO DISTRACTION THE NEW RULES OF ATTRACTION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION |
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