Yesterday’s marketing won’t work with today’s consumers

December 23, 2011

There’s a tendency among organizations to find a marketing communications strategy that works and stick with it for a long time. That may have been practical in the past, but rapid changes in the marketplace and the spread of technology have had a dramatic effect on consumer behavior, says Wabash Valley Communications Manager Sabrina Kapp.

“The world is changing, and we’re seeing more evidence that the way we talk with co-op members needs to change, too,” she explained. “In the past, marketers focused on pushing information out to consumers. Today, though, you have to earn the consumer’s interest. People will find you because they want to. They’ll read your messages only if they think they’ll gain some educational or entertainment value.”

Sabrina says that in simple terms, today’s consumer is in control of your marketing. “They decide whether to opt-in to websites and emails,” she said. “They place their names on do-not-call lists and do-not-mail registries. You can’t just force your messages upon them.”

The marketplace is shifting from the traditional “outbound marketing” strategies to what is known as “inbound marketing,” she added. “It’s a matter of earning your way into the consumer’s interest instead of buying, begging, or bugging them to get their attention. It explains the popularity of social media and other forms of online content, such as web videos.” As proof, 61 percent of marketers increased their share of inbound marketing in 2011. “And studies have shown that social media, blogs, and search-engine optimization carry lower costs per lead than traditional channels.”

However, Sabrina noted, some co-ops remain resistant to the changes, claiming that their members lack access to technology. “Our most recent saturation survey disproves that contention. It said that 74 percent of co-op members association-wide have Internet access, and of those, four out of five actually have access that’s faster than dial-up. This isn’t something that may happen in the future,” she stressed. “It’s happening today, right in your backyard. The co-ops who resist and delay are going to be left behind, but those who explore and embrace these channels will be far more likely to thrive.”