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 NEW CONSUMER MINDSET DRIVES SHIFT IN BRAND BUILDING...
Are you aligned with the consumer need for greater meaning and purpose? By Bob Wheatley
Twitter: @BobWheatley
For decades we’ve built brands on the consumer’s near unquenchable desire for stuff accumulation, associative “luxury” experiences and mass-stige. It’s been personal expression and improvement through acquisitions -- a reflection of how we see ourselves, mirrored through the products we buy.
Leave it to one of America’s worst economic stories to finally bring some closure on the serial debate about judging one’s life by the things we have vs. the softer values of contentment, happiness and belonging. In the near term, hyper-consumption may well be the biggest casualty of all for marketing and business.
As a result we are sitting at the threshold of a new era in brand marketing and PR communication. Not just the continued rise of digital and social media, but an adjustment in the entire proposition of what constitutes value and engagement in the brand/consumer relationship.
Are you ready to align with a new set of consumer values? Are you prepared to chart a different course with a refreshed voice and message that’s more in sync with this over-arching shift in what the consumer cares about and how they behave?
The New Abnormal
Bloomberg Business Week cites the “schizophrenic” patterns of consumers trading down to off brand toothpaste so they can accommodate $3 cups of gourmet coffee, or taking exotic vacations while compensating by walking away from new upscale wardrobes. According to a Food Business magazine report, consumer spending declined in the restaurant trade at a seemingly modest 2.2% in 2009 from the year earlier. That said, it was the first year-to-year decline since 1949 and the largest drop since the height of the Great Depression in 1938. How do you navigate when the hard-to-predict behaviors make business results look like an EKG graph?
• Doom swings to elation and back to gloom
• Indulgence and frugal are layers in the same behavior sandwich
• Dollar stores have become the new Target
Value propositions everywhere are being truly tested. Exactly how much better is your product than the store brand option? Is your category teetering in a “guilty pleasure” zone where consumers may opt in or out based on the employment report of the week?
A new consumer mindset has emerged.
The outcome of all this upheaval is migration from buy, buy, buy to more soulful desires for greater meaning, community and simplicity. A recent Forbes magazine piece showcased a Euro RSCG study that reported 79% of consumers have more respect for people who live relatively simple, debt-free lives than for the icons of the luxury living set. Said Forbes: “Robin Leach has been sucker punched by Ed Begley Jr.”
• Eight in 10 believe society has become too shallow and pre-occupied
with things that don't really matter
• 80% of consumers are now shopping more carefully and mindfully
• 54% are paying attention to the environmental and social impact of the
brands they buy
• 57% believe that cause participation matters
Where do we go from here?
According to a study from Chadwick Martin Bailey, 43% of consumers remain “undecided” about their future spending patterns. Now is the time to consider how best to refine your brand communications strategy to align with these new values.
Further, the trade-off flip-flops and compromise demonstrates that all elements of a compelling brand value proposition -- functional, financial, intangible and emotional values -- must be fully optimized and with an eye towards genuinely pushing the envelope of uniqueness and differentiation.
Equally important is how brands best connect with a consumer who hungers for a higher sense of life’s purpose and belonging. These are very human values. They favor investments in personal growth, family and social relationships, causes and giving back. Put another way: helping enhance a person’s quality of life.
So brands must become enablers, facilitators, supporters and nurturers of these interests and in doing so earn permission for a relationship. This lifestyle-focused approach offers a way to drive brand relevance at a deeper level than was possible even 10 years ago -- because it takes full advantage of social and digital media, forms of engagement that are less about overt selling and more about being supportive, helpful and useful.
Have you stopped selling and started helping yet? Think of how this changes your go-to-market strategies. Why not join the conversation on this intriguing subject? Sign on right now at our blog (www.wheatleytimmons.com/blog) to share your perspective.
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