'Vive la Resistance' and What it Means to Marketers

Consumers are becoming increasingly advertising-proof. A 2005 Yankelovich study on marketing receptivity found the resistance particularly acute when consumers perceive the message or the delivery method as invasive. Consumers are pushing back especially since marketers continue to increase the noise level and clutter in their mail boxes.

 

I'm with Steve Pearlstein when he says that you don't need extensive market research to predict the winners. In politics, as in business, the quality players are focused on their customers.

So it will not be a shock to find out what the Yankelovich survey respondents indicated as their Top 10 preferences.

For the marketing messages consumers want, answer enthusiastically the following questions:

1. Can you make it short and to the point?
2. Can I choose when it is most convenient for me to see it?
3. Are these recommendations from friends and experts I trust?
4. So tell me what discounts and special deals are you offering now?
5. Can that be customized to fit my specific needs and interests?
6. Want to buy my time and attention? They might be for sale.
7. What are your competitors doing?
8. Want to ask me permission ahead of time? Then maybe we can talk.
9. Can I personalize this?
10. Are you partnering with a TV program, magazine or organization I already know, trust and evangelize?

Simple enough, well maybe not that simple. What are your thoughts?

Comments

[Drew McLellan]

Valeria,

Great post and great blog.

I think you're exactly right. The consumers have had it up to here (see Drew gesturing by his ear)with being talked to. They want to have a conversation. And just like our parents taught us when we were little...you don't talk to strangers. (hey, that gives me my next post title!)

So the real question for all of us as marketers is how, in this new consumer driven world, do we go from strangers to trusted friends without annoying the heck out of our target audience?

By being real, relevant, and reliable. When we begin to think about the conversation from our customers' POV, we can actually get it.

And then they get us. And that's a beautiful thing.

Best,

Drew