• by Jon Fox , December 2, 2009

I have been in digital marketing for almost 20 years, so I get the idea of selling and what it takes to sell something. It takes a lot of things (a decent product or service doesn't hurt), but what's essential is insight into what your customer wants and expects -- even if she doesn't know. Given the brutal year that many of us have had financially and emotionally, I know what a lot of people want is a "vacation" from what hits within hours of Turkey Day.

As a marketer, how can I say this? Because I'm also a consumer, which is why I know it needs to be said. Especially now, with Facebook, Twitter and the many other social media platforms, the potential for consumers calling out marketers is exponentially greater than it ever was in calling in to the Butterball tip line.

Don't get me wrong -- I love the holidays. People, even in New York City, are more polite, and more willing to engage and be engaged. All on its own, the holiday season works its magic. Given the now-undeniable global economic reality of the past year, with housing defaults and the loss of jobs daily, the need to get away from self-inflicting more pain, egg-nogged-on by overzealous holiday marketers, seems obvious.

We've seen what happens when banks make loans they shouldn't make. Yet retailers and many brands this holiday are going to discount to the point of no return, literally, in hopes of keeping their market share at any expense. But given the collective consumer clout to make or break a brand brought on by social networks, it is no longer just buyer beware, but marketer, be careful!

It's really hard -- maybe even impossible -- for marketers not to sound their Pavlovian jingle bells, and the ever-earlier and never-ending 30% or 40%-off screams of desperation (not to be discounted -- it does work) to get people buying. We marketers love talking about customer relationship management, especially when framing ROI-related challenges. But these are desperate times for a lot of people.

What I'm saying from a marketer's point of view: stop trying so hard to sell to people who have no business buying anything this season, other than stuff for the kids. Marketers don't benefit, especially long-term, by creating more holiday stress and guilt, or by making consumers feel poorer than they already feel.

As a marketer, I know we're better than this. It doesn't help the marketplace to stalk the most vulnerable -- which are, unfortunately, many of us and our loved ones. And besides, it's not sustainable, from a business or brand health perspective.

Of course, we all need to continue competing hard. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday having officially kicked off the holiday season, may I suggest, in the spirit of the holidays, given that there are still many weeks to go this holiday season, (and we in digital can change our tune in no time), a sort of "Truce or Consequence": fight fair, be aggressive, but don't offer anything you wouldn't offer your mom.

Lord & Taylor, the venerable department store that has had a real tough go of it lately, found the right voice for last year and this one as well, in a recent full-page ad in The New York Times with the headline: "Give Thoughtfully. Spend Wisely. Sleep Soundly." And, a sub-head: "Classic Gifts for Christmas Starting at $18." Is this an appropriate cease-fire, an appropriate way to engage our beloved consumers? Yes!

We all know consumers will be buyers again, probably bigger than before -- come on, we're Americans. But we are also consumers, and as marketers we know when enough is enough and when it's time for a change with a dose of sanity. As the Brooklyn Dodger faithful used to say, "There's always next year." And, as I said at the beginning of this little note, with holiday Tweeting replacing the mistletoe as the new way to show you care (and to show you're there), many eyes and thumbs will be on us this season.

On that note, joy to the world!