Commentary

It's Monday Morning -- Do You Know Where Your Consumers Are?

It isn’t easy being a marketer today. If it isn’t ad fraud, it is a data breach of your CRM system. Or it turns out that your diesel engines aren’t clean, your potatoes not organic or your CEO is not the greatest spokesperson on Twitter. Or that guy from digital is getting all the attention in the board room.

There are continual distractions from what should matter to you most: your consumers.

My somewhat flippant first paragraph is, rather sadly, not far from the truth. In my dealings with marketers, it amazes me how much distraction there really is. The greatest sadness is that while marketers all talk about the empowered consumer and the need to get a closer understanding of her brand experience, they seem to have very little time (and money) available to actually get to know consumers at all.

Let’s take a little quiz, shall we?

1. When was the last time you actually spoke to a person loyal to your brands? It doesn’t count if you read the comments on your Facebook Brand Page.

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2. Do you know the profile of your most loyal consumers? What do they watch, where, and on what device? What do they eat? Where do they go in their spare time? (BTW, you will find the answer to be far more mundane than you hoped for. Most owners of a Cadillac have never set foot in the Meatpacking District — which is so 2010, anyway).

3. How much money does your company spend on chasing new or occasional consumers? And how does this compare to how much you spend on knowing, recognizing, rewarding and empowering your existing consumers? The latter is very important, because we all know that a recommendation from a friend or a relative is far more powerful than any other form of communication.

4. Do you really know what people are saying about your brands? Do you spend a morning a month manning the phone banks of your 800 number, or in your social media war room listening, watching and reading?

5. Have you recently spent time with the people selling your brand or service — on the front lines, in the trenches, like an undercover boss?  You don’t really need the false beard or nose to pull this off. Ask Oscar Munoz from United Airlines.

6. What share of your marketing budget do you spend on consumer research and analysis? Is it substantial, and do you feel you are getting true insights? (Note: “The population is aging” is not an insight, but a fact. And tracking your ex-factory data does not count as insights, either).

7. And while we’re at it, how many people in your marketing department have job descriptions that include responsibility for understanding your consumers and shoppers? Are they the best at Excel and pie charts — or true insights analysts? And when did THEY last see, speak with or otherwise interact with your consumers?

My guess is that the answers to these questions will disappoint you. But as with every other shortcoming, admitting you have a problem is the first step. It is only Monday; the week is young. Do something about it!

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