The marketing penny won't drop

One of the biggest misconceptions even by those who are part of the marketing industry is this notion that marketing is about changing perceptions and convincing people to buy.

It is also the myth behind which the old style interruption marketing approach operates. (I hasten to add that even that isn't marketing - just the customer acquisition phase of marketing)

Interruption marketing is where I look for a medium or an environment where a prospect is likely to use or frequent, and stop him/her with ads.

The ad is set up to convince or sell an idea or product, and is created with relevance, impact and originality in order to do so.

It also a telling approach (the company tells the consumer)and assumes that the information presented will be accepted or believed.

It was never all that effective but it was the best we had.Its even less so now as levels of consumer trust in advertising and this style of marketing communication is at an all time low.

Because customers have so many bulldust filters available one of the radical new thoughts that is emerging out of the fresh marketing approach is the idea that Honesty is the currency of the new marketing.

And really its pretty obvious.

Find out what the customer wants, design a product or service (the value proposition)to deliver it and make it available to him/her. Thats actually what marketing always was and always will be.

No need to convince, to change any perceptions, you give me something I want, when I want it, at the price I am willing to pay for it and I know its available and I'll buy it. You lie to me you wont see me for dust and I'll tell my thousands of friends around the world.

Really very simple, I wonder when the penny will actually drop.