With traditional marketing you’re paying more and getting less.
Mass marketing tools don’t work anymore. Quite simply, mass marketing picks out people by TV region, newspaper readership or postcode. But, do people really share their values, motivations and tastes with their neighbours? Of course not. They did in the 1950s. But they also had very little choice. Supermarkets didn’t exist, car ownership was limited and the majority of women were housewives. By contrast, today’s individuals happily co-exist in a variety of communities – their gym class, the parents of children the same age as their own, their colleagues, the supporters of their football team, their university alumni…the list is endless. Even our houses no longer define us. With people down-sizing, divorcing, co-habiting or owning two homes, it’s a lot more difficult to make a value judgement on a person by their geography. It’s no wonder that traditional marketing tools are delivering less, but their prices are continuing to rise.
People trust each other – not organisations.
Alongside these sizemic shifts, the rules of customer engagement have also changed. With the popularity of social networking sites, customer feedback sites squeezing out the corporate spin and TV on demand creating even more of a problem for above-the-line advertisers – the goal posts have moved to another pitch altogether. Equally, consumers are moving away from individualism, instead seeking to create their own communities. These communities are created through shared values, passions, lifestyles, hobbies and interests. They transcend the boundaries of age, location and affluence, and, as such, are more meaningful and powerful to their members.
Community marketing is the future.
We believe that the change in dynamics of today’s culture requires a new approach to marketing. We call it ‘Community Marketing’. A unique concept developed by Yes Agency, Community Marketing gets under the skin of its audiences to the point of membership, and only when it has attained the trust of a community does it introduce products and services to them. A community’s members look out for each other – they share information, make recommendations to each other, give feedback and issue honest criticism – no holds barred. At Yes Community Marketing, we believe that it is our duty to immerse ourselves in the communities that we ourselves feel part of. Only then can we understand their individual dynamics and the values that the community holds dear. Once we have established a genuine rapport, then we start to introduce products and services to them – only those products and services which we are absolutely sure will be relevant and well received.
Yes Community Marketing puts traditional crafts to good use.
So, whilst Community Marketing is the future, the old disciplines still apply – getting under the skin of your audience and keeping them at the heart of everything you do. Wikipedia defines ‘Community Marketing’ as ‘a strategy to engage an audience in an active, non-intrusive prospect and customer conversation.’ Interestingly, the definition of marketing is ‘a societal process that is needed to discern consumers’ wants; focusing on a product/service to those wants, and to mould the consumers towards the products/services.’ The only difference appears to be how intrusive marketers are in engaging with a community. At Yes Agency we engage with communities uniquely – regardless of who they are and how they operate. We put the consumer at the heart of everything we do, seeing our role as identifying which brands, products or services to introduce to those communities and introducing them in a timely, appropriate and insightful fashion. Our tried and tested rigour in communicating in a timely, targeted and personal fashion evolves nicely into a Community Marketing approach.
This creates real marketing power. An army of brand advocates. Cost effective routes to market. And powerful customer relationships that will sustain our brands now and for the future.
We need to flex our products and services to suit the community’s needs.
And our work doesn’t stop there. We then ensure that we are distilling to our community group the aspects of the product or service that will be of benefit to them. It’s not about us any more (if indeed, it ever was). Now, at the very heart of what we do is always the needs of our community. At Yes Community Marketing we make it our business to ensure that these needs are effectively being met. What information do we need to give them to make sure that they make an educated decision on buying a product or service? How can we convey this information so that it is easy to digest? How can we support our community members in the purchasing process? How can we support them afterwards? And, how can we engage them in the process – before and after they become customers?
Yes Agency is taking control.
If we don’t seize this new approach and embrace the proliferation of new channels to market, our brands are in danger of being controlled by the communities that buy them. Facebook and MySpace offer a platform for their communities to talk about and recommend their favourite brands. Great if you’re popular, not so great if your product delivery is not up-to-scratch. Amazon reader reviews and ebay feedback ratings also place the balance of power right back into the hands of the consumer. Some brands are getting it right – Cadbury’s viral gorilla campaign for example and Dove’s ‘Evolution of Beauty’ video both were highly ranked on YouTube, filtering a consistent brand theme throughout a powerful online community. Others are getting it wrong – trying to force their messages onto a community, rather than introducing it, in their langauge and in their medium.