By Mark Schaefer
I was reading an article covering one of the panels at the South by Southwest conference — “The New Consumer-Centric Approach to Insights.” It illustrated how smaller, more nimble companies have the marketing momentum right now.
It read like a narrative right out of my new book Marketing Rebellion
. The customers are in control, they are seeking more meaning from brands … and these large companies are having trouble with a response to this change.
Here are a few insights from Pepsico and Mars-Wrigley executives:
- “Consumers are able to exert enormous influence. They’re looking for brands that are super authentic, consistent from inside out, and have a meaningful, profound role in their lives — otherwise there’s another brand out there.”
- “Our ability to react quickly is not great, and that’s not going away. How do we work differently to meet expectations?”
- “People haven’t changed. Technology has changed people’s expectations of what they can and should get from brands … It’s not the what — it’s the where and how.”
- “People under 24 are more likely to trust a rating, review or a peer than a brand or advertising. How many of us take that into account?”
- “It doesn’t matter if you have the most money or most resources … Bigger brands can’t just be the big kids at school. We also have to be fast and offer what customers want. Small brands are quickly moving on consumer insights and giving them what they want. They’re not encumbered by massive assets or ways of thinking.”
We’re in a new world. The customers are in control. And there has never been a more fun time to be in marketing!
Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant. The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.
