DISCUSSION
'Beyond advertising': How companies can build better customer relationships
Written by Guest contributor
Presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article published with permission from Knowledge@Wharton, the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
How many times do you block advertising in an app or online? Yet, many companies persist in this marketing technique.
In a new book, Wharton marketing professor Yoram (Jerry) Wind and The Wharton Future of Advertising Program executive director Catharine Findiesen Hays argue that consumers are in control and want to interact with companies in new ways. Their book, "Beyond Advertising: Creating Value Through All Customer Touchpoints," addresses ways companies can develop a more integrated relationship with those they serve.
In an interview on Wharton Business Radio, Mr. Wind noted that consumers can get information on any brand they want to buy — the features, recommendations, pricing — at any moment on their mobile device. While traditionally at the "mercy" of marketers in knowing all the details, consumers now have more information than the marketer, are skeptical and don't trust advertising.
"Consumers are sending a very clear message to advertisers: 'We hate your advertising. We want to block it,'" said Prof. Wind.
At the same time, "Beyond advertising" means that, beyond traditional media, brands have to reach consumers through package, product and store design as well as call center interactions — any point of interaction a consumer has with the brand.
Finally, targeting needs to shift from "How much of my product does somebody consume?" to other parts of consumers' lives such as "their communities, their aspirations, where they're going," according to Ms. Hays. Marketers must align the brand objective with consumers and society.
The authors state that silos between marketing and other departments make an integrated approach to branding and consumer outreach more difficult to acheive.
But Ms. Hays said that some forward-thinking marketers are welcoming the change. She said, "It's a shift from feeling like they're totally in control of what the conversation is around their brand to actually being part of a conversation — bringing consumers in, bringing people in — so that they are part of a cultural zeitgeist, in fact, and part of people's lives."