Don't "Play" the Consumer Market: Invest In It

If a marketing strategy does not deliver an immediate and successful result in this overly-Blackberried world, it can be such a buzzkill. Where could you possibly have gone wrong? It all sounded so hip and PR-worthy in conception!

What if old-fashioned, slow-moving, long-term investment in consumers really is the key? Can marketers, in the consumer packaged goods realm and beyond, take that retro step?

The newly released IRI "Long-term Drivers Consortium Study" shows that perhaps they should. According to Sunil Garga, global services president at IRI (as quoted in a MediaPost article by Nina M. Lentini) there is:

"...a unique phenomenon among consumer packaged goods companies, who often use promotions to meet their sales numbers. 'The more promotions you do, the more likely you are to make your short-term objective, but you'll have a higher likelihood that people get used to lower prices. There is real price elasticity here. People look for the deal and buy more when there is a deal. Now, you have trained the consumer to look for deals.'"

So, while short-term promotions may improve a brand's sales for those ever-looming quarterly reports, they may really mess with price elasticity in the long run. A deeper commitment to, and long-term investment in, brand building, however, may give consumers more reason to stay loyal -- even at higher prices.

Though it has probably been the case for a while now, this study brings to light a modern-day truth: consumers are hip to advertising and promotion ploys. There. I said it.

The "secrets" of marketing and sales are now well-covered in the media, and even the most Average Joe buyer is sophisticated enough to know he can divert his attention toward that screaming deal once or twice, and then safely go back to his usual brand. Consumers aren't dumb, and they clearly see the forest for the trees in buzz-making promotions that then progress/return, as all such deals do, to higher prices.

History will likely show (and IRI is planning to continue this research, apparently) that no matter a consumer's gender, age, education level, income level, and so on -- the majority end up sticking with brands that have been consistently building awareness over the years. Like you, they are actually looking beyond the bottom-line for a little personal meaning/connection, and brands that have invested in providing that will succeed in the long run. After all, most consumers live and buy for a lot longer than two to five years, right?

Here's an analogy that, admittedly, arises from my overly women's market-oriented brain: It's like dating. Plenty of people may say and think they like to date around with little commitment ("it's fun!"), but when someone experiences true "courting," or an investment-like pursuit, from another -- that's when they'll really take notice, learn to trust and start to think about the longer run ("it's so relaxing and comfortable").

Humans, for the most part, would prefer to be invested in. So, brands and their marketers in many an industry should give serious consideration to the implications of this study in deciding where, and for how long, to invest their money.