Software is now available that removes 'non-desirable' content - in other words, ads.
Above-the-line channels are experiencing similar challenges brought about by consumers being spread ever more thinly across fragmenting channels. Meanwhile, technology is enabling greater opt out and has created a new culture of consumers in control. Perhaps this is down to the advent of Web 2.0, allowing people to compare products and prices more easily. Coupled with this is the rise of the social network where the opinion of online friends and acquaintances about a brand - the word-of-mouth effect -- has taken good hold.
Marketers are being sent the very clear signal that audiences no longer want to be bombarded with unwanted offers, messages, incentives and products. Alongside these trends, marketing departments are being put under increasing pressures to demonstrate the value that their activities create.
The era of push marketing being enough to boost sales has come to a close. What consumers want is not the hard sell, but a two-way dialogue with the brands they choose. Engaging with consumers, and recognising that they are key contributors to successful marketing strategies, is the starting point. The end result is the creation of a conversation beneficial to both brand and buyer. This is a process we define as "mutual marketing".
We believe that by bringing together the worlds of real-time online research and marketing data insights, marketers have the tools to respond to consumer and boardroom concerns. They can ensure that spend is highly targeted and measurable, that activities are more properly matched to interested audiences.
Marketers who aim to give customers what they desire, when they want it, need in-depth insights into their purchasing behaviours. Consumers are more likely to willingly provide these key personal insights if they are guaranteed something useful in return - be it special offers, new distribution channels, a makeover of the marketing message or even tweaks to the product itself.
So make the most of your existing multi-channel data and real-time research: listen to what people are telling you. Give people what they want, when they want it, improve their brand experience. This, in turn, will strengthen an individual's engagement with a product or company; they will want to know more about the brand and begin to feel it is a positive part of their everyday lives.
Interest piqued, an individual is much more likely to stick with a "friendly" or useful brand. Their repeat purchase, and the growing potential of recommendation to family and friends, will increase sales. The more someone buys a product, the deeper the relationship becomes, until they can be counted as loyal consumers, or even brand advocates. And this loyalty should make it much easier for marketers to glean the greater insight into the profile of their customer base that they crave.
Well-publicised data mishaps have ensured that consumers will only share well-guarded personal information where their interest is marked with mutual appreciation from the brand-owner. Those companies that don't engage with today's more technology-empowered, brand-savvy consumers risk damaging whatever relationship they had with them forever.