Kill The Consumer - October 22, 2007
Has the time come for marketers to kill the consumer?
Not the actual person who buys the marketers’ stuff. That would be a little self-destructive (not to mention illegal.)
But the concept of “consumer.” And by that I mean “the usual suspects.” Women 18-34. Adults, 55+ who live in B Counties. Men 35-54 who enjoy the occasional round of golf. ¼br /> Through broad definitions like these, media barons have launched a thousand yachts.
The very definition of the word “consumer” is a red flag. Wikipedia notes that “typically when businesspeople and economists talk of consumers they are talking about person as consumers an aggregated commodity item with little individuality other than that expressed in the buy/not-buy decision.”
And therein lies the rub. Going forward, how can we build valuable brands with a commoditized definition of the target? Insight of course is critical. But insight among whom?
It’s time to sharpen our target definitions. For example, an upscale lawn and garden center doesn’t get very far by “targeting” consumers 18-54 who garden. That’s fully 87% of that population segment!
Instead, how about targeting affluent families who live within a 3-mile radius of the retailer’s stores, and who spend the weekend racing from one kid’s athletic event to the next. Who have gardens that never seem to live up to expectations. Who currently shop for gardening items at do-it-yourself home warehouses, thinking it will save the time of an extra trip. But who in reality waste more time than they save wandering around the warehouse, never getting quite what they came for.
Next, use this target’s wants and needs as the inspiration for a different kind of store experience. A store arranged around actual gardens not warehouse aisles. Manned not with harried shelf-stockers, but with garden experts who are paid to be helpful.
Now we can stop calling this target the “consumer.” And call them by a name that we can actually take to the bank.
A “customer.”
For life.