I wrote recently about the folly of outbound marketing in an age of ubiquitous social media that lets people craft their own world to a large extent. New research published today by Onva suggests that many marketers are stuck in the past, in an age where advertising was king and word of mouth a mere pipe dream.
The research advocates the folly of spending huge sums on advertising when most of it is wasted, suggesting instead that a so called Recommendation Generation tends to ignore advertising and puts faith instead in recommendations from peers.
Here are some stand outs from the research:
• 70% of UK consumers purchase on the back of a personal recommendation/online review
• £14bn spent on advertising but only 10% buy a product on the back of an advertising campaign
• 25 million Britons “shocked” by £14bn yearly spend on advertising and encourage businesses to find more effective ways to communicate and save jobs
• Involving consumers the key to future sales growth
Matt Manners, managing director of Onva stated: “It’s clear that British business is trapped in a 1960s time warp. Consumers want to be listened to and involved in a brand’s future and all they get is an expensive diet of advertising.” It’s evident that marketing budgets are not split accordingly. How much do British businesses spend on listening to customers and focusing stimulating recommendations from loyal customers?"
All of which supports my post from a few weeks back suggesting that successful adoption of social media is a cultural thing. It's not about adopting the latest platforms, it's about adopting a way of behaving that puts the customer at the heart and empowers them to shape your product and how they deal with it.
So why do marketers persist with expensive advertising that shows little sign of working? Does spending money somehow show personal and departmental worth?
What are your thoughts?
It's a fiefdom thing. Marketing directors feel if they don't spend big bucks they won't get the same budget next year, and they'll lose influence in the organisation.
Oh, and of course if you're buying ad space at least you can guarantee that the CEO or whoever will get their name in print. Sometimes you feel that is the most important thing rather than actually earning new customers.
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I guess at some underrated percentage these advertising strategies does really make an impact on how they attract customers. It is just a matter of making an effective and inviting advertisement to attract clients. It is not how much you spend on advertisement but rather on how effective your strategy is.