Is Marketing returning to its glory years?

The basis of marketing in the olden days was to create a great product or service at a fair price and let the customers sell the product for you through word of mouth and referrals.  There is definitely something romantic about this approach even though it does usually align well with today’s big corporations who want sales results immediately while sometimes sacrificing quality as well as a fair margin.  This is not a comment intended to criticize big business but rather highlighting an opportunity for smaller companies (possibly privately owned) to exploit this current business model.

There is strong evidence to suggest that the big corporation model is not working as it once did.

Look no further that the explosion of private label products across all categories.

This enormous growth suggests that consumers are growing sceptical of many large brands in terms of their overall value proposition.  If the product is no longer viewed as “second to none”, substitutions are now being made by consumers when they have the opportunity to pay less for a private label product.

There seem to be fewer examples of Heinz Ketchup nowadays where any sort of substitution is unacceptable.

Another part of marketing that has changed is the development of “Lifestyle Marketing.”

It has grown rapidly over the years and from a macro perspective tends to influence younger purchasers to a greater extent.

However with less focus on the product and more being invested into marketing efforts, does this strategy really make sense in an age when there is more selection and competition?

Will lifestyle marketing for products prove to have long term legs after the purchaser no longer identifies with spokesperson?  What happens when there is a sense of “buyer letdown” associated with the quality and/or experience?

Does anyone remember the Seinfeld episode where Morty Seinfeld said the trick to selling apparel was cheap fabric and dim lighting?  Well it is as absurd of a strategy now as it was when the joke was written.  Quality is becoming fashionable again.  Clients who make products from furniture to flooring products are now telling me that they are seeing a shift away from “churn and burn” products.  People are willing to spend a little more now for quality that will last longer.  This should not be a surprise as we see more people wanting to reuse and become less of a disposable society overall. The movement towards locally produced products that also have a better carbon footprint is also lending itself to this logic.    

The direction for the quality focused company should be to return to the offering and the value proposition.  This is not always an easy choice but for long term success it is the best option.  I have summarized two conversations with two owners of small food companies in the following sentence that both use the approach to quality and value.  By the time the big food companies figure out why we are successful and why our brands have the following that they do, those companies are more than welcome to come in here and purchase us so we can retire.

Farewell,

Mike