A Changing Market and The Educated Consumer

It’s human nature to strive for happiness and eliminate suffering. It’s a well-known tactic of marketers to play on the human need to find happiness and create champagnes that state they will invoke happiness if the consumer acquires their products. Some marketing takes advantage of societies attitude toward material possession and the myth that possession will create happiness when in turn possession really causes attachment to material things and potentially the addiction to purchasing products. This can lead to discontent because true happiness can only come from within. Getting consumers to want more by convincing them that the more they have the happier they will be, actually brings upon a larger feeling dissatisfaction and frustration. Will there be a new form of marketing where marketers form a trusting relationship with their patrons and create campaigns around the facts of the product, not the feelings or emotions that the product is trying to invoke?

People want to trust someone, believe that manufacturers are out for their best interests and are creating quality products. Some companies have achieved this successfully, Volvo, Toyota, Maytag, Sears Craftsman, Kelloggs and more.

There are two types of consumers, the educated consumer, who usually doesn’t fall prey to the emotional marketing tactics and the emotional consumer, the one who is looking for the product that will bring them happiness. Marketers need to address both of these types of consumers to be successful. If consumers have access to information, especially technology-savvy consumers, then why not give it to them in a way that's easy to read. They’re going to find it anyway. What if marketers supply the information to the consumer, exactly the same information that they would find on the Internet, but propagate it in a way that the marketer can control? Creating a structured delivery mechanism so the marketer then catalogs information, the same information that the consumer will find on the internet, in a way they can control the delivery. Advertising is changing. Consumers are more educated. They don’t fall for the hard sell and they want someone who will stand behind the product.

Many consumers who are technology savvy don’t watch commercials because of TiVO and the like. They do their research on the Internet and are the educated consumers. Why not help them find the information that they will find already. Set up a page where you can organize the content in a way that will display the same information they will find on the Internet, but display it in the best way possible for the marketer. Control how the consumer views the information, not only what they see, but how they see it. Thinking like an educated consumer I would think that most consumers would look for a product's shortcomings before looking for a product's benefits. Marketers can set up blogs and organize the content in a way that benefits them instead of letting the consumer find search for information based on what downfalls the products have.