When Marketers Have to Live with Consumer Disinterest

Few marketers and researchers will ever admit it for fear of being accused of exploiting their consumers - but it needs to be said. The fact is, many consumers are not overly rational or smart when it comes to their shopping habits.

This statement seems almost heretical in light of the marketing commentary of recent years.  Much has been made of consumers’ increasing shrewdness and cunning, with online consumer reviews, price comparisons, buyer guides and international online shopping opportunities have largely eliminated any complacency about their customers that some marketers may have had.  Consumers can learn more about the products they purchase than ever before.

But before marketers scramble to ensure they’re lily-white and able to pass any scrutiny, it must be remembered that consumers will only do such homework when their purchase is of great importance to them.  It then stands to reason that maintaining a degree of consumer ignorance could be a positive thing, thus enabling less rational aspects such as style, promotional novelties and convenience to sway a purchase decision.

Conversely, a high degree of personal involvement and interest in a purchase decision has long been recognized as a crucial component of brand commitment and premium pricing, and so it has been actively encouraged.

What then, is a marketer to do?  There is no single answer that will apply to all markets and situations, but many examples can be cited to show the various approaches that can be taken.

•  If a product is at risk of stagnating as a mere commodity, some have introduced a premium-brand version, and educated consumers as to why it’s worth paying extra for.  The Gib Living Solutions brand from Winstone Wallboards is a brilliant local example.  
• The opposite tact is taken by those whose very brand essence lies in eschewing the more ‘sophisticated’ branding, attracting those who are so involved in their product choice that they will be drawn to the brands that clearly display their substance over style.  The Charlies range of drinks, with their basic TVCs and almost “category-busting” plain paper labels, are such an example.
• Simple consumer education with the aim of making the mundane more appreciated is often attempted.  Tyre and shock-absorber marketing is often related more to ‘saving lives’ than any traditional technical sales spiels.
• A far more ambitious approach is to challenge the operational habits of an entire category.  Faced with the ongoing market-wide problem of new cars that quickly depreciate after purchase (with a severe impact on new car sales), Honda New Zealand altered its entire sales approach, eliminating the vacillations of new car prices, myopic car sales and special end-of-line runs.  It’s taken time for the benefits to show, but Honda’s new cars now hold their value better than most if not all non-European marques, making for improved new car sales and profits.

But despite the successful examples cited above, and the myriad of textbooks and case studies about how marketers should manage their brands or markets, there is one truth that is often missed.  For many brand managers and marketers it’s not a comfortable truth to live with, but the fact remains that in many categories the consumers simply do not care what they use, or are such creatures of habit that getting them to even consider your message is a hard task. Human beings are certainly not rational – so why should their shopping habits be?

This is when marketers have to work on convenience, distribution, introductory packs, short-term promotions and sampling.  It’s not the most glamorous end of the marketing spectrum, but one which nonetheless needs due attention, attention that all-too-often has otherwise been directed towards brand-led marketing in recent years.  In the face of ever-increasing complexities in consumers’ lives, perhaps a deliberate play into the hands of the rushed, distracted and too-tired-to-care consumer could bring good dividends?

Jonathan Dodd