AMA’s M-Planet 2009

Integrity. We know our brands need it, but as marketers we haven’t necessarily been trained how to deal with it. This is one of the themes echoed in the keynote presentations on the first day of the AMA’s M-Planet 2009. As marketers, we have incredible power to shape the culture, to give hope to the collective consciousness, and to bring real change to the world, ensuring a bright future for generations coming after us. As we’ve used our power in the past to sell, sell, sell – now is the time for us to use it to ally with the customer and add real value to his lifestyle.
I think I hoped we would be told exactly how to do this, but after hearing the presentations this morning I was heartened to realize that we already know how. Yes, brand loyalty is challenged in a world where consumers have more choices than ever before. Yes, the brand can play a critical role in not only attracting but retaining customers. Given, it’s important to pay attention to your customers wants and needs and segment your audience into efficiently marketable groups. Yes, co-creation with your customers is key in these times. But really…is there anything new here? Of course not. Never before has the notion “the more things change, the more they stay the same” been as true. Yes, the culture has changed, but human beings have not. We remain faithful to basic human ideals – “human truths” – as ever. This is the reason that every single presenter today emphasized the critical importance, the absolutely unwavering ideal that in order to succeed in this constantly-changing marketplace, companies have got to listen to the customer.
Huh? That’s it? That’s the key to success in this field? Seems to me we’ve known this for quite some time. As researchers we spend most of our time listening to customers, potential customers and lapsed customers trying to better understand their connections with our brands. We understand there is no business without customers, and no good business without loyal, long-term customers. So it seemed a bit silly that this idea of listening to your customers shoud be so prominent at this – one of the most important annual conferences for marketers. Surely there must be more to it. The truth is, there’s not: customers have always and will always be the most important data point for businesses to consider. The reality is, there is no business without the customer. So listen to them. Co-create with them. Work together to blue-sky new ideas about how your company can serve its most valued customers. This was a Big Idea five, ten, fifteen and fifty years ago, and it remains the Big Idea today.
Advice from M-Planet’s keynote speakers is coming tomorrow. Stay tuned into the business of behavioral insight blog.