Marketing: We’re doing it wrong…
I know what you are thinking … that “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubblegum”.
Not really, the first thing you have to understand is that I (still) love marketing (I have been working for the last 23 years on it), but as any tool (just like technology for example is the usage of it) that makes me disappointed.
Furthermore, marketing is based on some mature principles that is a kind of “urban legends” in our societies. So, it is time to correct its direction.
Marketing is the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. – Dr. Philip Kotler
Take a look on today’s average supermarket view, do you really think we all need 30 choices of soaps or 20 of dishwasher detergents ?
If you answer yes, because of “freedom of choice” or hell yes ! This is America Yo! More is better etc .. As a friend, I would have to say: “Your ignorance is their power”.
But hey, hold on! before we start accusing each other and point the fingers at marketing alone … we have to think about other “white lies”.
After all, politicians, newscasters and economics gurus are united around a utopia idea that we can grow the economy forever on our limited planet…
We all know by now that we would need one and a half Earths to keep producing, consuming and wasting at the rate we do now.
So, isn’t time to switch gears on marketing and instead of pushing and chasing after more, we settle for enough?.
I envision a “slow marketing” movement in the same way slow food is overcoming fast food approach.
It is about time that marketing starts really looking into consumers satisfaction by decreasing its consumption needs, but improving its quality of life.
Do not get me wrong, I am not envisioning or suggesting a “socialist marketing” or “communist marketing” approach where we would have a binary choice for every product made. What I am really envisioning is a trend where we would be combining more products into one.
One of our best seller product today is a 3 in 1 product: iPhone® – a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod® with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching and maps—into one small and lightweight handheld device.
There are many more examples already like that :
Printer – Scanner – Copy
Air conditioners (cold-hot) – air purifier with humidifying functions.
Shampoo – Conditioner – Dandruff function and so on.
But we need much more … This 3 in 1 approach alone, it would replace at least two products which would contribute to a slow marketing approach.
Another idea would be a re-education of the consumers via a new marketing approach. Teaching how to slow down our consumption desires and improving our quality of life in the other hand.
Just like “Social Entrepreneurship” is changing Entrepreneurship itself.
It has already been proven that we can all slowly change the world but perhaps it will be wiser and faster if we change our “tools” (marketing, technology …) usage first.
Written by Flavio Souza
