The industrial age is grinding, painfully and reluctantly, to a halt. Executives and small business owners struggle to connect with consumers, and traditional marketing tactics are no longer effective. Relentless in the pursuit of their lost market share, many turn to advertising such as Google ad words, banner ads, and pay-per-click advertisements. The sad truth about these tactics, however, is that they quickly drain marketing budgets, are rarely effective, and devalue the very product they seek to promote. Today, the most successful marketing campaigns are centered on value-added social engagements, and cost very little, if any, money.
Traditional economic models are fundamentally flawed, as they assume consumers respond rationally to the marketplace. Consumers, are in fact, quite irrational in their decision making, but thanks to ground-breaking research performed by MIT Professor of Behavioral Economics, Dan Ariely, they are still remarkably predictable. Concepts such as, arbitrary price coherence and the subjectivity of supply & demand, reframe the way we think about the field of marketing, and product/price relativity.
Why are some companies thriving, while others fail? The answer to this question is counter-intuitive, and consequently, often rejected by many. Before this question can be answered, we must have a clear understanding of the socioeconomic framework at play:
There are three generational groups that comprise today’s marketplace: the baby boomers, generation x, and generation y. Baby boomers came of age during a time when the market was primed, and capable of supporting the growing industrial complex. As a result, many were able to start and grow their businesses, or find a “good” job that payed well and had room for growth. Subsequently, many executives and business owners today are of the baby boomer generation, and have built a successful career without the influence of technology. Enter generation x, and the advent of the internet. Generation x is unique, in the sense that they spent much of their childhood without technology, but were introduced to it early enough that it became engrained in their culture. Generation x sitson the fence between the industrial age and the technological age, and for this reason, they play a key role in strategicmarketing. Generation x has the power to bridge time-honored business knowledge (baby boomers), and technological innovation (gen y). Generation y is widely misunderstood, namely by the baby boomer generation. To understand why, consider the following: one generation was taught math on an abacus, and the other was taught on an iPad; one generation came of age at a time when families saved their money to invest in a set of encyclopedias, the other carries all the information the world has to offer, in their pocket… and have never known any different. To say there is a generational disconnect, is a gross understatement. Never before, has there been a larger chasm separating existing world views.
In light of the aforementioned observations, and as a generation X’er, I feel compelled to be a catalyst for change. I recognize the value in both generation y and the baby boomer generation; however, polarization in either direction, is not sustainable. For this reason, I volunteer my time on behalf of the Small Business Administration (via the SCORE Association) to work with business owners and entrepreneurs, to develop effective marketing strategies that will position them for long term growth and sustainability (and with very little monetary investment). The SCORE program is a National economic stimulus initiative funded by the US Congress, and is responsible for saving or starting thousands of small businesses (our Fort Wayne chapter helped get Vera Bradley started). The majority of the advisors at SCORE are well past retirement age, but the amount of wisdom they have to offer is unparalleled. So, why did I choose to join a group of retired executives doing free consulting work? You guessed it… to bridge the chasm!
Perhaps, the answer lies in the wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Every man that I meet is my superior in some way”.
Signs of Awesomeness 