Great Marketers In 2022 – Are Replacing Taking With Giving.

Have you ever sat up late watching a movie on commercial television feeling and perhaps even articulating frustration with the commercials that are effectively stretching the movie out and in so doing, diminishing the time you have available to sleep? I have. I have even found myself vowing never to buy the products being advertised. I have certainly had the experience of listening to my partner suggesting that late at night there are more ad breaks with more advertisements in each break.

Have you ever found yourself infuriated when a brilliant piece of music you are listening to on You Tube, is interrupted by a banal commercial? I know I have. While I realise this is how You Tube makes its money and that they are probably interrupting my favourite music to encourage me to buy an advertising free subscription, it nonetheless pisses me off.?Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at New York University’s Stern School, used even stronger language describing an advertisement on television, radio or social media as being akin to – ‘’a turd floating in a swimming pool’’ – something no-one wants to experience.

While I recognise the value and importance of advertising in some circumstances and while I admit to having once made a living producing advertisements, there is no doubt that most advertising is, for most consumers, an unwanted intrusion in their lives. Even entertaining and informative advertising is an intrusion on the viewer or listener’s time. It is an example of the advertiser taking up the consumers time to sell them something. While such advertising influences some people, it can alienate others. Most of all, it is an example of the advertiser?TAKING. It is certainly not about being customer centric.

This is perhaps one of the reasons why content has become such a popular and effective communication tool. Good content, on a blog, in an advertorial, on social media, or indeed in any other format and media, serves to inform and educate and it does so in a way that delivers value to the consumer. While most advertising ads little if any value to the lives of consumers, content can add a great deal of value. Good content while still making a point or indirectly selling a product or service is an example of?GIVING. It is an example of giving in the hope of receiving.

A related approach to communicating without TAKING up the time of consumers is a brand community. Online communities are increasingly used to developing closer relationships with customers and generating sales by GIVING rather than TAKING. Further, the benefits of a brand community can be substantial. Consider:

• Branded communities are?21%?more likely to see an increase in brand SEO than social media communities.
• Branded communities are?16%?more likely to successfully foster brand loyalty than social media communities.
• 58%?of online communities says that their customers are more loyal to the brand because of their community.

While TAKING can work, research suggests that GIVING can work a whole lot better. It is often less expensive and can deliver better returns. While in some respects creating content is harder than producing commercials, it an increasingly powerful, cost effective and moral approach to communication. Consider these statistics:

• Only?35%?of the average TV break is actively viewed.
• 67%?of males and?63%?of females actively ‘skip’ advertisements.
• 96%?of consumers do not trust advertising.
• Only?47%?of public sentiment towards advertising is positive
• 82%of marketers report actively using content marketing in 2021, up 70% from last year.
• Media uploads increased by?80%in 2020, as consumers spent most of their time at home passing time by watching content
• 96%?of the most successful content marketers say that content marketing has helped them build credibility and trust with their audience.

These statistics and many more like them suggest that content is not only GIVING can be more effective in engaging customers and in generating sales. Perhaps to most effective approach to disseminating content that engages customers and potential customers involves a brand community. A?brand community?is an online?community?formed on the basis of attachment to a?brand?or?marque. The power of a brand community is evident from the following statistics:

• 86%?of Fortune 500 companies report communities provide insight into customer needs
• 96%?of companies see the value that customer collaboration presents for the marketing department
• 64%?of companies state the brand community has improved their decision-making

Advertising is all about TAKING. Quality content and a brand community are oriented towards GIVING.

TAKING or steeling the time does not just occur in advertising. Indeed, it is just as prevalent in the customer experience. Consider these examples:

• If you are silly enough to shop at Myer, your time will be TAKEN while the staff consider whether or not they are going to serve you. Of course, these staff are not assisted by staff reductions – delivering lower costs to the business but longer wait times for the customer.
• If you have been to JB Hi Fi, you might have been stopped by a security person at the door on your way out. This security person is TAKING up your time – making you responsible for proving you are not a thief.
• If you have ever shopped for Fig Gin on Booze Bud you may have found, as I did, that the estimated delivery times are a fantasy. You might also find, as I did that you have to follow up numerous times before your order is delivered. Again, my time was TAKEN.

Contrast this with:

• If you go to the Apple store, you are approached immediately by an assistant who establishes you need and GIVES to a recommended course of action, while estimating the delays and suggesting remedies.
• When you go to Roadbend, the people who service my car, they GIVE you a loan car, GIVE an estimate before significant work, GIVE you the choice of paying by card on the day or having an invoice issued and ensure the result at least meets expectations.
• When you shop at Zappos, the world’s biggest shoe store, service is guaranteed. Unlike many online stores – they deliver when they say they will.

Which three of these businesses are you more attracted to? GIVING almost always generates more sales than TAKING. Further, GIVING almost always generates greater customer loyalty and therefore repeat business and referrals that TAKING. It is interesting to note that – globally,?54%?of all consumers say that they have higher customer service expectations than they did just one year ago.

In 2022, great businesses like Apple, have a relatively modest advertising budget, provide a customer centric service and go out of their way to add value at each and every touchpoint. The Apple example also reminds us that part GIVING is delivering at or above consumer expectation. This is when real value is realised.

The importance that consumers place on GIVING rather than taking is reflected in the growing attention given to ESG (Environmental, social and governance) and before it TBL (triple bottom line) and CSR (corporate social responsibility). In response corporations of all shapes and sizes are engaging in community activities that enable them to GIVE back to the community, or segments of it – and most importantly- be seen to do so.?What is more, there are some very good reasons why businesses are investing in CSR. Consider:

• 77%?of consumers are more willing to purchase a brand if the business demonstrates a commitment to addressing social, economic and environmental issues.
• 73%?of investors agreed support the views of consumers on the first point.
• 94% of Gen-Znow think companies should address pressing social and environmental issues.
• 76%?of millennials consider CSR when deciding where to work.
• 33%?of consumers choose philanthropic brands.

There is a growing consumer expectation that businesses will give back to their communities. Some?58%?of Australian consumers have been found to believe that business has a CSR responsibility. Some?55%?of Australian consumers would be more likely to recommend a brand that gives even a small portion of its annual profits to charity.?The caveat her is that the CSR claimed is sincere – with some?52%?of consumers now wanting proof of a brands CSR bona fides

This is perhaps not surprising in the light of the investment of Rio-Tinto in community causes – while at the same time in 2020, destroying the Juukan Gorge.

This action by Rio-Tinto s an example of a business TAKING what it wanted to increase its profits. The reaction from the community, and government was profound – and while Rio-Tinto may have only a passing interest in community sentiment, it cares a great deal about government sentiment and investor sentiment – both of which are impacted by consumer sentiment. The impact on Rio-Tinto’s customers is less clear, this can also be impacted by consumer sentiment.

Whether it be consumer time or community benefit, we are living in a community where consumers are increasingly receptive to GIVING and less and less receptive to TAKING. Further to this, marketing is increasingly about GIVING rather than TAKING. Content is becoming more important than advertising, service is as important than ever – if not more so, and corporate social responsibility is almost an expectation.

GREAT MARKETERS…

• Great marketers in 2022 are placing a higher priority on GIVING value by way of content, rather than TAKING by way of advertising.
• Great marketers in 2022 are developing business practises that TAKE as little as possible from the consumer and GIVE as much as possible back.
• Great marketers in 2022 adopting a sincere approach to corporate social responsibility – GIVING back to the community their customers live in.

ANOTHER INSIGHT

• https://potion.social/en/blog/10-amazing-brand-community-statistics

ACTION

• Place a higher priority on GIVING content to consumers than TAKING their time with advertising
• Stop making customers wait for service. GIVE them their time back and remember it is more important than yours.
• Establish a brand community to maximise customer engagement without spending a cent on advertising.
• Contribute to the community in which your consumers like and do so in a manner that positions you as a GIVER instead of a TAKER.
• Ensure your approach to CSR, TBL, ESG or whatever you want to call it, is sincere and self-evident to your audience.

QUESTIONS

• What do you think of the advertisers when you are forced to watch their banal commercials when you just want to see what happens in the movie?
• How much attention do you pay to the drivel passing as advertising at the start of a You Tube clip?
• How inclined are you to go back to a store when you have been kept waiting 5 or 6 minutes because that store is short staffed?
• Are your customers aware of your contributions to the community and do they view your business as a good corporate citizen?
• Is your business a TAKER or a GIVER – and could you generate greater sales by being seem as a GIVER.