Shift From Mass Marketing to Customer Networks

“The fundamental role of a marketer is to keep the organization focused on the customer” - Jonathan Becker, CMO, SAP 

In the world that is technology growing continuously, marketers need to constantly upgrade their marketing strategies. The massive growth of digital marketing creates the necessity of mass marketing transition to customer networking approach.

Mass marketing that has been created with an idea to reach as many people as possible, regardless whether they are interested or not, loses its effect in the digital era. While traditional marketing such as television, radio and boards is not necessarily dead, it does not hold the same value as it once did.

In contrast, digital marketing allows companies to reach a targeted audience and focus on understanding their customers’ needs. It also gives companies an opportunity to escalate their customers’ satisfaction through modern methods social listening, and keep their customers coming back.

The sudden increase of people being indoors due to pandemic has made a significant impact to both mass marketing and digital marketing. Companies spending money on billboards are shifting to digital advertising to target the specific audience that is interested in and searching for their products and services. According to union.co over 50% of marketers are currently increasing their digital budgets. 

Coca - Cola is one of the mass marketers that dramatically shifted its approach to marketing using various strategies such as a five-year digital transformation program. At the Adobe Summit in March 2018, David Godsman, Coca-Cola’s Head of Digital, talked about this transformation and said that fans of the brand are key to its content creation strategy in this digital era. “Digital allows us to create unifying experiences - helps to bring them together. We don’t see a world where we will continue as a traditional advertiser in that sense.” - David Godsman.

Companies based on models that view customers as passive and isolated individuals need to change their relationship by shifting to the customer network and rethink their image of customers, from individuals to networks. Customer networks help to spread positive word of mouth and influence brand image. 

In 2008, Coca-Cola’s Facebook page that was created by two customers Dusty Sorg, an inspiring actor in Los Angeles and his friend Michael Jedrzejewski, reached more than three million fans. Facebook users around the world shared their photos of Coke and posted comments in many languages. The page reached 750,000 fans within a few weeks and grew to over a million within a few months. An interesting fact about this story is that when Facebook decided to close the page and announced a new rule of forbidding fan pages for brands, Coca Cola’s management chose a different approach. When Facebook handed the page ownership over to Coca Cola, they handed management of the page right back to Dusty and Michael. The company preferred not to undermine the enthusiasm of their customers. No surprise, Coca - Cola’s Facebook page continued to grow. (“The Network is Your Customer” David L. Rogers). 

The influence of customer networks not only create growth opportunities but might also pose threats, especially for older marketing organizations. Customer with a bad experience can easily inform his/her network about it using social media, and make a huge impact on the image of a brand.

Dave Carroll, a travelling musician, had a terrible experience with United Airlines. They damaged his guitar in transit. Sending Dave back and forth for nine months and refusing to compensate for the $3,500 in repairs to his instrument, David decides to write a song about his experience. He made a fun song “United Breaks Guitars” together with his friends and shared it on YouTube. The video became viral and reached million views within two days. [Today it has more than 20 million views]. United Airlines contacted Carroll to offer him compensation but he declined suggesting to donate the money to charity. This song caused a 10% drop in United Airlines’ stock and $180,000,000 drop in share prices. 

To innovate products or expand services, companies need to understand emerging customer behaviors and the network dynamics. Customer network strategy is not only useful in reaching out to end consumer but also in connecting customers individually and giving them the power to drive your business. However, customer network of digital era puts companies to the situation of facing with a choice of turning customers to the biggest competitor or the biggest business driver?!

How has your company shifted from mass marketing to customer network? Do you think it poses mostly threats or opportunities? Will it turn your customers to the biggest competitor or business driver?

#digitalmarketing #massmarketing #customernetworks

Aytakin Aliyeva Digital Marketing Specialist