Complacent Marketing
Marketing That Displays
Wealth And Attracts
Respect!
By Diana Obath
C
ustomers value perception more
than they value a price tag attached
to an item. Many people who can
afford flashy smartphones will barely do no
more than check their emails, social media
pages, message and call. Those could be
the most used functions on a phone that
would cost as much $1,800. Those exact
same features are found on much cheaper
phones costing up to a quarter the price of
an expensive smartphone.
An individual’s purchase decision is
however not made according to price.
Most customers who make any purchase
decision seek to display wealth and attract
respect. Any marketing professional selling
a product should have this understanding.
Marketing should be no different.
Marketing mediums should therefore be
able to allow customers connect with the
need to feel a product or service allows
them to flex their muscle while also
placing them on a pedestal where others
will perceive them with respect.
Lately, brands have started to apply this
concept more and more to their offering. It
is happening in two ways. They are either
overwhelming the customer who seeks to
display wealth or over doing marketing
tactics to attract respect. Both strategies
have their advantages and brands that have
used these strategies well have succeeded.
However, many companies still struggle
with consumer targeting and segmenting.
The growth of digital has only made this
more complicated.
Digital and online marketing is very
Marketing does not need to happen on ex-
pensive TV ads or large LED billboards
that are being driven around the city to give
your product the gist it deserves. It is much
less about the cost of the medium but more
about how you understand your customer
and the mediums they trust. Marketing is
a question of trust, not expense. Identifi-
cation of information signals that the cus-
tomer considers credible will help to close in
on a sale much faster whether on digital or
traditional media.
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popular, and no brand is immune to
the influence that this communication
channel has opened up. Digital marketing
essentially works because the tactics
can lend themselves to granular ways of
message delivery to the target audience
and allows for personalized messages.
Digital also has a one touch power that
can enrich and drive engagement with
customers who would want to engage
with the brand. The most common benefit
that digital marketing offers is that of cost.
Depending on the campaign execution,
digital is a more affordable way to reach
customers over traditional marketing.
One question that marketers need to ask
more is whether the customers’ perception
of the cost of a marketing tactic will
influence their purchasing decision.
Marketing tactics should be able to allow
customers to immediately connect their
need of wealth and respect to the product
or service on sale.
A simple example would be receiving an
email with a promotion on serving spoons.
A fancy set of serving spoons sent to you
on an e-shot that politely addresses you by
your name and outlining the advantages
of a set of luxury serving spoons - stainless
steel, rust proof, durable, unbreakable and
all the adjectives you would think a set of
$300 serving spoons would have. They are
also a brand you have never heard of.
Compare that with a billboard of the same
set of serving spoons set beside a fully
prepared meal, displayed on a marble table