A World of Peers: The New Marketing Paradigm
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 10:45 am
Paradigm is a term of Greek origin, "parádeigma", which means model, pattern, example. In a broader sense, it refers to something that will serve as a model or example to follow in an established situation.
The advancement of the Internet and in particular what has been called Web 2.0 is changing the paradigms of society in general and marketing in particular at an increasingly rapid pace and forever. There are two concepts that are key in this process: horizontality and parity .
At the height of the mass media, which is still important of course, information travelled vertically. That is, it was spat out, to put it bluntly, from the top down, from the dominant media to the mass public, without the possibility of establishing a bi-directionality that would allow for a conversation. That in itself is neither good nor bad, it is different. So, what changed?
Digital channels are those that have revolutionized communication paradigms and are on their way to transforming all paradigms: cultural, social, financial... Now the way we communicate is horizontal, face to face, one to one, from few to many, from many to many, from many to one, but with ingredients that make up a new reality: horizontality and bi-directionality .
Companies need to get off their high horse and start talking to all mobile number list their customers, whether they like it or not, these conversations in these channels exist. The choice is clear: either they participate and try to influence these conversations (because they can no longer control them) but accept that regardless of their corporate culture these conversations occur and it is better to incorporate them into that culture.
Today markets are conversations, companies can participate to mitigate negative conversations and enhance positive ones or pray and hope that nothing catastrophic happens there...quite a small thing for companies that spend fortunes on marketing, advertising and public relations, right?
This is because a new actor has gained prominence: the peer , the common man, the consumer, the citizen, our equal . Today he has more power than ever and is willing to use it: to comment, to support, but also to criticize and destroy what he does not like or what does not satisfy him.
The P of Peer has become a wedge in the new marketing, making its way among the famous 4Ps of traditional marketing: product, place, price, and promotion. These four letters reigned in the world of marketing for more than 7 decades until the new digital environment put them (perhaps forever) in check.
The advancement of the Internet and in particular what has been called Web 2.0 is changing the paradigms of society in general and marketing in particular at an increasingly rapid pace and forever. There are two concepts that are key in this process: horizontality and parity .
At the height of the mass media, which is still important of course, information travelled vertically. That is, it was spat out, to put it bluntly, from the top down, from the dominant media to the mass public, without the possibility of establishing a bi-directionality that would allow for a conversation. That in itself is neither good nor bad, it is different. So, what changed?
Digital channels are those that have revolutionized communication paradigms and are on their way to transforming all paradigms: cultural, social, financial... Now the way we communicate is horizontal, face to face, one to one, from few to many, from many to many, from many to one, but with ingredients that make up a new reality: horizontality and bi-directionality .
Companies need to get off their high horse and start talking to all mobile number list their customers, whether they like it or not, these conversations in these channels exist. The choice is clear: either they participate and try to influence these conversations (because they can no longer control them) but accept that regardless of their corporate culture these conversations occur and it is better to incorporate them into that culture.
Today markets are conversations, companies can participate to mitigate negative conversations and enhance positive ones or pray and hope that nothing catastrophic happens there...quite a small thing for companies that spend fortunes on marketing, advertising and public relations, right?
This is because a new actor has gained prominence: the peer , the common man, the consumer, the citizen, our equal . Today he has more power than ever and is willing to use it: to comment, to support, but also to criticize and destroy what he does not like or what does not satisfy him.
The P of Peer has become a wedge in the new marketing, making its way among the famous 4Ps of traditional marketing: product, place, price, and promotion. These four letters reigned in the world of marketing for more than 7 decades until the new digital environment put them (perhaps forever) in check.