The customer is not necessarily “always in charge,” writes the Tuck School of Business’ Kevin Lane Keller in a Marketing Science Institute opinion piece about marketing.
“The fact is, only some customers want to get involved with only some of their brands and, even then, only some of the time,” writes Keller, the E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at Tuck. “It’s important for marketers to face that reality.
“You too often hear these days that ‘the customer is in charge of marketing now.’
“As a result, some people almost abdicate their marketing role. I think that’s a total cop-out and an excuse to avoid trying to do some truly inspired and innovative marketing.
“One schematic that I find very helpful in thinking about customers is what I call the ‘brand engagement pyramid’—a way to portray the level of engagement your customers have with your brand. At the top of the pyramid are those customers who want to be super-engaged with the brand; they want to do more than just buy the product—they want talk about the brand, tweet about it, visit the website, and maybe even wear the T-shirt.”
Read the full opinion piece, published 3/13/16 by Marketing Science Institute.
