Consumers continue to have a remarkable love/hate relationship with marketing. One the one hand, research from Forrester and Yankelovich Marketing shows that consumers frustrated with advertising clutter on the televisions, computers and cell phones, strongly favor ad blocking devices such as TiVo(1). At the same time, evidence of consumer fascination with classic advertising can be seen any Monday after the Super Bowl when office conversation often revolves as much around the ads as it does around the game itself. But, no matter how fascinated they may be, there is no doubting the growing backlash brewing over intrusive advertising and marketing practices. At the very core of this revolt is a seismic shift in the balance of power between consumers and marketers, driven heavily by consumer access to information on the Internet.

A rapidly growing percentage of the population is turning to the Internet to research products before buying, explore healthcare decisions, understand insurance options, and investigate legal issues. In a joint research study, the Washington Post and Newsweek Interactive noted that a majority (56%) of online working women believe that the Web is a 'very important' pre-purchase research source for travel purchases while a solid 44% view the Web as a 'very important' resource for health and fitness information. This new generation of buyers understands that "knowledge is power" whether negotiating the purchase price of a car or discussing treatment options with your physician. And, with broadband Internet penetration continuing a relentless march toward ubiquity, that means a generation of consumers who are accustomed to being in control of their "media" experience and who value reciprocity — i.e. getting value in return for their online time. This experience is diametrically opposed to the traditional intrusive "push" advertising that has been the hallmark of marketing department for decades.

In fact, in their 2005 Marketing Receptivity study(2), Yankelovich Partners identified some unique characteristics of modern consumers that highlight the challenge of reaching increasingly resistant consumers. First, people are not clamoring for "Internet only" marketing. In fact, while 60% of women whose jobs involved online activity indicated that marketers should use the Internet in campaigns aimed at reaching them(3), Yankelovich's broader study showed that "media selection" was not as much a driver of actions as "marketing practices." While numerous studies have documented the growing importance of online services, a new set of marketing practices aimed at making marketing more relevant have become even more critical. These include: customization, compensation, permission, more information, non-interruption and control.

Instead of generic marketing, no matter how creative, increasingly time-pressured consumers want information that meets their specific needs and interests. Further, these consumers see their media outlets (TV, computer, cell phones) as a domain that they control, so permission and compensation are increasingly important considerations. Consumers expect to control access to their media devices and expect to receive measurable value (in informational or financial terms) for permitting marketing to get through.

What does this mean for the historical tenets of good marketing? Traditional practices such as intrusiveness and repetition are now consistently resisted by consumers and brands applying these techniques can be "blacklisted" in the minds of the recipients. However, these resistant consumers do not blanket-reject all marketing. In fact, 55% of respondents in one Yankelovich study indicated they would be willing to pay extra for marketing that was more personalized and targeted!(4) The issue is not the media or the tactic but the manner in which it is applied.

What Does This Mean In My B2B World?
To this point, we have focused on consumer marketing. However, if you are isolated in your discrete world of business-to-business marketing, do not assume you are safe from these trends. Especially for individuals whose jobs involve Internet use, work and home are increasingly blurred — a trend that savvy consumer marketers are well-aware of. Star Producer Mark Burnett (The Apprentice and Survivor) noted in February 2006, "To me, the new prime time is 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., because more people have access to a computer then."(5) In fact, our consumer experiences shape our receptivity to marketing across all facets of our home and work life. That means that no matter what type of product or service you are presenting to an audience, the same careful acknowledgement of marketing practices needs to be applied.

Now What? Strategies for Increasing Marketing Receptivity
Above all else, this data signals a change in the way marketers approach their work. According to Yankelovich, the mandatory, cost-of-entry practices for marketing that will be accepted by consumer or business buyers must include:

• Customization and Control: the messages must be increasingly tailored to the individual and they must be delivered in a way that the individual can control
• Personal Relevance: the content must not only be "personalized" but it must be relevant to the individual. Just because a direct mail piece includes slick personalization does not make it valuable if the recipient has no interest in the product category at the time of delivery
• Non-Interruption: permission to deliver should be acquired prior to sending the message

These practices reflect acknowledgement of consumer attitudes toward marketing and toward the products involved. Applying attitudinal data in addressable media implies a significant new dimension in marketing segmentation grids. Being able to apply this type of targeting would create greater precision in marketing and undoubtedly yield greater return on execution. It does, however, require even greater care by marketers to acquire and assemble the data so it can be applied in both transactional and promotional programs.

A second major implication is the importance of providing feedback loops in all marketing to help consumers express their attitudes and preferences. It is impossible to provide consumers "what they want, when/where they want it" if you never ask. The creation of convenient tools for helping buyers to express their wants, needs and preferences represents a simple, affordable and critical early stage step in creating the powerful "one-with-one" marketing that today's buyers are demanding.

What Do You Think?
This article outlines evidence that indicates the need for more effective targeted of marketing based on consumer attitudes. Give us your opinion.  

To download a copy of the Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive "Working Women Online" study, click here.

References

1. Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive. “Working Women Online: Media Usage and Purchasing Habits of Online Working Women.” PDF File Posted on washingtonpost.com. 2004.
2. Yankelovich Partners, Inc. “2005 Marketing Receptivity Study.” Yankelovich MONITOR OmniPlus Study, April 18, 2005.
3. Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive, Ibid.
4. Christopher Vollmer, John Frelinghuysen and Randall Rothenberg. “The Future of Advertising Is Now.” Strategy + Business, 43: Summer 2006, Pp. 40-51.
5. Ibid.