I cut the cord. DEATH to TV!

[Alex Snyder]

That title might be slightly inaccurate, as it really should say DEATH to cable.

I cut cable TV out of my life about a year and a half ago.  It is all Internet for me.  Admittedly, it has driven my chicken wing and alcoholic beverage consumption up because I have to go to the local sports bar to catch a game, but I'm not complaining.

I'm not writing this article to talk about my experiences in relying solely on the Internet to deliver anything and everything to my TV - you can catch that here.  I'm writing about how the TV was my last connection to the 3 big boys of traditional local marketing (Newspaper, Radio, Television).

Yes, I agree with you, I am a bit ahead of the norm.

As more and more people shy away from our marketing comfort zones how are we to get our messages out going forward?  Sure, there is PPC, SEO, billboards, display ads and all that jank.  But what we should really be talking about is a revolution in marketing.  This is a revolution that is going to rip advertising to its core.  It isn't about shifting mediums; it is about a complete and utter shift in delivery.  And guess who isn't in control anymore:  you the marketer.

Today's marketing is about Push.  Tomorrow's marketing is about Pull.

Today we push our message to a broad group of people as far as we can reach.  It doesn't matter what media it is, we are simply trying to get as many eyeballs on our message as possible.  That has been the basic way marketing has been practiced ever since we were able to purchase ads.

Consumers are shying away from this method.  Supply is plentiful, deals are only a few clicks away, and your loud voice is just an annoying interruption.

Tomorrow's advertising will be more about public relations than what we call marketing.  It will be based on your deeds.  It will be based on your image; your brand, and it will be shaped by your customers.  We're starting to see the power of consumer reviews.  For car dealers, the power of reviews is still in its infancy.  For restaurants, it is full bore.

But there is another piece we can't see.  It is a piece that lives behind privacy and topples governments.  It is social media and it is mostly Facebook.  For the first time individuals can quickly and easily rely on a lot of their friends to help them make purchase decisions.  These aren't just decisions about cars.  Your friends are asking for advice on virtually everything.  Think of some of the questions as practice for when they really start looking for suggestions that have massive impact on the way local businesses are viewed.  If you're on Facebook, you've seen your friends ask for advice.  I see it every time I view my news feed.  People flock to the most influential; the one with the most "klout" on that particular topic.  This is the person you're going to see marketers flock to as well.

It is just the beginning.  Be cognizant of it.  As marketers, understand this is going to reshape the messages we send.  Don't be the next Middle Eastern dictator.

P.S.  Have you ever noticed how DealerRefresh has had some major impact on various automotive vendors?

 

[tomwhitejr]

Have you read google's Zero Moment of Truth?  You are reporting pretty much what their data suggests...  HUGE opportunity for those who get it and a HUGE challenge for those guys still in love with traditional media...  Nice and timely post Alex!

 

[joe.pistell]

Just to stirr things up, I'll take the other side of the argument.

Take a moment and think if you've seen the TV commercials for Internet Giants:
-Travelocity.
-Orbitz.
-PriceLine
-Kayak.
-Expedia.
-hotels.com
-TD Ameritrade
-Schwab 
-Etrade (the talking baby ads)
-AutoTrader.com
-and on and on

Compare that to the poster child of "Pull Marketing", TripAdvisor.com

Push vs Pull.
Why in the world would Internet ONLY companies embrace old school TV (Push)?  Why have they not abandoned push and gone to the cheaper pull marketing?

PUSH MARKETING is all about sending out a branding message with a goal to influence the use of the Internet.  

PULL MARKETING works best if your business is special and your site can communicate your unique biz model.

For car dealers, Old School Push branding messages can work if you have the business profile to make it work for you.  The vast majority of dealers donot have the "ideal profile" for push marketing.  

To further complicate things, Pull marketing can work for them, but, just like TripAdvisor.com, for pull marketing to work, your website had best deliver a meaningful message to your website visitor.

Add to this, how many car dealers can really make their site so special that it "rings the bell" for the pull visitor?

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

Joe - would you mind giving me your definition of pull marketing?

 

[JQ]

Thoughtful article, Alex.  I can't argue with anything, other than perhaps the impact of Facebook (and I'm wondering where you got that picture of my TV). I like the idea of "Pull."  I think you can build some impactful strategies around the notion of "Pull."

I've been thinking about this quite a bit.  I can't get past the fact that "Social Media" is simply a new buzzword for "Word of Mouth."

And this is the thing:  Word of Mouth has always been THE BIGGEST source of reputation management and advertising influence that exists.  Because you can now measure and track (somewhat) Word of Mouth on Facebook, are businesses that have always paid attention to their reputation and standing in the community -- businesses that "Do It Right" for the right reasons -- impacted by Facebook?  I really don't think so.

Now, here's where I see Social having the impact: the Schlock businesses.  You know what I mean -- the slam-bangers, Tires for Life, the "Sign Here" while their arm is over the contract guys.  The ones that don't care about repeat and referral business.  I can see Social having a "leveling" effect in that it may force an onus on actual customer service once they figure-out that there's no real way to spin the "reports."

When that happens -- and it will be QUITE a while -- the businesses that have always done it right will then be negatively impacted: social will force the next great consumer movement: excellent customer service everywhere. Great for consumers.  But the good ones -- the ones that have always been good -- will lose their edge.

All theoretical and hypothetical, of course -- as you know, I have no experience in reality

 

[joe.pistell]

Alex, you wrote:

"Tomorrow’s advertising will be more about public relations than what we call marketing.  It will be based on your deeds.  It will be based on your image; your brand, and it will be shaped by your customers.  We’re starting to see the power of consumer reviews.  For car dealers, the power of reviews is still in its infancy.  For restaurants, it is full bore"

Pull Advertising is social media based advertising (i.e. reviews).

IMO, reviews in our space is fragmented and lacks impact not because shoppers aren't interested, it's because our industry never had a yelp or TripAdvisor.com to fill the void.  

Google Reviews are a joke. Reviews need to ride along side the product offering (Like Yelp or TripAdvisor) for the synergy to work.

Did I get it right?

 

[JQ]

I agree with you Joe that today, it's nowhere near the "impact zone" for car dealers -- especially Facebook and some of the review sites.

But I do agree with Alex that the train is a'comming.  Especially when you stop equating "Facebook" with the bulk of the power of "Social."  I think Social is a whole lot more than Facebook.  I really believe Facebook is just today's shiny rock -- something bigger and better will come along in due time and replace it.  But "Social" in the larger context will continue (but probably labeled under a new buzz-word )

 

[joe.pistell]

IMO JQ, the future is right here: 

"Reviews need to ride along side the product offering (Like Yelp or TripAdvisor) for the synergy to work."

When we're on TripAdvisor or Yelp... ready to MAKE A DECISION, reviews are a search filter (i.e. hotel near MCO, with 4 stars or higher but <200$). Then,  when the list gets real short, reviews are the tie breaker.  

Our industry never got a "founding player" that could marry products with reviews. 'Trader and Cars have arrived late and have buried the reviews taking it away from the search criteria (i.e. SUV with Nav from dealer with 4stars or higher but under $20k).

 

[joe.pistell]

Speaking of TripAdvisor.com... when the founder of TripAdvisor sold out to Expedia (or similar), what industry did the co-founder Langley Steinert go to next?

CARS.

Did he build the TripAdvisor of the auto industry? No.  He built cargurus.com  NOTE: Langley Steinert came to DealerRefresh's forums back in 2010 http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f44/used-cars-cargurus-com-vauto-travel-industry-916-2.html#post7685 to address my post about his business.

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

I think you're missing the point Joe.  You seem to only be focusing on consumer reviews and that's just one small segment of what I'm talking about.  It is easy to focus on those though because they're black and white; they're readily visible.  I'm talking about a whole thing that is happening outside of your vision.  Neither you nor I can see it because it is happening behind a privacy net.  

All I'm saying is that you should be aware of it.  It isn't black and white; and it isn't apparent.  That thought should make you very uncomfortable by the way.  But if you're aware that it is happening (don't Gaddafi this one) then you'll concentrate your efforts on things that help to better your public relations perception (process, branding, reputation, etc.).