A New Way of Thinking: People Versus Consumers

As marketers we think our job is to sell to a specific demographic. The What do we sell, Who do we sell to, and How do we sell them. Jim Stengel, P&G global CMO and past chair of ANA, suggests that marketers need to stop thinking of their customers as segments and start thinking of them as people. To do this, we need to engage with people by talking to them, listening to their needs, then acting on their needs. But act in a way that allows our customers to have control over the interaction, the engagement. We need to be more empathetic, more in touch. And as a number of speakers at our annual Masters of Marketing conference  said, being in touch means giving up control. Engagement is the act of listening, sharing, creating a dialogue. It is not a one way conversation which we control.

People versus consumers. What an insightful change in the way we act, think, manage, market. The benefits will be enormous. People are personalities with wants and needs, desires and hopes, dreams and visions. You interact and engage people; customers are profit targets for which we have to affect a behavioral change. For some this may be a subtle change, but it is one I think has the potential to substantially impact how we can engage people and how they will engage with our products and brands.