People Not Consumers

Note: Image from Flickr

Sometimes we use words so much that they end up feeling meaningless and repetitive.  That's how I feel about the word 'consumer'. I'm tired of referring to people as consumers. For awhile I wasn't sure why, other than the fact that it just seemed impersonal and generic.  So, after some thought on why I feel this way, I've come to this conclusion:

People are more than consumers, and we need to start viewing people in a more all-encompassing manner.

When we look at people as consumers, we only see them as a selling challenge or opportunity. This is a very narrow and bottom-line way of approaching people. Rather, we should be looking at people as people taking note of their intricate and dynamic lives and how they interact within their environment, or with other people in their community, society etc.

I feel taking this perspective is more pertinent than ever before, because, like Umair Haque has noted on several occasions, people are looking for brands that have a point to what they do. People want to see brands contribute something of value that benefits them, society, the environment, and even the future.  People expect the brands they buy to deliver beyond the product and service, contributing to their lives in a meaningful and relevant way.

An example where we can see this, is by looking at daytime TV-- odd I know -- but recently, ABC cancelled All My Children and One Life To Live, leaving them with just one soap opera. In fact, you are hard pressed to find any network to have more than one soap opera. ABC is replacing these programs with shows devoted to cooking, nutrition and health. This change in demand indicates that people want to spend their time where they can receive tangible value, which they can apply to their daily lives. I feel this is the same for brands (companies, products and services).

Brands need to stop thinking in terms of selling challenges (purposeless) and start defining the role it can play in people's lives (establishing and delivering on a purpose).

I like how Nick Kepple-Palmer, from Wolff Olins, writes about how the new way of business is more about collaboration and less about competition. This is about defining the brand's role in people's lives, finding others who share a similar purpose, and extending what the brand delivers to satisfy its role in a relevant way.

In order to do this, we need to look at people more holistically, rather than as selling challenges -- consumers. By looking at people as people, we can consider all aspects of their lives. This allows a brand to see where its purpose fits and what role it can fulfil in a person's life as an individual, community or on a global level.

By looking at people as people, it opens up greater areas of opportunity for the brand to earn its value, innovate, grow and remain relevant into the future.