Perspectives on Time and Patience

One of the great things about the internet is that it has accelerated demand fulfillment. As Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures recently lamented . . .

‘...(The Internet) created this notion that anyone can have whatever they want at any given time. It's as if the stores on Madison Avenue were open 24 hours a day. They feel entitled. They say, 'Give it to me now''. (Click to read the entire article)

Hallelujah! Why not get the things we want the instant we want them?

But demand fulfillment shouldn’t be confused with demand creation. Demand creation takes time.

Consumers still need to go through the cognitive stages of demand creation (AIDA for example). And marketers need to look at their demand creation activities through a longer term aperture. Too often online marketers today expect the same instantaneous response from their consumers . . . “I want you to buy and I want you to buy now!" This is an unrealistic expectation, because econsumers don’t think that way. Consumers need confidence that they will have their desires fulfilled when they spend their hard-earned income. That confidence is not always easy to come by.

AIDA stands for A – attention; I - interest; D – desire; A – action

As consumers spend more time online, marketers have greater opportunities to use the medium for demand creation. Most marketers have not made that leap. Time and time again we see clients rushing to judgment on their online programs. Each program is evaluated in isolation. Each is evaluated against a raw acquisition target (Cost per, ROAS, etc). They forget that they need to establish an on-going dialog with prospects. Marketers will be better off if they consider marketing programs as they function relative to the on-going dialog framework.

The on-going dialog framework is not new. But executing it effectively through online media is. Implementing the framework at a personalized level requires the right strategy, an effective technology platform, and the right lens. To learn more about applying the framework to your online marketing programs, please complete our Contact Us form.