The economy is in a bad way, and consumers are probably not going to be buying much anytime soon. So, is it time for marketers to throw in the towel? Or, can the promotion of goods and services continue in a time when everyone (including you) is scaling way back and choosing to consume more wisely?


Just last week at a building industry conference, I met a man who was perhaps the perfect person to enlighten me on this topic: Nate Garvis, Senior Public Affairs Officer for Target Corp. He is an insightful (and slightly contrarian) retail industry executive with an intriguing redefinition of the term "conspicuous consumption." To Nate, that term doesn't mean buying big and glitzy cars, houses, clothes or lawnmowers just to make sure others can see, but buying in a more measured, deliberate manner.
As he outlined it, consumers are exerting quality control in what they purchase by becoming connoisseurs (more knowledgeable about products and willing to buy less if that's all they can afford), by curating (editing out the goods and services that no longer apply to their lives) and by communicating (telling others - and the brands, as well - about their positive and negative experiences).
With abundant choice in goods but less abundant funds to acquire them, people have been forced to make smarter purchasing decisions. And, they are! Consumers are choosing to build smaller and more efficient homes, they are paying more attention to cause marketing (as per a new report by Cone Inc.), and they are buying fewer things - thereby expecting higher quality in what they do finally decide to purchase.
This should be scary only to those brands that have not already been doing their jobs (making and selling things that are relevant to the human beings in their market). Unfortunately, a lot of companies have gotten carried away with what has always worked for them - delivering incrementally different "new" products or leveraging trends that actually have no true value for their particular customers. These slow-to-get-it brands are now being forced to listen to consumers who have been emboldened by their lack of excess cash to make greater demands - to really, truly exert quality control in what they will buy.
Which leads to the final element of this new type of consuming: community. While the old definition of "conspicuous consuming" was all about separating yourself from those around you through what you own and positioning yourself as one up, the new definition actually glues consumers together by helping them rally around common ground and launching further connection from there. People more naturally get together when they are seeking better, not just grander, choices in products and services.
So, if we are all becoming more conspicuous in our consuming, a marketer's only choice is to take heed. The same old approaches or over-the-top aspirational marketing ploys will not only fail, they will knock brand value down a few extra notches for good measure. Rather than showcasing the size of his/her wallet and the status it can buy, today's conspicuous consumer reflects a measured wisdom and awareness of how almost all purchases impact the broader community good. Given that mindset, will your brand be one they choose?