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11.16.09 Study Shows Customers Want To Build Relationships With People Not Brands  By Frank ReedLast week, I wrote about a study that was conducted by interactive agency Razorfish that came to the conclusion that maybe people are not so interested in being personally involved with a brand. Maybe, just maybe, people have a little more depth and actually have relationships with people. As a result, it appears that many people are using social media (as it relates to marketers and business, not just the shallow re-hashings of the most mundane details of mostly mundane lives) to do something that is almost as old as the oldest profession: get a deal. How about that! People want to pay less for things. As far as revelations go, this one should not be that amazing. Not amazing, at least, to the regular Joes of the world (of which I am a proud member). It does seem to come as a bit of a shock to some in the social media realm, though. Why? Why would otherwise intelligent people find this simple idea repulsive? Well, I would posit that it is too simple. You see, there is so much theory and lofty philosophizing about social media's execution and impact, that when you get to the core idea of giving people a deal it sounds so...pedestrian. How dare people pare down the wonder and mystery of social media and online interaction to the idea that people want a deal. It can't be, can it? Yup, it can and it is. Case in point: I am the biggest Diet Coke drinker in the world. I would hate to know the level of aspartame-inflicted damage I have caused to my body. I suspect that I lose more synapse connections a day due to my DC addiction than Carter has pills (nice old school mention there, huh?). Back to my point. I am a Coca Cola bigot. I hate Pepsi and all that they stand for, which in reality, is nothing of real importance but that helps make my point. I am a loyal Coke brand evangelist.
I am a fan of the Coca Cola Facebook page. So I am one of the brand zealots that Coke wants because I will now go out and recruit other little Coke converts who will then buy more Coke products because they couldn't live without it, right? Nope. Not even close. In fact, I don't want to engage with people over a soft drink. It's a stupid idea to me personally. I have too many other important things to do. What do I want? I want a coupon and a way to feed my addiction for cheap. I want a deal. So, I agree. We all want a deal. The economy is in a shambles and everyone is trying to survive. Social media is the online version of the Sunday paper's circulars. Coupons and deals, deals and coupons. When you are done with what you want, you throw the rest away because it's noise. Products and services don't give me my social media buzz. People do. As I sift through the social media maze, I simply take what I need and discard the rest. If there is any emotion, it is not around a product. It's around something else. For you, there may be a "something else" as well. I don't know because that's your deal. I hope, though, that you find what you need in the social Web and maybe even save a few bucks in the process. Comments
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