We’re Not All Wearing the Headphones
By Brian K. Hutton
My twin sons and I enjoyed playing board games together when they were younger. It was usually in the evening before bedtime or during inclement weather when we couldn’t go outside to play. I also loved sharing music with them. This was long before YouTube and Spotify, even before the iPod.
During this Dark Age, my friends and I would create mixtapes on audio cassettes and mail them to each other (seems so archaic now!). People say that it was a simpler time back then, but in this case, it was far more complicated. In a future blog, I may delve into some of the ways that technology has changed (and NOT changed) marketing strategy, but for the purpose of today’s study it’s only important to know that I loved listening to mix tapes on my Walkman, and my sons shared that passion.
One evening, after hanging some custom drapes, we relaxed by playing a rousing game of Sorry, or gin rummy, or lightning chess, or something when my son Zach turns to me and begins shouting at the top of his lungs, “DAD! DO YOU WANT TO GO GET SOME ICE CREAM OR SOMETHING AFTER WE’RE DONE?”
My first reaction was to quickly cover my ears to protect my hearing. I then turned to him, gestured to my ears and said, “Son, we’re not all wearing the headphones.” He realized how loud he was talking, turned down the music, we laughed for a bit, and then we were able to communicate effectively with each other.
This phenomenon happens frequently in marketing. Often, because the noise around us is extremely loud, we assume that our customers are wearing the headphones too.
We see our website daily, we look at our competitors’ advertising continually. We are inundated with emails from salespeople telling us what everyone else is doing differently in the market. We live and breathe our products and services, so we often assume that our customers are being bombarded with competing messages as well.
So, we shout at them. We want to hit them with a constant barrage of messages in order to break through our clutter without considering what their clutter is. We max out our social media posts and e-blast them to oblivion. Unfortunately, instead of listening, they are busy covering their ears. So, your instinct is to send more messages, bigger messages to break through the clutter. This cycle can alienate customers and will most certainly reduce the impact of your marketing efforts.
How do you remove the headphones?
It starts with the audience. Ask them how often they want to hear from you. Ask how often they hear from your competitors. Don’t be afraid to turn down the volume a bit and focus on simple core features and benefits instead of the new and the whiz-bang. Those core benefits may be old hat and unimpressive to you because you hear it all the time, but that whisper may be exactly what a new customer needs to hear.
So, before you start shouting at your customers, remember that they aren’t all wearing the headphones.
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Brian Hutton has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, new product development, management, and strategic planning. Formerly a lieutenant in the Adjutant General Corps of the United States Army, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree from The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and a Master’s Degree in Advertising from Northwestern University in Chicago. Adept at conducting market analysis to reveal customer trends and needs and translating those into marketable products and actionable business plans, Brian is also an expert at helping companies and organizations with management and process development. He holds a United States patent and has written a chapter in Maximizing Marketing Communication Strategies: Leading Marketing Executives on Establishing a Unified Strategy, Connecting with the Audience, and Evaluating Message Effectiveness.
