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Slow Marketing can be defined as a movement which has emerged during the second decade of the 2000s. It can be referred as the expansion of the Slow Movement into the arena of marketing and advertising.
This vision is mostly based on the functioning of nowadays companies, which has to keep up with the ever-continuing changes of our societies. Trends, social behaviors, areas of interest and habits are factors on what companies build their business plans and strategies. Thus, Slow Marketing aims to handle in a structured and proper way these extern factors, seeking a better understanding and managing of the economy.
Definition of the concept
The purpose of Slow Marketing
Viewing all of the constant changes, companies and organizations see themselves pressured and threatened. As the economy goes by so fast, they seek to handle a maximum of information, data, work and clients in a very shortened amount of time.
The Slow Marketing movement is about taking the time to handle things in a good, structured, thought-through and well balanced manner. It refuses to rush into new challenges and new clients, which could lead to a neglected work.
On the other hand, Slow Marketing encourages to focus on actual challenges, resources and clients so that the work provided for those components is completely focused-on and deepened. In this case, the ambitions are expanded and the work is improved.
Instead of always rushing into the market, with no clue of where we are going or what and who we are dealing with, the idea of a slow marketing encourages to sharpen our actual work and add to is some sense and complexity.
Nowadays, whilst facing changing societies, companies are always eager to broadcast their influence and activities. They seem to never find "enough" costumers, challenges, case of work... This is what Tea Silvestre identifies as the "Theory of an abundant universe" that suggests that there is never "enough".
According to Tad Hargrave, we should runs our activities by focusing on our actual amount of clients, so we can gather our forces and focus in a great manner on the services we are providing.
James Kirkham co-founder of Holler and global head of social and mobile at Leo Burnett Worldwide, says the shift to slow marketing is about trying to embrace the 'tortoise and hare analogy' in an era where marketers have abused the 'always-on' opportunity.
Economic actors tend to rush into theories and help of experts, whilst they could take their time, think on their own, and find responses to their request with a personal, interactive and efficient touch.
Canadian journalist, Carl Honore, describes the movement as being “about quality over quantity in everything from work to food to parenting.” The notion that quality of personal interaction should trump quantity prompted what may be the first articulations of a theory of slow marketing.
Evelyn Rodriguez, a marketer and blogger, may have been the first to coin the term online. In a blog entry titled Slow Food, Slow Sex, Slow Travel...Slow Marketing she wrote that “slow marketing is a focus on human, one-on-one connections.” Likewise, “a Slow Brand,” writes Shannon Clark on his blog, Slow Brand “is one that stands for something, for a consistent promise, for messaging that takes time and has respect for the audience.” Slow marketing may therefore be understood as a movement toward engaged consumption, where the consumer is not alienated from the process, but rather makes decisions about buying conscientiously, based on human connections.
The foundations of Slow Marketing
The foundations of Slow Marketing are equivalent to the foundations of Marketing itself.
Experimentation, relationships, planning and contemplation are key figures.
Focusing on our current customers and consumers is a compulsory first approach. Companies have to barre their mind with the fact that the client is a central component. They have to get to know his or her needs, desires, expectations and realities, so they can sharpen their work and adjust their knowledge.
Tad Hargrave compares marketing to baseball "We can't skip bases in building our relationships with people ; Some things cannot be rushed" .
Therefore, one of the foundations of Slow Marketing is to keep in mind one of the very first principles of Marketing itself : putting the client in a central position. By doing that, within the necessary amount of time, workers can succeed in an efficient and great manner on their duties and goals, specially regarding existing clients.
Following the same author, the concept is also based on time, and patience. We have to wait for more efficient results. We shouldn't pressure ourselves for fast and deliberate feedbacks. For example, if we take time to explain to a customer why he or she should buy a product, and leave them time to think about it with all the possible arguments running through their heads, those arguments are likely to be complete ; but only if we have taken time to find them.
Also, it allows to listen to the client, so associates can adjust their products to the clients needs, and therefore increase the number of buyers.
The chances that a client buys, in this previous case, are higher than in a "pushy" manner.
To sum it up, it is mandatory to take our time to improve our work. Moreover, the combination of both of those foundations of marketing, (taking time to know the client, and to sharpen the work) are essential to a good functioning of a business.
Again, the idea of taking our time is relevant for many authors. For Pete Balckshaw, speed is a good thing, and change is also an important factor in our forever-growing economy. But going fast might include some collateral damage. We might face consequences of our speed that we did not see coming ; or for which we we're not prepared.
The fact that we move and work fast makes us going ahead of our customers ; and by that, we could neglect their needs, expectations and desires... We habe to be more sensitive about those components of our customer's profile. As a French saying states "Le client est roi" (in english : The customer is as king), we should aim to respond to each one of his needs ; and this is accurate in every single work sector.
Following the previous author, the customer is compared to a teacher, as he enrolls the same responsibilities : he teaches, and expects results from his or her student.
Therefore, slowing things down prevents from those unexpected and undesired facts. All the basics of Marketing are re-embraced in this case : putting consumers first, listening, providing good and accurate services, relationship building ... Ignoring those factors lead to a superficial atmosphere that ruins the work and its longevity.
Time is also a huge matter concerning an ever lasting change, or so thinks Nicola Temp. "Slowing down becomes a necessity"
"Of course, marketing alone cannot be blamed for businesses' continued obsession with short-term gains ; the market's ongoing reliance on quarterly reporting is another relevant factor. However, the scope and ambitions of Unilever's Sustainable Living plan underlines the fact that smart businesses are increasingly embracing a purpose beyond profit - and doing so demands long-terms commitment. Slowing down does not mean doing less for the consumer "
Again, the idea is to get a well-done, improved, thought through and well balanced work for an efficient, satisfying and convenient feedback.
Marketing director of Redbull, Huib Van Bockel, compares the nowadays marketing to the Tinder application for Smartphones. Indeed, as Marketing is going so fast, we miss its essential principles and pillars. Tinder is known as an application that takes out the "humanity" of the relationship, it has changed those latest into an electronica-platform-based interaction, where people draw their attention and judgements to new elements, such as photos, number of friends in common... etc.
This is completely comparable to Marketing, our more specifically to fast-marketing, as it has changed the way people tend nowadays to manage marketing. They seem to forget about the very essential principles and pillars of this stream of management, and it has definitely changed from the traditional basis.
To sum it up, Slow Marketing is all about never loosing in sight the foundations of the traditional streams of Marketing.
According to Omaid Hiwaizi , president of global marketing at mobile augmented-reality and image-recognition platform Blippar, Slow Marketing embraces a real strategy that aims to make no mistake regarding the satisfaction of the client. The shift to slow marketing should be about going toward pull strategies rather then endlessly trying "to disrupt the consumer's day by serving up content they don't need at inconvenient times".
Jo Arden supports the idea that the Foundations of Marketing are still vital : the business woman thinks that we have to take time to know our audiences, understand what motivates their acts and behavior.
Moreover, Slow Marketing is about recognizing that meaningful change and impact that a thought through business model and brand idea will have, as a constant for the life of a business ; or so thinks Jason Hartley, chief strategy officer at brand consultancy The Partners. "Companies are realising that they can't communicate one way and behave another"
Simon Labbet , founder and creative director at ad agency Hometown London, explains that multi-tasking is "so 2006" ; our current time requires from us to take our time to get our job done, in a complete and positive way. The addition of technology to our world, combined with the non-stoping globalization are responsible for new trends, behaviors, areas of interest, that affect businesses and therefore, their marketing.
Consumers may or may not engage with the content, and that is where slow marketing becomes compulsory.
The founder of the application Snapchat says that we have to adapt to the consumer's need and conditions. He chooses to give in a recent article a very accurate example : "Yes, consumers could rotate their phone so that the video they are viewing fills the screen, but most people don't bother, they simply don't invest the time or attention."
What do we benefit from Slow Marketing ?
Slow Marketing is an essential factor that enables nowadays organization to keep up with the intense changes our societies go through.
Indeed, focusing on the main foundations of the traditional Marketing allows financial, structural and competitive advantages.
According to Pete Blackshaw, many errors and misunderstandings could provoke cynicism, out coming from workers or customers. Workers in a rush are not working in a comfortable atmosphere, they struggle a lot. If their work is not successful, this will reduce their productivity and increase their cynicism.
On the other hand, customers who scarified time, attention and money regarding a certain product, could feel a lot of remorse and cynicism if this product those not suit well either their needs or expectations. Thus, we can talk about collateral damage.
On the other hand, following Tea Silverstre "It is what keeps us focused on getting new customers, rather than getting to know our existing ones".
Too much rushing has a lot of bad consequences : some buyers may have remorses and cancel their participation in the programs ; or ask for a refund.
Therefore, things are too rushed because they're not thought through enough.
The writter Tad Hargrave testifies that he used to work in sales and called people to try to pressure them into buying things. He had to go fast, but it wasn't accurate , not successful. And by slowing things down, his work started to barre fruits.
Economical actors that apply Slow marketing have to get their clients comfortable and familiar with their ideas, rather than making them swing and rush between many ideas.
Moreover, Slow Marketing sounds as a way to take time, to "find our voice", personals our work ; leave a personal print on each one of our work projects, so we can expand them in a good manner.
References
- "Embrace Your Personal Marketing Path | (Because Panic isn't a Business Strategy)". slowmarketing.org. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- "marketingforhippies.com | helping conscious, green and local businesses to grow". marketingforhippies.com. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- . 29/07/2015 .
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help); Check date values in:|date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - Carl Honore's Website (accessed 5/3/09)
- Evelyn's Rodriguez's Blog, Crossroads Dispatches (September 28, 2006)
- Slow Brand dot com, "About" Page (accessed 5/3/09)
- "marketingforhippies.com | helping conscious, green and local businesses to grow". marketingforhippies.com. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- "Ad Age Homepage - Advertising Age". adage.com. https://plus.google.com/101792368055128831913/. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - Temp, Nicola (2015-07-27). "Why brands should embrace "slow marketing"". Marketing.
- Van Bockel, Huib (2015-07-27). "Mr". Marketing.
- http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/articile/1353572/why-brands-embrace-slow-marketing.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - http://marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1353572/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1353572/why-brands-embrace-slow-marketing.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - "Ad Age Homepage - Advertising Age". adage.com. https://plus.google.com/101792368055128831913/. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - Tea, Silvestre (27/07/2015). "Ms". Slow Marketing. The Yogipreneur.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Hargrave, Tad (25/07/2015). .
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