Conversations happen with or without you

Humans are communicative, generous and lonely. That hasn't changed in 4,000,000 years, since our brains were wired.

Many people have conversations about your brand. You can be involved. Or stay on the sidelines.

Conversations are at the heart of marketing. How can you get to know your customers if you don't have conversations? This can be done in person, on social networks, through sophisticated email campaigns.

Imagine launching a new car. The old way of marketing to people would mean mass reach for 3 months and then hoping for the best. Creative wouldn't change because you made the decision to launch the car in a certain way more than 6 months ago.
Now, imagine launching a car, listening to the conversation for a few weeks and then completely adjusting your campaign, based on these conversations?

Customers will understand, appreciate your reaction and this could be the start of a beautiful relationship. What are you waiting for?

Indifference is deadly

There are some brands that I can't stand: Best Buy comes to mind, American Airlines, Citibank, just to name a few.

I've invested a lot energy into disliking these brands. I tell people about my experiences, share our frustrations and spread the word.

Most brands make the mistake just to embrace their most loving customers: They build loyalty programs, treat them with perks and make it easy for them to stay part of the 'family'.
In addition, brands try to convince the indifferent crowd to come over to the sunny side where all the happy brand lovers are. This is mostly a waste of time since most people don't waste a second thinking about brand unless they hate or love them. Getting indifferent people excited about your brand is a sisyphusian task.

Why not embrace the haters and harshest critics instead? They invested a lot of brain power and emotions into your brand.

Offer them opportunities to express themselves, listen to them, make them part of your marketing plan. What's the worst that can happen? You gather a lot of insights about your critics. You will understand that your indifference and putting up a big walls that people can't infiltrate caused these negative emotions.

And, if you do it right and take your time, some of the haters might come over to the sunny side.

Automotive Marketing is stuck

Most people leave the dealer lot with a smile on their face. Yes, the dealer experience is still lacking, the paperwork drags on and the final price is a bit higher than you hoped for.
But, in the end, most car buyers leave happy: They invested a lot of time and effort to find the right car - the perfect match for their wallet and lifestyle.

Most of automotive advertising used to focus on features: 210hp, 0-60 in 5.3 seconds, etc. Online Marketing has enhanced automotive marketing by offering immersive product experiences, such as the Interactive Showroom that my company, Genex, built.
These experience make it easier for consumer to get familiar with the car and all its features, saving a lot of time on the dealer lot.

But, we're stuck here.

Marketers have not yet found a way to tap into this pool of happy buyers. Yes, they will tell their family and some friends. But, there are no sites such as Chowhound or Tripadvisor to broadcast their opinion about their car, the shopping and dealership experience.

Volvo tried it with C30 site but it fell flat. Unless you're very bored or a constant complainer, there's no reason for you to contribute.

Marketers have to find a way to let happy owners talk about their experience. And broadcast these experiences to the Internet community. This is so much more impactful than any commercial, banner ad or billboard.