Out with the Old; In with the New.

Lisa Bradner, senior analyst at Forrester Research kicked off day two of Forrester's Consumer Forum with a thought-provoking session on the future of consumer marketing. Entitled Consumer 2018 - Separating Fact from Fad, Lisa's presentation discussed what B2C companies need to know about consumers to drive their business in the next ten years.

So what *do* you as marketers need to know? Well, duh, the 4Ps, right? Not quite so fast. Brader suggests that we need to think beyond the traditional marketing mix with which we're all familiar - product, pricing, promotion and placement. Instead, marketers need to consider and integrate into their planning a whole new set of consumer-driven Ps - permission, proximity, perception and participation.

Here is Bradner's take on the 4Ps:

Permission - consumers derive comfort (getting back to James McQuivey's four universal needs) by managing with whom they engage. Bradner suggests that by adhering to consumers' permission preferences, you help them stay safe. And they, in turn, reward you with more information.

Proximity - This doesn't refer to physical closeness necessarily. Bradner says "consumers use proximity to tap into networks and affiliations based on comfort and association. " The majority of us (approx. 87%, according to Forrester) only "friend" people we know well in a social network. And only 8% of us "friend" companies or brands. What does this tell us? Consumers get the information they need in the way that feels most comfortable to them (e.g., online reviews, peer recommendations). Help, don't hinder.

Perception - "Consumers inhabit multiple personas to feel a sense of uniqueness and control", according to Bradner. She recommends engaging with the persona they put forward, which might be different from the one stored in a database.

Participation - We all have a strong need to feel connected...to somebody or something. Give consumers the right type of community and they will participate...even with a brand. In fact, according to Forrester Research, 51% of online adults are willing or extremely willing to participate in an online community organized by a company. Think MyStarbucksIdea.

So does this mean the 4Ps as we know them go away? I don't think so, entirely. But I do think marketers need to shift their thinking about consumers in this age of social media. Forrester's new 4Ps remind us that consumers are in the drivers' seat and it's our job as marketers to make it more convenient for them to get what they want, when and how they want it.