Ever wonder what your customers and prospects are thinking about right now?  A perhaps painful reminder from the great Tom Fishburne…

Full post at “inside the mind of the consumer” and well worth the read…along with another version of this magnificent marketing cartoon.

Sadly, our prospects and even customers are most definitely NOT thinking about our product or service all the time.  As Tom comments…

‘It’s common for marketers to exaggerate the importance of their brands in consumers’ lives. Brand positioning statements are often written as if consumers constantly think and obsess about the brand. Social media from brands can make it sound like every consumer is a cult follower.

In reality, even “brand loyalists” have complex lives completely separate from our brands. Brands can play important roles, but we should be careful not to overstate how much consumers give thought to our brands.’

Now, Tom is talking mainly about mainstream marketing and the land of big brands. But direct response marketers need to understand this as well.

Firstly, customers (and prospects) will buy or take action when it suits them…not us (frustrating though that may be).  That’s why it’s essential that when they decide to take action…

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