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The Conversation Manager
Book

The Conversation Manager

The Power of the Modern Consumer, the End of the Traditional Advertiser

Steven Van Belleghem
Kogan Page, 2012
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Editorial Rating

7

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  • Applicable

Recommendation

The Internet, social networks and mobile technology have changed consumer behavior forever. People’s behavior has evolved, but many advertisers’ behavior has not. This failure, warns marketing professor and consultant Steven Van Belleghem, may render marketing activities obsolete. The traditional advertiser must evolve into a “Conversation Manager” who listens and responds to consumers. Although the content is not revolutionary, getAbstract recommends this clear, considered approach as a useful addition to any marketer’s library.

Summary

Word of Mouth

People trust each other more than they trust corporate-crafted messages. The Internet has elevated word-of-mouth influence to global levels. Peer-to-peer communication between consumers will increase. As online and offline data become interwoven, how advertisers communicate with consumers must evolve.

The “Four Dimensions”

Today’s consumers exhibit the following four dimensions:

  1. “The consumer is a postmodern nomad” – Consumers don’t behave differently online and offline, but marketers mistakenly address their behaviors differently. The Internet has broken down physical borders. Consumers search the physical and digital worlds. For instance, many restaurants now cater to patrons from far outside their regions. This increased access has weakened brand loyalty, but it has given consumers wider selections.
  2. “The consumer uses...impact” – Buyer power continues to grow, since “everyone is a medium, everyone is connected and everyone’s need for self-expression is increasing.” Messages, good and bad, stay alive online forever. For example, when thousands of YouTube viewers watched...

About the Author

Steven Van Belleghem, author of The Conversation Company, is a partner at InSites Consulting and a professor of marketing at the international Vlerick Business School.

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