Conquering Consumerspace
Marketing Strategies for a
Branded World
By Michael R. Solomon
Welcome to consumerspace,
where reality is branded, life and commerce are indistinguishable, and we are what we buy.
Once upon a time, marketers
barraged customers with hard-sell tactics. Today, consumers use products to define
themselves and others. People are swayed not by corporate-generated hype, but by
consumer-generated buzz. That means companies must shift their focus away from marketing
to people and toward marketing with them. In "consumerspace," firms partner with
customers to develop brand personalities and create interactive fantasies. The winners
understand that we buy products not just because of what they do, but because of what they
mean. Market share is out; share of mind is in.
Conquering Consumerspace
reveals the accelerating blurring of traditional boundaries between branded commodities
and everyday life. Solomon's timely book presents a new way of looking at customers:
recognizing them as partners in an ongoing marketing transaction rather than as passive
pawns at the receiving end of a sales pitch. Conquering Consumerspace also defines the
place of customer feedback in product conception, design, and production, and why
customizability is no longer a luxury option but a requirement.
From online "buzz
communities" to theme stores and product placement to guerrilla marketing, what we
consume is inextricably woven into our daily life experience, creating both challenges and
opportunities for companies to accelerate and deepen their customers' relationships with
their products, services, and brands.
About the Author
Michael R. Solomon (Auburn,
AL) is the author of Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being, the leading
undergraduate text on consumer behavior, now in its fifth edition. He is a director of
Mind/Share, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in online consumer research.
276 PAGES