Uh, oh- Fellman is ranting irrationally again! Time to pile on him!
Well, it had to happen eventually…
It’s been pointed out that consumers on websites apparently are more interested in just looking at pictures to make their coral purchasing decisions than they are in reading descriptions about what they are purchasing. It’s kind of sad, actually…I think this got pounded home recently when we launched our very well-received UC mobile application. People loved the easy interface and “appreciated” the limited text…
Okay, good and bad. But being told that consumers don’t want to read descriptions of products made me kind of…I dunno…nostalgic? Or maybe just grumpy.
Yup. Grumpy.
Wow, the “twitterization” of e-commerce appears to be complete. Apparently, in a mere decade, our culture has evolved to the point where we are only capable of absorbing a maximum of 140 characters about anything. Somehow, the human race has gotten so busy that we are no longer able to carve out a niche of time, even for stuff that we love, like our hobbies, to be able to take the time to read descriptions of something that we buy.
We’re so busy, and time is so limited, that we can’t even listen to voice mail. Ever had this scenario?: You call someone on their cell phone number. You get their voicemail and leave a brief message about what it was you needed to convey to them. Seconds later, you receive a phone call from the person you just left a message for…And you ask them if they received your message…the answer is “No- I saw the number and redialed…”
Really? We can’t even listen to voicemail messages? Wow.
Somehow, we’ve all gotten ourselves into a big hurry and have apparently added so much to our daily lives that even basic, time-honored communications functions are just too time consuming.
Some things are pretty cool, I will give you that. In years past, we had catalogues. Now we have websites. We used to have Yellow Pages ads, and now we have QR codes. Social media has allowed anyone with a web-enabled device to let their opinion and presence be known to anyone who will listen. We can all pontificate about stuff like which colored M & M is better, or wether an “ULNS” approach is more logical than a “natural system”, or any number of a myriad of topics. It’s an age of empowerment. Consumers can let marketers know instantly if their product is a piece of garbage, or how it’s changed their life forever. Awesome.
But the sad thing is that, despite active hobby discussion boards worldwide, with threads about every arcane reef keeping topic imaginable, “new marketing” experts tell us that providing information about a product you offer on your website in any form other than brief bullet points constitutes “clutter”, and is viewed as “fluff.”
Woah, that sorta sucks. Or does it?
It's green..What more do you need to know?
I’ll give you that some product descriptions for stuff like corals can be, well, superfluous. I mean, if you see a green Millie in the picture, you don’t need us to tell you it’s a green Millie, or that it’s pretty cool. But you probably DO like to see the “bullet points” about its care. I mean, restating the obvious IS a waste of time. I get it. My problem- I like words. I like enthusiasm and emotion that can be generated by reading words. Somehow, bullet points or other dryly expository stuff doesn’t do it for me. Well, far be it from me to stand in the way of progress. If copy is superfluous, I’ll evolve with the times. I’ll whine a bit, though.
And again, I’ve read some of our descriptions on corals off the website. Some of them are awesome, if I say so myself, delivered in the best “J Crew Catalog” style. Others are just, well…dopey. We have phrases like “really stands out in a mixed collection” or “will be a focal point on your reef!” Arrgh.
Remind me of “Gets your teeth their whitest!” or “Saves you time and money!”
Ughhh.
Trust me. Really. I'm a coral vendor.
Okay, so I get it. For all but the most unusual stuff, we’re going to gradually stop romanticizing our corals. I mean, it is kind of hard to find new ways to describe the virtues of a Green Discosoma or a Toadstool Mushroom. I guess the problem for me is that I love the power of words, the interest or enthusiasm you can convey. If you called me up and asked me about how cool that $12.00 Mushroom is, I’d still probably give you a 3,000 word dissertation on why it would be perfect for your aquascape, and how amazing the texture is.
Far be it from me to resist change for the better!
So I guess the point is- if you want to hear just how nice that Anthellia frag you see on our website would fit into your reef, and how it’s one of the coolest corals around, just call me. Of course, if you miss me and I call you back and you don’t pick up, I won't leave a message, or should I?
Why even use voicemail?
I actually should rejoice, right? Because today’s consumer is better, smarter, more educated about what they purchase, having taken the time to research BEFORE they make a buying decision. Or so they say.
But I’ll give you that today’s empowered consumer is really smart. Absolutely. And that is a good thing!
I just have a problem with the fact that, according to “new marketing experts”, today’s consumers no longer like the romance of product descriptions. They see it as “fluff” or “smoke and mirrors”, being too sophisticated to be charmed by the virtues of say, a description of a 2” pulsing Xenia frag. They just like pics. And maybe, just maybe, a bullet point or two.
Ok, sure.
Why am I being grumpy about this? I dunno…I’m waxing philosophical about stuff like marketing and communications with customers, and I obviously want to create an environment that creates the best possible experience. And apparently, the best possible experience is created by providing as little to digest as possible. In the decades since I earned my marketing degree, it seems as though much of what I learned back in those days was proven to be not only wrong, but actually counter-productive in today’s society.
I get it…sort of. I mean, now days, it makes more sense to talk WITH consumers than AT them, as we were taught for generations in business school. A conversation is a two-way deal, not the marketer simply delivering a message…The forging of relationships is a more solid way to create lasting customers. I have no problem with that, and I think I personally have gotten quite good at it.
We ARE better off talking WITH each other.
Of course, I will take heat from readers now and then about me “getting up on my soapbox” and “preaching” about stuff in my blogs, and come across as arrogant, small-minded, or OMIGOD- occasionally biased about MY OWN company, talking about some of the good things we do. Yikes- mustn’t do THAT in MY OWN forum that I pay for, right?
Well, you can’t teach an old dog EVERY new trick, right?
New trick. Old dog?
So, seriously, we’re going to evolve with the times; give you the information you need to make an educated purchase decision-but not as much hyperbole. Gone will be many of the goofy descriptions we used to have. I'm resigned to accept this as progress. I'm just sore about it, LOL. I am resigned to accept, as one of my old school fellow Twitter/Instagram haters tells me, “Yeah, all the information today’s consumer really needs is a picture, anyways….”
Man, I just felt like vomiting while changing with the times. But hey, I’m over it now. I even understand how our Apex system works.
Craziness.
We’ll continue to have some quaint “J Crew”-like product descriptions where warranted for some of the cool WYSIWYG stuff, but you probably won’t see as much “fluff” for every two-polyp green zoa frag on our site. I mean, you probably know it’s green, has two polyps, and is a Zoanthid. A pic and some bullet points will suffice, right?
Oh man, I’ve just validated Instagram…”Tweet” that! #fellmansoldouttothefuture.
Is this the death of words in marketing? Or the beginning of empowerment?
I could philosophize on that, but it would take more than 140 characters. Just give me a call.
But don’t leave a voicemail, because I won’t listen to it before I redial.
That’s 1,438 words to tell you that we’re going to use less words in our coral descriptions. Super efficient.
Tweet THAT!
Until next time,
Embrace change, think objectively…
And stay wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
Well, it had to happen eventually…
It’s been pointed out that consumers on websites apparently are more interested in just looking at pictures to make their coral purchasing decisions than they are in reading descriptions about what they are purchasing. It’s kind of sad, actually…I think this got pounded home recently when we launched our very well-received UC mobile application. People loved the easy interface and “appreciated” the limited text…
Okay, good and bad. But being told that consumers don’t want to read descriptions of products made me kind of…I dunno…nostalgic? Or maybe just grumpy.
Yup. Grumpy.
Wow, the “twitterization” of e-commerce appears to be complete. Apparently, in a mere decade, our culture has evolved to the point where we are only capable of absorbing a maximum of 140 characters about anything. Somehow, the human race has gotten so busy that we are no longer able to carve out a niche of time, even for stuff that we love, like our hobbies, to be able to take the time to read descriptions of something that we buy.
We’re so busy, and time is so limited, that we can’t even listen to voice mail. Ever had this scenario?: You call someone on their cell phone number. You get their voicemail and leave a brief message about what it was you needed to convey to them. Seconds later, you receive a phone call from the person you just left a message for…And you ask them if they received your message…the answer is “No- I saw the number and redialed…”
Really? We can’t even listen to voicemail messages? Wow.
Somehow, we’ve all gotten ourselves into a big hurry and have apparently added so much to our daily lives that even basic, time-honored communications functions are just too time consuming.
Some things are pretty cool, I will give you that. In years past, we had catalogues. Now we have websites. We used to have Yellow Pages ads, and now we have QR codes. Social media has allowed anyone with a web-enabled device to let their opinion and presence be known to anyone who will listen. We can all pontificate about stuff like which colored M & M is better, or wether an “ULNS” approach is more logical than a “natural system”, or any number of a myriad of topics. It’s an age of empowerment. Consumers can let marketers know instantly if their product is a piece of garbage, or how it’s changed their life forever. Awesome.
But the sad thing is that, despite active hobby discussion boards worldwide, with threads about every arcane reef keeping topic imaginable, “new marketing” experts tell us that providing information about a product you offer on your website in any form other than brief bullet points constitutes “clutter”, and is viewed as “fluff.”
Woah, that sorta sucks. Or does it?
It's green..What more do you need to know?
I’ll give you that some product descriptions for stuff like corals can be, well, superfluous. I mean, if you see a green Millie in the picture, you don’t need us to tell you it’s a green Millie, or that it’s pretty cool. But you probably DO like to see the “bullet points” about its care. I mean, restating the obvious IS a waste of time. I get it. My problem- I like words. I like enthusiasm and emotion that can be generated by reading words. Somehow, bullet points or other dryly expository stuff doesn’t do it for me. Well, far be it from me to stand in the way of progress. If copy is superfluous, I’ll evolve with the times. I’ll whine a bit, though.
And again, I’ve read some of our descriptions on corals off the website. Some of them are awesome, if I say so myself, delivered in the best “J Crew Catalog” style. Others are just, well…dopey. We have phrases like “really stands out in a mixed collection” or “will be a focal point on your reef!” Arrgh.
Remind me of “Gets your teeth their whitest!” or “Saves you time and money!”
Ughhh.
Trust me. Really. I'm a coral vendor.
Okay, so I get it. For all but the most unusual stuff, we’re going to gradually stop romanticizing our corals. I mean, it is kind of hard to find new ways to describe the virtues of a Green Discosoma or a Toadstool Mushroom. I guess the problem for me is that I love the power of words, the interest or enthusiasm you can convey. If you called me up and asked me about how cool that $12.00 Mushroom is, I’d still probably give you a 3,000 word dissertation on why it would be perfect for your aquascape, and how amazing the texture is.
Far be it from me to resist change for the better!
So I guess the point is- if you want to hear just how nice that Anthellia frag you see on our website would fit into your reef, and how it’s one of the coolest corals around, just call me. Of course, if you miss me and I call you back and you don’t pick up, I won't leave a message, or should I?
Why even use voicemail?
I actually should rejoice, right? Because today’s consumer is better, smarter, more educated about what they purchase, having taken the time to research BEFORE they make a buying decision. Or so they say.
But I’ll give you that today’s empowered consumer is really smart. Absolutely. And that is a good thing!
I just have a problem with the fact that, according to “new marketing experts”, today’s consumers no longer like the romance of product descriptions. They see it as “fluff” or “smoke and mirrors”, being too sophisticated to be charmed by the virtues of say, a description of a 2” pulsing Xenia frag. They just like pics. And maybe, just maybe, a bullet point or two.
Ok, sure.
Why am I being grumpy about this? I dunno…I’m waxing philosophical about stuff like marketing and communications with customers, and I obviously want to create an environment that creates the best possible experience. And apparently, the best possible experience is created by providing as little to digest as possible. In the decades since I earned my marketing degree, it seems as though much of what I learned back in those days was proven to be not only wrong, but actually counter-productive in today’s society.
I get it…sort of. I mean, now days, it makes more sense to talk WITH consumers than AT them, as we were taught for generations in business school. A conversation is a two-way deal, not the marketer simply delivering a message…The forging of relationships is a more solid way to create lasting customers. I have no problem with that, and I think I personally have gotten quite good at it.
We ARE better off talking WITH each other.
Of course, I will take heat from readers now and then about me “getting up on my soapbox” and “preaching” about stuff in my blogs, and come across as arrogant, small-minded, or OMIGOD- occasionally biased about MY OWN company, talking about some of the good things we do. Yikes- mustn’t do THAT in MY OWN forum that I pay for, right?
Well, you can’t teach an old dog EVERY new trick, right?
New trick. Old dog?
So, seriously, we’re going to evolve with the times; give you the information you need to make an educated purchase decision-but not as much hyperbole. Gone will be many of the goofy descriptions we used to have. I'm resigned to accept this as progress. I'm just sore about it, LOL. I am resigned to accept, as one of my old school fellow Twitter/Instagram haters tells me, “Yeah, all the information today’s consumer really needs is a picture, anyways….”
Man, I just felt like vomiting while changing with the times. But hey, I’m over it now. I even understand how our Apex system works.
Craziness.
We’ll continue to have some quaint “J Crew”-like product descriptions where warranted for some of the cool WYSIWYG stuff, but you probably won’t see as much “fluff” for every two-polyp green zoa frag on our site. I mean, you probably know it’s green, has two polyps, and is a Zoanthid. A pic and some bullet points will suffice, right?
Oh man, I’ve just validated Instagram…”Tweet” that! #fellmansoldouttothefuture.
Is this the death of words in marketing? Or the beginning of empowerment?
I could philosophize on that, but it would take more than 140 characters. Just give me a call.
But don’t leave a voicemail, because I won’t listen to it before I redial.
That’s 1,438 words to tell you that we’re going to use less words in our coral descriptions. Super efficient.
Tweet THAT!
Until next time,
Embrace change, think objectively…
And stay wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
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the times they really are a 'changing - I'm with you - I'm not convinced it's for the better but it is what it is.
