Resonance Marketing in the Age of the Truly Informed Consumer: Creating Profits Through Differentiation and Delight

Abstract

Resonance marketing has transformed what we buy and the delight we take in our purchases. Resonance marketing has also transformed what companies sell and increased the margins they earn on their sales. Resonance marketing is the move away from the original goal of the industrial revolution , which was mass production of uniform, interchangeable products, to achieve the highest volume at the lowest cost. This resulted in a small number of high-volume market fat spots , with identical beers and identical white breads and a small number of candies and blue jeans competing for consumer attention through advertising . When nearly identical products compete, in the presence of complete information, competition drives margins down. Consumers wanted more choice, while companies wanted higher margins. Online community content —reviews from experts and from other shoppers—provides far better information than traditional advertising. With perfect information , consumers can accurately evaluate everything in the market and buy whatever delights them the most. When consumers can find and buy exactly what they want, then corporations change their strategy and start producing to occupy a wide range of high-margin, niche-focused market sweet spots , selling unique offerings where margins are not depressed by head-to-head competition with nearly identical offerings.