Are You Really Ready to Advertise?

John Moore over at Brand Autopsy highlighted an article from Advertising Age, where they recommended Jet Blue focus on its current customers and improving their experience rather than releasing a new campaign to promote the company.  This concept of improving the customer experience before spending the advertising money highlights a change in the advertising industry.  It’s the change from the hard sell to viral marketing techniques that are so prevalent now (as I mentioned over at Ad Mouse)

It also changes the job market.  No longer are advertising and marketing companies just there to create a great campaign, they are expected to be Brand Managers. Their job is to manage the entire experience that a customer has with a product.

I feel this has changed because no matter how great your advertising campaign is, if your product is not up to the customers expectations it is money wasted.  A happy customer tells 1 person.  An unhappy customer will tell 10.  So to end up ahead, you need to have a LOT of happy customers.  Raising customer’s expectations when the product hasn’t changed is not a good idea.

So ask yourself, before you spring for that new ad campaign.  Are you really ready to advertise?