Communicational Marketing

"Marketing means communication. Ignoring the laws of communication means that one runs the hazard of not reaching the addressee, even if one may understand him from an analytical point of view." The nature of communication includes content and relational aspects.

The "healthier" the communications process, the more it functions at a level of content. In conflict-rich or suggestive communication patterns, the relational level moves decisively to the forefront." "The content levels of advertising messages are usually quite clear. But what about the relational level? How is the message received by the consumer? Only the latter counts. When the intelligence and maturity of the customer is questioned by the advertising message, then it is highly likely that little sympathy will be built up for the promoted product.

"The results gained by psychology from experience, which was gained primarily with ill (pathological) test persons, has been the basis for most marketing strategies down to today. The often rather meager successes of even exceedingly lavish, million-dollar advertising campaigns, lets one suspect that the purely psychological approach is an error, since numerous and decisive factors are simply ignored."

"Communications marketing means that people (employees, customers, business friends) must be understood as mature beings, whose behaviour is decisively determined by corresponding world views. One should simply forget the widely practiced approach, of trying to manipulate people through their psyche." "Learn from your customers. To learn from one's customers means that one must communicate with them in a pro-active way. Use every opportunity to obtain an opinion. Do not ask your product managers or your engineers. Ask the consumer."

"The best way of reaching into the heads of consumers does not lie in selling opinions and world views. Instead one should provide stimulants that lead to an independent manifestation of and change in the corresponding organisational system. Buying behaviour or opinions on products should be formed by the recipient of the message himself. That is how views, which are based on individual thinking processes, are converted into truth."

This book uses many practical examples from advertising and interpersonal communication, to put such lavishly designed advertising campaigns as for instance "Vertrauen ist der Anfang von allem" (Trust is the start of everything) by Deutsche Bank into question. This at the start so well-structured advertising slogan loses its intended effect, which is the result of a fatal "be spontaneous" paradox. Trust represents a feeling, an approach or a relationship, which does not come about by being demanded. This example is typical of and descriptive for the main message of the book, which clearly and bluntly questions the approach of advertising that is based on psychological assumptions.

Target Groups

The potential target group of the book includes entrepreneurs, managers, salesmen, sales executives, advertisers, advertising agencies, PR experts and advertising strategists.

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