Unblocked

Chapter 4. THE GENESIS OF THE UNBLOCKED CUSTOMER

The Consumer Technology Created

Today’s consumers have more power than ever, and they know it. They type, swipe, and click their way to nearly anything they desire.  They put a few words in a search bar to comparison shop across thousands of sources. They summon groceries and gas, dinner and dates—all with a few taps and the help of accurate geolocation services. They expect free shipping. They assume you can anticipate their needs. They expect you to know them, whether they are using their tablet, smartphone, or even a watch. They want to reach you whenever, however, be it via voice, web, chat, email, video, or social media. And if they’re under 40, you can bet they’ll abandon you the moment there’s friction.

Today’s consumers type, swipe, and click their way to nearly anything they desire.

How Did We Get Here?

The industrial revolution marked a shift to factories and mass production, and with this new industrial capacity came a surplus of goods. The answer to this surplus? Using advertising to create markets—which launched a new relationship between a business and its customer. Money flooded into the advertising industry, and spots in newspapers, magazines, direct mail, radio, and television sprang up like dandelions. This relationship was relatively “light touch”—hear about my product, buy it, use it, and buy it again—and these behaviors were encouraged by consistent advertising and the emerging practice of brand marketing. ...