Thesauraus.com lists the definition of a consumer as:
A person who buys merchandise, services.
There's a whole slew of names for said merchandise buyers, such as: buyer, customer, enjoyer, purchaser, shopper and of course:
USER
The fact that we address people who use the products and services we're marketing in the same vain that we address drug addicts is telling. It tells us that something is wrong with this picture.
Fact is: we're not really talking to people. We're inventing people - or at least: we're trying to.
While trying to convince people that certain thoughts, feelings, emotions, notions, behaviors, flavors, colors and stuff matters, we're actually trying to invent the kinds of people that will be interested in a product or service.
Get the message out there.
If they perceive it - its real to them.
If its real to them. Its a part of our collective reality.
Although it is certainly powerful to understand that perception is reality, let's not forget that reality itself has limited shelf space, so it is perhaps more compelling to recognize that today's reality spawns tomorrows
In my next post, I plan on writing about why we see people as users in the first place and how that impacts the relationship between an agency and their clients.
