Since the publication of my article Are you ready for the no-nonsense economy? (which also appeared on Frankwatching and has now been read more than 13,000 times), I have received dozens of responses.
Some readers agree with me and believe that the current meaning economy is coming to an end. Others think, for various reasons, that I am wrong. (And one is entitled to that opinion; after all, my article is. Not a 100% certain prediction of the future, but an expectation .)
A third group of people saw the plausibility of my claims, but still wanted further explanation:
How had I come to my conclusions?
Why a non-economy and not something completely different?
And what exactly is the product economy, experience economy We offer you excellent databases that are both accurate and qualitative and allow you to easily reach your target audience. At the end shop of the day, we want to lead your business towards improvement where no error exists in your database. In addition, we refresh our database every week. Our databases are from woich list websites and have a high-resolution database or volume. and meaning economy that I was talking about?
Two of the questioners were third-year students of the Bachelor of Communication and Information Sciences at Radboud University Nijmegen. Fabiënne van Asselt and Lars van Maanen were doing research on recent developments in the field of content marketing . On the one hand, they asked me for more explanation about the nono-economy and on the other hand, they wanted to know from me how the nono-economy will influence the concept of content marketing.
I couldn’t refuse an interview
To clarify for everyone who read the article, I am publishing today the questions and answers from the interview.
What do you think are the most important developments and trends in content marketing at the moment? Can you also give examples of this?
Firstly, content marketing no longer remains purely within the company’s own website: companies are looking for leading external platforms (such as Frankwatching) in order to, on the one hand, display their expertise in the hope of winning new customers, and on the other hand, to engage in external link building .
Secondly, I see content marketing increasingly being used as an alternative to online advertising (such as Google Ads ): for certain industries, the costs per click are so high that online advertising is no longer profitable.
And thirdly, I notice that it really pays off to create high-quality content, and not just to quickly throw together an article. For example, I notice from the e-mail responses from readers of the Motionmill blog that they really look forward to our biweekly newsletter and that the blog articles that we distribute via the newsletters are read thoroughly. We would never have achieved that if we had invested little time and effort in our content marketing.
Photo source: NeONBRAND on Unsplash
What do these trends have in common and how do you notice differences between current trends in content marketing?
They (obviously) have in common that they all emphasise the power of content marketing.
The difference may lie in the intentions of the trends and developments:
The first trend arises from a need for companies to reach more people;
The second trend arises from an economic necessity;
And the third trend is the result of the need to truly engage and educate the reader, in order to position your company as the ultimate source of knowledge in your field.
You wrote an article for Frankwatching about your prediction of the no-nonsense economy. Can you explain what the no-nonsense economy essentially entails?
In its simplest terms, the no-nonsense economy is a next socio-economic development. It will follow on from the current meaning economy (see my article to read more about it), and will essentially be a modified version of it, stripped of all the fuss and nonsense that goes with it.
Why did you choose the term ‘no-nonsense economy’?
I chose this name because in the future, companies will have to communicate in a no-nonsense way to be credible and attractive to the consumer. All the things that we now see as special and trendsetting (such as organic gluten-free bread or an electric car) will be normal by then, and trying to present those products as if they were creations of God himself will be seen as ridiculous by the consumer.
In your article you write: ‘We are heading towards a socio-economic situation in which a large part of the population demands no-nonsense products that are sold in a no-nonsense way’. Why do you think that the population will have a greater need for ‘real’, ‘no-nonsense’ products?
Photo: Rafael Balrak
Do you have examples of companies that already design their marketing in a ‘no-nonsense’ way?
Yes, I do. In my article I mention the soft drink company Exota. They simply say: we are an unhealthy sugary drink, but we are very tasty and there is nothing wrong with drinking it every now and then. Our own company, Motionmill, also does its best to communicate in a no-nonsense way. Where other website builders and communication agencies sometimes wallow in their own meaningless jargon (‘we are user centric and data driven’), we simply say it like it is: ‘You are an entrepreneur and you want to sell more. We help you with that.’
To what extent is authenticity important for the marketing that will follow from the no-nonsense economy?
Very important of course. But where in my opinion the word ‘authentic’ is currently confused by many consumers with ‘remarkable’, the term authentic will simply mean ‘real’ again, i.e. a product stripped. Of all nonsense and lies. I think (and secretly hope) that the false layer of authenticity that hangs around many large international brands will be punctured. Starbucks, for example, has made the world believe that they are very authentic through clever branding and german phone number buy database marketing, even though that company has a hidden track record of ethical misconduct. And that is a shame, because other, lesser-known coffee shops that are really ethically responsible (and therefore authentic because they are honest) have to try to compete with large companies that have in fact built their reputation on a foundation of covered lies.
Why do you think consumers will accept this ‘again’?
On the one hand, as a reaction to the tired trend of health fanatics who believe that you should live like an ascetic monk who only eats quinoa and tofu, and on the other hand, because it is simply ao lists human to want to sin every now and then, and people will eventually realize that.
You also write that the nono-economy will contain elements of the product economy, the experience economy and the meaning economy. Can you explain this?
In the article I give a chicken as an example. In the product economy, which our grandparents knew, a chicken was just a chicken and that was it.
Photo source: David von Diemar on Unsplash
You mention a number of aspects of corporate communication that will have to change in the no-nonsense economy. For example, companies will have to communicate like a person, instead of a company. Why do you think that will become more important in the coming years?
This trend is already underway.
You can see it, for example, in the language used on company websites. In the past, a butcher’s website would have said: “Our family business has been offering the best meat. For all of Nijmegen since 1896.” Now, for example, it could say: “Do you value what you eat and are you therefore looking for the best meat in Nijmegen? You will find it with us.” Where in the past communication was often done in a distant manner, nowadays the consumer is addressed directly. In this way, companies want to make you feel that they are not above the consumer, but on an equal level.
Because the consumer gets the feeling that the company is not. And nothing feels more authentic than a bond of trust between two equals. Which fits in perfectly with the increasing importance of radiating authenticity during the nono-economy.
