Darwin Was Right

The Scopes trial was three-quarters of a century ago. Charles Darwin published “The Origin of Species” 66 years before that.

Here we are, supposedly evolved from pre-Darwinian thinking, and two groups still reject the concept of survival of the fittest: die-hard religionists and die-hard marketers.

Arrogance has to enter into the mix. Arrogance is always present when refusing to admit obsolescence.

If you’re not locked in the 20th century, brain wide shut, you’re aware of the savage shift affecting how we sell. Yes, the Internet is responsible. No, blaming the Internet and doing nothing about it can be a direct and increasingly lonely road to a receiver’s auction.

As I see it (and I quickly admit that I’m X-raying a marketing embryo whose monster capabilities already are clearly visible), survival of the fittest means the survivors have to discard prior notions of what the two words “customer loyalty” mean. We’re in a meaner, tougher selling environment…and we’re proving Darwin right: Only the fit survive.

Techniques for vending merchandise and services are evolving quickly. What will remain, in a very few years, are three major levels of response and one minor one:

1. Price. This is far and away the major factor, and the Internet Generation may well recognize no other.

2. Status. Status can overcome price, but the major “status” retailers are becoming so terrified they’re either defaulting into the first level or misreading what today’s customers regard as status.

3. Convenience. This is what will keep some stores open and enable some entrepreneurs who deal either locally or quickly with a cadre of customers/clients to be competitive enough to stay in business.

The minor level of response: privacy. I call this “minor” because privacy not only is a disappearing luxury, a huge chunk of buyers no longer regard it as a factor. Stemming from no-holds-barred investigative reports, we have the “f” word in common usage; we have people casually releasing their true names and addresses to porn sites; we have local cable shows whose content is a view of the naked rumps of willing-to-drop-pants passersby (some of whom are stunningly unattractive); we have publicity-seekers who gleefully air their personal problems and stupidities for one of those obnoxious on-the-air judges or a Neanderthal-directed talk show. Privacy ain’t dead, but it’s gasping for air.

The Web is price-driven. That’s as it should be, because the Web has butchered, drawn and quartered, and thrown into the sea our conventional interpretation of customer loyalty.

We look for the lowest price for vitamins, for computers and software, for anything regarded as “standard.” It’s a comparison shoppers’ wonderland. Intensifying the syndrome is the realization that implementing “permission marketing” (Seth Godin’s astute and accurate term) means sweepstakes, premiums and freebies to gather names for subsequent e-mail solicitations.

No one is immune. I’ve dealt with the same car dealer for 18 years. He couldn’t – or, being a staunch traditionalist, wouldn’t – meet the online price. This led to a fascinating development: Another dealer, to whomI disclosed the online price, underbid the quote. That’s where I bought the car.

I’m sure people still visit retail vitamin/supplement stores, because they’re still open. But no one I know buys from them unless it’s a day in which their coupons make them competitive with online sources. And if an electronics store wants to sell a computer, it means entering an Arabian bazaar with deals and prices sometimes so arcane they’re impenetrable. (Example: those endless $400 discounts for agreeing to a three-year arrangement with the resuscitated Compuserve.)

Status seems to be misunderstood even by those who have been its cornerstones. I’m a longtime “InCircle” Neiman Marcus customer. In days of yore, InCircle members had perks. A toll-free call on a specific day brought magazines, perfumes and tickets for various events. The copy of InCircle Quarterly I’m looking at as I write this confers as much status as the telephone directory. I can vacation at Telluride for $200 a night. I can mail a form to be eligible for a drawing for a mother-of-pearl and sterling bracelet. For $2,225 per person (double) I can go to Santa Fe from Aug. 10 to Aug. 13, including a performance of “Rigoletto” and a commercial showing of Ford Ruthling’s folk art. The only toll-free call is for information telling me where I can see a Bentley Arnage.

See what I mean? These guys don’t know that Priceline and eBay and Carshoppers.com are bleeding the significance out of their hauteur.

Status? Loyalty? What about this program either recognizes or promotes status or loyalty?

A company specializing in what it calls “e-commerce solutions” sent me a mailing promoting a seminar titled “Developing Digital Customer Loyalty.” Good idea, if it works. But the subjects announced in the brochure are “Digital Selling Techniques” and descriptions larded with familiar pitches: “Be proactive”…”One-to-one experience” …”How technology can be utilized to respond to your most critical customers and to achieve true long-term relationship value.”

The same day I was looking over that seminar brochure, my local newspaper had a big headline on page 1 of the business section: “Dot-com deals.” Hey, that’s what it’s all about, baby.

The article underscored what every Webhead has known for two years: Auto Internet companies are “battling to be the first to `revolutionize the auto industry.'” The CEO of Auto-by-Tel is quoted: “Every day there’s a new company.”

And that’s the future. How does a new company – or, for that matter, an existing company – attract customers? If you or I were to approach one of these competitors with the suggestion that they can achieve dominance, or even parity, by stressing loyalty, we’d get a fast “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” ejection. Speed and price, ja. Loyalty, nein.

The parallel CEO of AutoNation (a conglomerate of dealerships) offered this rejoinder: “They have zero dealerships.” Analyze the circumstance and the bricks-and-mortar response and you can see the direction. That delineates both the circumstance and the future: We use the Net to set the pricing parameters. The conventional marketers can fill the orders if they conform and adapt.

Brave new world? Sure, if you drop the word “Brave.”