Dear reader,

who does not know the phrase: the customer is king. A bold and delightful idea that never had the potential to become a reality. Nobody wants to serve the king, instead everyone wants to be the king. This may be one out of numerous reasons why this marketing sentence was never more than lip service.

In the meantime, (marketing-wise) the king has become a hero. The customer is no longer the passive regent to whom the gifts are offered, but is given the opportunity to be a hero himself with the support and experience of a mentor (supplier) to receive individual support, “a hero allowed to do some good things”.

The concept of a hero has an excellent chance to survive in the long term. It highlights the fact that it is up to the customer whether he makes something out of the “offer” (product or service) for himself or not. He is not the passive recipient, but rather the active co-designer. This concept, which is becoming increasingly common in advertising, becomes apparent using the example of construction markets. The DIY store-concept create heroes who do their own thing by turning complex projects into reality.

From psychological point of view a brilliant move to make the customer a hero, because it is an appeal to him to dream and make his wishes come true. He has the choice: become a hero or remain a squire.

Lothar Grünewald – INAC Germany