Is stationery really moving?

In this new and ever changing world of social media, communities and Web 2.0, it’s interesting to look at how the stationery industry is responding. There are few companies that have really made a move to capitalise on the opportunities that are available to them.

In fact, marketers in general do not seem to be grasping the need to update their skills – the risk being that in my view within five years or so, many of these marketers may be unemployable.

Why is the area of social media so important? Just look at the standard customer complaints procedure. Once a letter to the CEO was about as bad as it got…and in the most public of cases a mention on ‘Watchdog’ would prevail. Now, many will bypass the company as the first port of call, and blog about the experience – accessible to many millions and reinforced by supporting links from other outraged bloggers who want justice for the consumer.  Despite refering some cases to the company concerned, unsatisfactory outcomes further anger customers, resulting in posts such as Delta Skelter from Joseph Jaffe of Jaffe Juice fame.

If marketers aren’t engaged in the reputation of their business, their roles will be short-lived.

A recent round of interviews I conducted for senior marketers showed a pitiful array of responses to the question ‘In what ways are you and your business engaging with new media?’. These people weren’t from the stationery industry but FMCG and PC gaming to name but two areas. One respondent even replied that they were thinking of doing some roadshows!

Is it really short-sighted to not get engaged? How long can marketers continue in the oblivion of broadcast media and direct mail?