Observations on marketing on the other side of the pond

We’ve just returned from a highly enjoyable trip to Texas, chiefly taking in Houston and Dallas.

We saw a tiny fraction of an immense country, but being a marketing person, one thing that consistently struck me was the focus on consumerism. Literally, every few yards there would be another ‘strip-mall’, what we’d call a shopping parade, but twice the size; while every mile or so there would be a large mall, easily of the scale and scope of Reading’s Oracle or even bigger.

With so many retail outlets, the degree of specialisation was notable: one chain sold mattresses, rather than whole bed sets; a small local music shop stocked only violins; while my husband was delighted to find, with no problem whatsoever, a shop that could sell him running shoes tailored to his gait.

And everything – but everything – can be advertised, on roadside billboards or on TV: churches, dentists, doctors, hospitals, legal services. There seem to be no restrictions.

Economic commentators such as Irwin M. Stelzer say that the US upturn will ride on the backs of consumers. Certainly, over the Thanksgiving week, we saw many doing their bit for America.

But here’s the thing...

Here in the UK, it’s a no-no to major on price – it cuts margins and your competitors can easily undercut you, even if only just long enough to see you out of business.

Stateside, prices are always included: either explicitly – “Help us celebrate 91 years in business with our 91 cents burger”, or indirectly – “Winning your [legal] case needn’t cost you your home.”

Why is this? Is it because Americans take factors such as service and quality for granted? We certainly became quickly accustomed to assistants telling us to have ‘a wonderful, wonderful day’ as if they meant it.

Or is it because with a highly mobile, dynamic population and no time to build customer loyalty, suppliers must focus on the lowest common denominator of price?

Or is it simply an effect of the recession? As the downturn affected the US first – had its roots there, in fact – will we see this price-focused trend in marketing hitting Britain in 2010?

Who can predict? One thing is sure; to misquote Wilde: “The English and the Americans have everything in common but their marketing.”