Crafting customer insight: What we can
learn from the revival of the vinyl record
Sebastian Schauman
*
, Kristina Heinonen, Maria Holmlund
Centre for Relationship Marketing & Service Management (CERS), Hanken School of
Economics, P.O. Box 479, Arkadiankatu 22, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
KEYWORDS
Customer insight;
Marketing myopia;
Utility mindset;
Reflective thinking;
Craft mindset;
Vinyl record trend
Abstract
The recent resurgence of the vinyl record and the proliferation of so-
called craft and artisanal products offer unique opportunities to observe ongoing
shifts in the contemporary consumer’s values and attitudes. In this article, we
explore such thought-provoking market developments and their implications by
contrasting them with the conventional understanding of markets and consumers.
This understanding can lead to marketing myopia as it works from the utility-
oriented assumption that what ultimately matters for both the company and the
customer is cost efficiency and convenience. Against this backdrop, in this article,
we discuss how market developments representing the contemporary consumer’s
mindset prove valuable in creating customer insight that highlights aspects often
obscured by an exaggerated focus on cost efficiency and convenience. We provide
an alternative approach to evaluating markets and consumers that encourages com-
panies to build their customer-centric market strategies around questions of
context, authenticity, story, and resonance. This will help them narrow the gap be-
tween their market offerings and the actual wants and needs of their customer, and
consequently allow them to revitalize their market.
ª 2020 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. Published by Elsevier Inc. This
is an open access article under the CC BY license (
http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/
).
1. “The times they are a-changin’”
While conventional wisdom would have you
believe that the contemporary consumer un-
equivocally yearns for convenient, fast, and cost-
efficient solutions, several emerging market de-
velopments challenge this wisdom. As digitaliza-
tion and its rationalizing effects ramp up the speed
at which we communicate with each other,
consume new products, and listen to music, many
consider this rapid pace problematic and advocate
for a slower and more deliberate approach to life.
From a growing appreciation of everything hand-
made and local to calls for a new, slow-fashion
ethos to guide consumers’ fashion consumption
* Corresponding author
E-mail
addresses:
sebastian.schauman@hanken.fi
(S.
Schauman),
kristina.heinonen@hanken.fi
(K.
Heinonen),
maria.holmlund-rytkonen@hanken.fi
(M. Holmlund)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2020.12.003
0007-6813/
ª 2020 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC
BY license (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
).
Business Horizons (2021) 64, 261e271
Available online at
www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect
w w w. j o u r n a l s . e l s e v i e r. c o m / b u s i n e s s - h o r i z o n s
habits, signs of brewing seismic activity can be
discerned in the periphery of consumer culture.
Ever since Theodore Levitt’s seminal Harvard
Business Review article was published in 1960,
scholars agree that a gap exists between how
managers view their customers’ wants and needs
and the actual wants and needs of the customer.
Levitt (1960)
identified managers’ preoccupation
with efficiency and low-cost production as the
cause of this shortsightedness. He called it “the
legacy of mass production”, or “[the] parochial
view that profit resides essentially in low-cost
production” (
Levitt, 1960
, p. 51). Much has, of
course, changed since Levitt first put forward his
customer-oriented marketing philosophy, but the
myopia he so convincingly exposed has shown it-
self to be of a resilient type and is consequently
alive and well in boardrooms around the world.
The myopic understanding of markets and con-
sumers that managers suffer from, according to
Levitt (1960)
, is labeled here as the utility mind-
set, as it places a one-sided emphasis on conve-
nience and cost efficiency. By focusing on how this
mindset affects managers’ understanding of their
customers and how this, in many cases, leads to
one-dimensional product and service develop-
ment, we argue that there are several emerging
market developments that challenge this paradig-
matic understanding of the contemporary con-
sumer as unequivocally yearning for convenient,
fast, and cost-efficient solutions.
What is the reason for the shift? A growing
concern for the environment is often identified as
the cause of many of these recent changes in
consumers’
attitudes
and
values,
but
other
revealing reasons tend to be overlooked. By taking
the recent revival of the vinyl record as an illus-
trative example, we clarify how an exaggerated
focus on convenience and cost efficiency tends to
undermine consumers’ ability to relate and their
readiness to commit to the company’s market of-
fering,
compelling
consumers
to
seek
more
engaging alternatives beyond the mainstream.
By
explicating
vinyl’s
regained
popularity
against the backdrop of Max
Weber’s (1905
,
1921)
theory of rationality and Georg
Ritzer’s (2004)
related notion of McDonaldization, we describe
an emerging attitude among consumers, which we
label the craft mindset. Both
Weber (1905
,
1921)
and
Ritzer (2004
,
2017)
were concerned with the
proliferation
of
instrumental
rationality
in
contemporary society and how its preoccupation
with control, efficiency, predictability, and calcu-
lability increasingly restricts the behavioral pat-
terns and social interactions of everyday life. We
identify this form of rationality as underlying the
utility mindset that often guides product and ser-
vice development.
Thus, in this article, we aim to reveal how
product and service developmentdpredominantly
informed by the utility mindsetdcauses tensions
to develop as consumers are unable to relate to
these market offerings in a fulfilling and mean-
ingful way. Accordingly, we make a case for com-
panies to adopt a more reflective stance so they
better align with their customers’ sensibilities and
aspirations and, consequently, gain customer
insight revealed by an understanding of the
emerging craft mindset. This reflective thinking, a
customer-oriented
outlook
that
emphasizes
authenticity, story, resonance, and context, is
highlighted as the framework within which com-
panies’ market strategies should be developed. We
conclude by discussing how the gap between
managers’ understanding of their market and their
customers’ wants and needs can be narrowed with
the help of reflective thinking and how this, in
turn, offers opportunities for revitalizing markets
currently perceived by consumers as impersonal
and distant.
2. “Paint it black”: How big is vinyl
today?
Music lovers and the music industry alike first
noticed the resurgence of vinyl around 2006. Since
then, vinyl sales have increased in the U.S. by
around 30% year-over-year (
RIAA, 2019
), making it
by far the fastest-growing physical format for
music reproduction. Similar trends have been
observed around the world (
IFPI, 2019
).
The numbers offered by the Recording Industry
Association of America (
RIAA, 2019
), the Interna-
tional Federation of the Phonographic Industry
(
IFPI, 2019
), and other compilers of music sales are
generally thought to be grave underestimations of
actual sales, as a large chunk of the vinyl market is
upheld by brick and mortar stores that do not
necessarily pass on their sales data to relevant
organizations
(
Rosenblatt,
2018
).
Moreover,
second-hand vinyl constitutes a substantial part of
the overall supply, but used-record sales are of
little interest to the music industry as it does not
generate any revenue for artists or record labels,
so they omit these numbers from their calculations
(
Rosenblatt, 2018
). This unsurprising revenue bias,
which guides the music industry’s attempts to es-
timate the size of the vinyl market, has led some
to speculate that the actual size of the market
may very well be twice the size suggested by in-
dustry
figures
(
Rosenblatt,
2018
).
In
2020,
262
S. Schauman et al.
revenues from vinyl sales will likely surpass reve-
nues from compact disc (CD) sales (
RIAA, 2019
).
Remarkably, much of the recent growth in sales
is predicated on the willingness of millennials and
younger generations to consume music on vinyl. A
recent study by YouGov in the U.S. shows that as
many as 28% of millennials and 26% of Gen Z are
willing to pay for music on vinyl records; it also
shows that one in four consumers age 18 to 24
bought a vinyl record in the last month (
Ballard,
2019
). The burgeoning popularity of vinyl among
younger generations has encouraged the opening
of new vinyl pressing plants, and it has caught the
attention
of
major
recording
artists
(e.g.,
Beyonce
´, Arctic Monkeys) who view this newfound
consumption habit among their most enthusiastic
fans as an opportunity for generating new revenue
streams.
All of this amounts to a thought-provoking
market development that has implications for
how companies should think about their value
propositions and the needs they are assumed to
serve. Next, we give a short overview of the evo-
lution of the music industry and how the devel-
opment
of
the
technical
means
for
music
reproduction has influenced consumers’ listening
habits. In so doing, we show that this evolution
follows a trajectory guided by an understanding of
consumers’ yearning for unlimited alternatives for
the least possible effort or cost. While this is
certainly the case to a large extent, the revived
popularity of vinyl records should nonetheless be
understood as a reaction to unanticipated conse-
quences of this utility mindset and the impact it
has had on valued aspects of music consumption.
2.1. How our headphones reached into the
clouds
The first step toward a market for mass consump-
tion of music was taken with the introduction of
the phonograph in the late 19
th
century. Since
then, the music industry has undergone many
major transformations driven by technological in-
novations. Each transformation “has involved a
rearranging of the sociotechnical infrastructure of
music, affording new modes of production and
consumption [...]” (
Fuentes, Hagberg, & Kjellberg,
2019
, p. 484). These innovations have had ramifi-
cations on two dimensions with a direct effect on
people’s listening habits: (1) the availability of
music (i.e., how much of it is available to the
consumer), and (2) the portability of music (i.e.,
where and when it is available to the consumer).
The phonograph moved music consumption from
the public sphere (i.e., live musical performances,
etc.) to the home of the consumer, but it was the
vinyl recorddwhich followed its technically less
sophisticated predecessor, the shellac discdthat
had a huge impact on the music industry and laid
the groundwork for its present state. Vinyl is du-
rable and cheap to manufacture, making it a highly
accessible and user-friendly consumer commodity.
This broadened the availability of music, making
listening to records possible for a larger number of
consumers. It also helped facilitate the commodi-
fication and distribution of music on a greater
scale.
Although the popularization of transistor radios
during the 1950s allowed people to enjoy music
beyond the confines of their homes, it was the
cassette tapedreleased in the early 1960sdthat
led to the development of portable music players
such as the Sony Walkman, which truly revolu-
tionized people’s listening habits (
Dholakia, Reyes,
& Bonoff, 2015
). Thus, the cassette and the
Walkman had a major impact on the second
dimension of music consumption (i.e., portability,
by making it possible to listen to music practically
anywhere).
The digitalization of music began with the
introduction of the CD in the early 1980s. It
became the main medium for music reproduction
in the early 1990s and reigned supreme until the
early 2000s. However, the CD in and of itself did
not
radically
revolutionize
people’s
listening
habits. Rather, it was received as an updated and
improved
version
of
previous
technologies,
combining the sound quality of vinyl with the
portability of the cassette (
Dholakia et al., 2015
).
The first manifestation of the transformative
power of digitalization on music consumption
came in the form of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-
sharing internet servicesdmost notably Napster,
released in 1999. Napster made it possible for its
users to share their music for free, albeit illegally,
in the form of mp3 files stored on hard discs. The
next major transformation came with the intro-
duction of audio streaming platforms such as
Spotify, which was released in 2006. Spotify gives
users who pay a monthly fee access to a vast
amount of music without the need to store any-
thing on their smartphones or computers. This
allows users to listen to virtually any music
practically anywhere.
The digitalization of music consumption could
be said to have taken the transformation started
by the phonograph in the late 19th century to its
logical
conclusion.
On
both
dimensionsdthe
availability as well as the portability of musicdan
endpoint seems to have been reached. It is hard to
imagine how music could be made any more
What we can learn from the revival of the vinyl record
263
available and portable than it already is, thanks to
services like Spotify and devices like smartphones.
3. Feeling the rhythm: Using consumers’
reactions as road signs
The comeback of the vinyl record needs to be
understood within the wider context of the trans-
formation of the sociotechnical infrastructure of
music and the subsequent rearranging of music
consumption patterns and consumers’ listening
habits (
Fuentes et al., 2019
). This transformation
has had a clear trajectory toward the increasing
availability and portability of music, which sug-
gests an underlying logic guiding this trans-
formation.
On
a
more
general
level,
this
paradigmatic understanding of markets and the
needs and wants of the contemporary consumer
can be discerned in tendencies toward cost-
efficient solutions aimed at making commodities
increasingly available by streamlining the acquisi-
tion process and lowering the price. The focus of
this mindset is, in other words, predominantly on
utility. For example, the fashion industry has made
clothing more available than ever before by
implementing processes similar to the fast-food
industry to decrease costs and increase availabil-
ity. The furniture industry also seems to have
adopted the same prefix to cater to the contem-
porary consumer’s seemingly vacillating desires.
The travel industry has made traveling so conve-
nient and cost efficient that mass tourism is
increasingly seen as an existential threat to many
UNESCO world heritage sites.
While this utility mindset and the form of fast
consumption it helps bring about has been mainly
criticized with ecological concerns in mind (e.g.,
Evans, 2011
), the regained popularity of vinyl
points to an alternative view to this mindset and
its consequences. This view has been most
famously advocated by George
Ritzer (2004
,
2017)
,
who built on Max Weber’s (1905, 1921) theory of
the rationalization of modern society and culture.
Ritzer (2004
,
2017)
explored the effects of instru-
mental rationality on patterns of action and
thought in various social contexts, focusing espe-
cially on the context of consumption. Whereas
Weber (1905
,
1921)
viewed the modern bureau-
cracy as emblematic of the rationalization pro-
cess,
Ritzer (2004
,
2017)
argued instead that
McDonald’s restaurants serve as the most illumi-
nating example of the proliferation of instru-
mental
rationality
to
increasingly
mundane
aspects of contemporary society. As such, con-
sumption patterns are increasingly structured by
four rationalizing dimensions: control, efficiency,
predictability, and calculability (
Ritzer, 2004
). The
logic underlying this process and, by implication,
the utility mindset, gives priority to calculability to
achieve predictability, which increases control
and, by extension, efficiency.
Ritzer (2004)
called
this process “McDonaldization” and argued that it
leads to exaggerated standardization and pre-
dictability. However, it is important to point out
that even though this process may subject society
to the assembly-line feel of fast-food restaurants,
it also leads to a high degree of dependability and
efficiency, which many consumers appreciate.
Against this backdrop, it is possible to view the
resurgence of vinyl as a reaction to the rational-
izing effects of the digitalization of music con-
sumption. It may also be viewed as a means of
identifying flashpoints in which tensions generated
by these processes are counteracted with the help
of practices afforded by vinyl. Moreover, with the
help of the theoretical framework articulated
above, other seemingly irrational consumer trends
will be considered as manifestations of consumers’
efforts to counteract some impersonal and disen-
gaging aspects of contemporary consumer culture,
which is predicated on the utility mindset guiding
much
of
contemporary
product
and
service
development. These efforts will be framed as
emblematic of an alternative mindset (i.e., the
craft mindset) that shifts the emphasis from con-
trol, efficiency, predictability, and calculability,
toward
agency,
commitment,
creativity, and
quality (
Fig. 1
).
3.1. Tension #1: Control vs. agency
The tendency inherent in efforts aimed at opti-
mizing processes to achieve a more cost-efficient
outcome is partly predicated on the elimination
ofdor at least diminishingdthe role played by
humans in the process. This tendency is about
control and concerns the replacement of human
with nonhuman technology (
Ritzer, 2004
). Hence,
human agency is incorporated into technology to
an increasing degree. In the context of consumer
goods, such measures are often justified by an
allusion to increased usability and functionality
(
Ritzer, 2004
).
This aspect of the rationalization process is best
exemplified by the automation evident in a wide
array of current technological and societal de-
velopments; its proliferation is accelerated by
digitalization (
Ritzer & Miles, 2019
). Interesting
consumer trends suggest that the impact of digi-
talization and automation are being felt in sur-
prising ways by many consumers and not in an
entirely
positive
sense.
In
addition
to
the
264
S. Schauman et al.
comeback of vinyl records, other seemingly obso-
lete consumer goods are returning to the fore-
ground
of
consumer
culture.
The
growing
popularity of film among photographersdand not
only among professional photographers but hob-
byists toodwas confirmed last year by Kodak’s
decision to bring back the Ektachrome 100 film
(
Garage Staff, 2019
), which was discontinued in
2009 due to declining sales. The popularity of old,
secondhand bicycles that often require restoration
before use is another telling example, as is the
growing popularity of knitting and other traditional
crafts. Just as in the case of vinyl, consumers who
prefer these alternatives appreciate the hands-on
active participation they require.
3.1.1. Enable your customer to participate
We are moving from a culture of passive enter-
tainment toward a more hands-on culture in which
consumers increasingly look for stimulating chal-
lenges and project-oriented activities. This cul-
tural shift has only been fueled by the internet,
especially by Web 2.0 and the possibilities for user-
generated content it has opened (
Gauntlett,
2011
). Etsy is a great example of a company that
has been able to harness this creative power and
thirst for a challenge among its customers, turning
it into profit. Companies such as Spotify that
provide audio streaming platforms may facilitate
more engaging consumption by supporting project-
oriented activities such as playlist creation among
their customers (
Tronvoll, 2019
).
3.1.2. Enable your customer to detach
The most prolific consequence of digitalization on
everyday life can be noticed in how devices like
smartphones have occupied almost every aspect of
our daily activities. Smartphones have essentially
been designed to give us constant and limitless
access to commodities like news, communication,
and music. The negative and disruptive impact
that these devices have on several valued aspects
of our lives are becoming increasingly clear and
more critically addressed (
Newport, 2019
). Sur-
prising market trends, like the resurgence of vinyl,
need to be understood as consumers’ attempts to
take back control of their lives that they feel are
increasingly
structured
and
coordinated
by
technology.
3.2. Tension #2: Efficiency vs. commitment
Another prevalent tendency of the rationalization
process is the continuous optimization of means to
increase efficiency. Efficiency as an element of the
process
of
rationalization
may
lead
to
an
Figure 1.
Tensions between the dimensions of the utility and craft mindsets and their practical implications
What we can learn from the revival of the vinyl record
265
exaggerated focus on optimization that often has
dehumanizing effects, such as turning customers
into employees (e.g., McDonald’s) or generally
substituting valued aspects of some service or
operation with more cost-effective solutions.
As with control, efficiency has also made in-
roads
to
increasingly
mundane
aspects
of
contemporary society. Such developments are
rarely met with criticism because they are viewed
as liberating, allowing people to choose how to
spend their time. In the context of music con-
sumption, vinyl clearly requires more money,
time, and effort than digital alternatives. Yet, the
higher degree of effort required constitutes a
positive aspect as it increases consumers’ sense of
commitment. As such, this suggests that the pre-
vailing thinkingdthe assumption that a reduction
of means (i.e., requirements of human effort and
commitment in the pursuit of some end, such as a
meal or music) equals progressdhas a very
particular and one-sided emphasis that fails to
bring to our attention the engaging and value-
enhancing aspects inherent to the investment of
time and effort to achieve something valued.
3.2.1. Enable your customer to make an effort
What market trends such as the revival of vinyl,
home baking and cooking, bicycle and furniture
restoration, and the Ektachrome 100 film suggest is
that ostensibly tedious and time-consuming prac-
ticesdlike building for a vinyl record collection or
developing photographsdserve as anchor points
that enhance consumers’ sense of involvement and
facilitate long-term commitment (e.g.,
Norton,
Mochon, & Ariely, 2012
). This is predicated on
the fact that potential for achievement is inherent
in instrumental practices. If practices serving as
means are incorporated into technology and thus
separated from their ends, then the sense of
achievement is diluted or perhaps eliminated.
Therefore, to keep your customers engaged, you
may have to allow them to make an effort.
3.2.2. Enable your customer to self-improve
At a time when many jobs have been deskilled
(
Campbell, 2005
), people increasingly seek op-
portunities
for
self-improvement
and
self-
fulfillment in the sphere of leisure. This develop-
ment can be noticed in emerging consumer trends
such as film photography and do-it-yourself (DIY)
projects. Companies should look for opportunities
to develop their products and services in a direc-
tion that facilitates forms of consumption that
allow customers to improve as practitioners. Such
consumption has, in turn, a tendency to facilitate
long-term commitment as the consumer commits
to his or her projects and wishes to improve
further, which requires the acquisition of further
products and services. The craft beer trend serves
as another example of a consumption culture that
evolved as a reaction to what was perceived as
culturally empty and disengaging mass consump-
tion. Crucial to the success of the craft beer trend
is that it encourages the type of consumption that
aims to develop consumer capabilities and knowl-
edge regarding the culture in which the con-
sumption is embedded.
3.3. Tension #3: Predictability vs. creativity
A third tendency of the rationalization process is
to render things increasingly predictable. Predict-
ability leads to an exaggerated standardization
and homogenization of products and services. As
such, it enables more efficient production and
distribution while simultaneously running the risk
of impoverishing the cultural depth and sig-
nificancedand, by extension the personalizing
potentialdof that which is produced (
Ritzer,
2004
).
This tendency of the rationalization process is
also spreading to increasingly mundane corners of
everyday life, as exemplified by a fast-food
restaurant where customers’ consumption pat-
terns are made increasingly predictable by making
sure the experience they are being offered is
virtually identical every time, no matter where or
when it takes place (
Ritzer, 2017
). However, con-
sumers who turn to vinyl find the element of sur-
prise inherent to looking for recordsdas well as
the exclusivity inherent to owning a record-
dengaging and meaningful as it counteracts the
monotonous and predictable click-and-play feel
characteristic
of
consuming
music
through
streaming platforms.
3.3.1. Diversify and personalize
As the artisanal and craft trends suggest, con-
sumers are easily disenchanted by overly predict-
able and standardized experiences and instead
increasingly value personal and authentic experi-
ences afforded by small-scale, labor-intensive,
and high-quality production. The success of Etsy
suggests many consumers are willing to pay a
premium price for something unique and well-
made. The surprising success of niche products
that cater to specialized and personal needs and
desires should be understood as enabled by the
virtually unlimited shelf space provided by the
internet (
Andersson, 2006
). Moreover, as the
temptations offered by automated solutions make
many companies go for increased efficiency at the
266
S. Schauman et al.
expense of personal customer service, opportu-
nities for standing out and capitalizing on person-
alization increase. TD Bank’s Unexpectedly Human
campaign is a good example of a successful market
strategy that emphasizes human interactions in its
competitive positioning.
3.3.2. Facilitate co-creation
As we have already pointed out, the contemporary
consumer is looking for opportunities to partici-
pate, make an effort, and improve. From the
companies’ point of view, this is fertile ground for
engaging in co-creation activities that can unleash
the creative potential of their customers. A lead-
ing example of clever use of co-creation interac-
tion with the customer base is offered by
Unilever’s Open Innovation platform. Through this
platform, Unilever offers challenges to the public
that encourage individuals to develop creative
solutions and submit them through the platform to
the company for evaluation and, incidentally,
implementation. The challenges on offer include a
range of topics, such as intelligent product pack-
aging and oil oxidation technology as well as
freezing and cooling systems (
Fournier, 2019
). The
platform has shown itself to be highly productive
and full of useful ideas, which is proven by the fact
that more than 60% of Unilever’s research projects
involve external collaboration (
Fournier, 2019
).
3.4. Tension #4: Calculability vs. quality
The fourth tendency of the rationalization process
is the emphasis on quantity over quality (i.e., to
prioritize calculability). As an element of the
process of rationalization, calculability leads to a
myopic understanding of progress and success as
the idea of quality is reduced to quantity and
availability.
The tendency to emphasize quantity over
quality is a typical characteristic of contemporary
consumer culture where, for example, the tenets
of fast fashion are making the cycles of the fashion
world ever shorter (e.g.,
Todeschini, Cortimiglia,
Callegaro-de-Menezes,
&
Ghezzi,
2017
)
and
cheap furniture has turned refurnishing into a
hobby. A consequence of this tendency is not only
an increase in the commodities available to the
consumer but also an increasingly transient envi-
ronment where things seem to appear from no-
where
and
without
context.
The
regained
popularity of vinyl should be understood as partly
predicated on the contextual aspects associated
with vinyl consumptiondmainly the buying of re-
cords from brick-and-mortar storesdas well as the
so-called biography of used records (i.e., where
and when they were produced, which edition, and
so forth). The so-called Slow Movement, which
originally emerged as a reaction to fast-food res-
taurants, is another example of consumers’ desire
for context and transparency.
3.4.1. Contextualize your product
The growing popularity of production with an
emphasis on tradition and heritage points to the
importance of context and story in the offering of
products and services that consumers find attrac-
tive. The recent increase in artisan alternatives for
everyday commodities such as beer, tea, coffee,
chocolate, and even salt, implies that knowledge
of the context and process of the production of
commodities can help consumers establish a more
personal relationship with the commodities they
consume. This, in turn, facilitates long-term
commitment. As niche markets have become
more profitable thanks to the internet, companies
engaged in small-scale production may find that
strategies focused on communicating the origin of
and the story behind their products contribute to
the perceived quality of the market offering. It
also helps their customers feel an affinity toward
their business.
3.4.2. Be transparent
The contemporary consumer’s often critical and
creative approach to consumption makes trans-
parency increasingly important. The popularity of
artisanal food, for example, is largely predicated
on the willingness of artisanal businesses to
disclose everything from their work philosophy to
the actual process of production. This curiosity
among consumers stems from environmental con-
cerns as well as a need to understand the origins of
these commodities to better relate to them. A
great example of the benefits of a transparent-
market approach is Patagonia, which provides
transparency throughout its supply chain and en-
courages customers to point out CSR deficiencies
via its Footprint Chronicles platform. Not only does
this allow Patagonia to ensure accountability, but
it also facilitates customer loyalty. Such a trans-
parent approach to markets and consumers has
been referred to as an open strategy (
Chesbrough
& Appleyard, 2007
).
4. Staying in tune with the customer
How, then, should companies accommodate the
craft mindset of the contemporary consumer?
Whereas it is a long shot for most companies to
align perfectly with the craft mindset, certain
What we can learn from the revival of the vinyl record
267
measures can go a long way. As we pointed out,
the utility mindset tends to lead to a myopic un-
derstanding of the market due to its paradigmatic
focus on cost efficiency and convenience that, in
turn, distorts the company’s understanding of its
customers in a way that leads to one-dimensional
and stagnant market offerings and, consequently,
suboptimal customer alignment.
The reflective approach to markets and con-
sumers conceptualized in this article remedies
these issues by bringing into focus context, story,
authenticity, and resonance as the cornerstones of
a customer-oriented market strategy. In practice,
this entails expanding the scope from questions on
how to provide your customer with products and
services for the lowest price possible and as
effortlessly as possible to include questions
addressing your customers’ aspirations and sensi-
bilities that motivate them to turn to your services
in the first place.
Companies’ preoccupation with cost efficiency
and convenience can alienate consumers who feel
disconnected from the context and origin of the
products and services they consume and at odds
with the purposes they are designed and assumed
to serve. Whereas the pursuit of cost efficiency is
and will undoubtedly remain an axiom of any
sound market strategy, managers will have to learn
how to balance it with their customers’ demands
for market offerings that resonate with the values
and attitudes that ultimately guide them in their
decision making. Accordingly, to better align with
the craft mindset, companies should pay attention
to the context of their production and how this is
perceived
by
their
customers.
Because
the
contemporary consumer is increasingly interested
in the origin of the products they consume and is in
a better position to influence other’s perceptions
of companies and brands (e.g.,
Fournier & Avery,
2011
), customer alignment is increasingly contin-
gent upon the realities of this context and how it is
disclosed to the consumer.
Consequently, as
Figure 2
illustrates, companies
hoping to avoid myopic marketing should adopt
reflective thinking that helps hone in on the
contemporary consumer’s worldview. The ele-
ments guiding the focal outlook of reflective
thinking (i.e., context, story, authenticity, and
resonance) are interconnected in such a way that
they facilitate and support one another if properly
attended to. Thus, authenticity is predicated on a
context that is fully and candidly disclosed through
a well-communicated story that resonates with the
customer’s values and sensibilities. This implies
not only transparency, butdmore importantlyda
conscious effort to bring the context of production
and, by implication, the origin of the product
closer to the customer’s sphere of interest and
influence. To achieve resonance, the story through
which the company communicates its value prop-
osition needs to have an aura of authenticity (i.e.,
correspond sufficiently well with the context).
Thus, a story isolated from or misaligned with its
context will inevitably be exposed as disingenuous
and harm the perceived authenticity of the brand,
resulting in dissonance. Next, we will analyze a
few cases from the perspective provided by
reflective thinking to show how it helps create
customer insight that is better attuned to the
contemporary consumer’s values and attitudes.
4.1. Reflection in crisis
A good example of such misalignment is the
Volkswagen crisis that hit the German car-
manufacturing giant in 2015. The crisis stemmed
from the revelation that Volkswagen had been
systematically cheating on emissions tests by
manipulating the software that supposedly dis-
closes the emissions rate of individual cars to make
them appear more environmentally friendly than
they actually were (
Campbell, Rauwald, & Reiter,
2018
). The magnitude of the revelations was
great enough to warrant speculation of the immi-
nent collapse of the crown jewel of the German
car industry. From the perspective developed
above, Volkswagen’s exaggerated preoccupation
with driving costs down and profits up resulted in
such a hopeless utility-oriented market approach
that a company with a world-class brand and
pedigree resorted to blatant deception of the
overseeing authorities and, worst of all, its cus-
tomers. The company’s dogmatic utility orienta-
tion allowed it to disregard the precariousness of
the contextual nightmare it was creating, one
that, if exposed, would inevitably lead to an
existential crisis. In retrospect, this seems to have
been bound to happen and when it did, every
Figure 2.
Bridging the gap between the utility and
craft mindsets with reflective thinking
268
S. Schauman et al.
dimension that makes up the cornerstones of
reflective thinking was affected: The story was
exposed as suffering from serious inauthenticity
because of its complete misalignment with the
context, which, in turn, undermined resonance as
values and sensibilities communicated by Volks-
wagen were shown to be nothing but idle talk.
Since then, rather miraculously, Volkswagen has
been able to step away from the precipice and
begin its long journey toward redemption. As its
former CEO Matthias Mu
¨ller stated: “The crisis was
an unmistakable wake-up callda warning that
things
couldn’t
stay
the
way
they
were’”
(
Campbell et al., 2018
). In other words, the crisis
forced Volkswagen to abandon its exaggerated
utility orientation and reflect on not only its busi-
ness but also its place in a world that is increas-
ingly critical and unforgiving of profit-motivated
dishonesty. Striving to have electric vehicles ac-
count for up to 25% of global sales by 2025
(
Campbell et al., 2018
), Volkswagen seems to be
trying to reconfigure its context to develop an
authentic story that resonates with its customers.
4.2. Electrical resonance
The question is, of course, whether such measures
will be enough to help Volkswagen retain its place
as the world’s top car company. If we consider the
craft mindset postulated as emblematic of the
contemporary consumer’s attitude toward con-
sumption and production, reasons for questioning
the sufficiency of Volkswagen’s efforts emerge
(see
also
Ferra
`s-Herna
´ndez,
Tarrats-Pons,
&
Arimany-Serrat, 2017
).
As
Joas, Nienhaus, & Diaz (2018)
pointed out:
“Customers demand real-time satisfaction, trans-
parency, control, convenience, and uniqueness in
both the experience and product.” When making a
considerable investment like buying a car, the
customer naturally wants to get as much out of not
only the final product but also the experience of
deciding what to buy. As the internet offers op-
portunities for consumers to educate themselves
and compare different alternatives before even
entering a car showroom, car manufacturers and
retailers need to get together to make this trans-
parency work fordand not againstdthem. More-
over,
such
an
approach
presents
great
opportunities for customer engagement that are in
line with expectations emblematic of the craft
mindset: “The point is to develop a more nuanced,
customer-segmented approach that allows the
consumer to connect and engage with the car
company, the dealer, and the cardand still feel in
control” (
Joas et al., 2018
).
Car manufacturer Tesla has managed to stay
fresh and interesting over the years despite the
criticism and doubt aimed at the organization.
While traditional car companies have a difficult
decade behind them, Tesla has been able to
dictate how we think about the future of cars and
what we expect from car manufacturers. By pro-
moting values of sustainability and responsibility,
and by being 100% committed to a customer-
oriented strategy alignment, Tesla has been able
to articulate their value propositions in a way that
resonates with many potential customers, despite
the many setbacks it has experienced on the way
(
Fell, 2016
). By working toward making their cus-
tomers feel part of a common cause rather than
passive recipients of impersonal one-size-fits-all
commodities, companies like Tesla can provide
something that feels more authentic and less aloof
than the average value proposition on offer. In
other words, by implementing reflective thinking
when assessing their market and customers, Tesla
has been able to actively shape the context of
their car manufacturing in a way that resonates
with an increasing number of consumers. They
have been able to communicate this to their po-
tential
customers
openly
and
transparently,
notwithstanding some embarrassingly unrealistic
promises they have had to retract. Their story has,
in other words, been sufficiently aligned with the
context to afford the Tesla brand with an aura of
authenticity, which, in turn, resonates with the
contemporary consumer’s values and attitudes.
4.3. Like more than money in the bank
A McKinsey report on the future of banking
(
Deninzon, Malik, & Kapoor, 2019
) makes some
well-founded predictions concerning the growing
importance of customer-centricity for banks.
While automation has already changed how banks
operate and the role of their employees, these
changes come with some interesting opportunities.
Instead of having to concentrate on the practical
details of evaluating credit risks and deciding on
mortgage approval, automation will allow opera-
tions staff to take their customers’ idiosyncratic
needs and desires into consideration when devel-
oping
customized
products.
Consequently,
“employee roles will shift toward product devel-
opment” (
Deninzon et al., 2019
). This presents
banks with valuable opportunities to involve the
customer in the process and to diversify and
personalize their value propositions.
TD Bank has been successful in prioritizing the
customer and emphasizing human interactions in
an industry that is increasingly troubled by clinical
What we can learn from the revival of the vinyl record
269
and impersonal customer experiences (
Streeter,
2019
). By building a marketing campaign around
the slogan Unexpectedly Human, TD Bank seems to
embody much of the contemporary consumer’s
craft mindset. Instead of indiscriminately investing
in efficiency and convenience, TD Bank’s approach
utilizes the opportunities brought by digitalization
in a customer-oriented fashion by allowing the
customer to interact with the bank’s employees
based on customer needs. Thus, TD Bank’s strategy
seems inspired by a reflective approach that vali-
dates the contemporary consumer’s wish for
retaining a degree of human contact when auto-
mation seems to reduce banking services to its
mere essentials (i.e., standardized transactions
and rigid automated customer service). In other
words, the edge for TD Bank is investing in a hu-
manized context in an increasingly automated
world, which it communicates through its “unex-
pectedly human” story. This, in turn, affords its
brand authenticity, which causes resonance with
an increasingly alienated customer base looking
for something beyond mere utility.
5. Moving forward with a craft mindset
Notwithstanding the disruptive and, at times,
negative impact of digitalization and ration-
alization on many areas of everyday life, these
developments are ongoing and very real. There-
fore, the question is not how to counteract these
processes, but rather how to reign them in and
make them work to the benefit of the customer.
The perspective developed in this article helps us
better understand where to begin and what to look
for. As the analysis of the revived popularity of
vinyl records shows, this market development is
not solely about vinyl records but concerns the
emergence of a new mindset among consumers
catalyzed by the utility mindset typically under-
lying companies’ understanding of markets and
consumers. With the help of reflective thinking,
companies will be better able to gain customer
insight and to find resilience in times of disruption.
While reflective thinking is helpful as companies
aim to innovate to find growth, it will also offer
significant opportunities for companies to find
resilience in times of disruption of a major
magnitude such as a global pandemic. Such
thinking may very well be even more called for
when many consumers adhered to a more mean-
ingful and deliberate approach to life and con-
sumption.
For
the
future,
we
recommend
exploring the opportunities of a practice approach
focused
on
how
consumers’
craft
mindset
translates into novel and creative consumption
patterns and how it affects market formation.
Acknowledgment
Sebastian Schauman is funded by the Founda-
tion for Economic Education, Finland.
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