Consider for a moment the annoying, interruptive, often obnoxious nature of traditional marketing. Dinnertime phone calls from strangers in noisy telemarketing centers. Glossy pictures of the latest fashions worn by models who barely look human. Store shelves crowded with a head-spinning array when all you need is some toothpaste. Company websites that give us no clue to what the business actually does. Hype. Spin. Pushy salespeople.

 It’s hard to believe these are the methods and tools of a profession designed to attract and persuade us to become customers—especially when “we the buyers” increasingly ignore them.

A number of studies are showing that people no longer pay much attention to traditional marketing as they progress through the “buyer’s decision journey.” Instead, buyers are checking out product and service information in their own way, often through the Internet, their social network, customer reviews, or just plain word of mouth. It seems clear that marketing as is currently practiced is on its way out.

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