It is said that being aware of the “silent majority” can lead to increased sales. However, many people may feel unsure about what it specifically means and how it relates to
marketing
measures.
In this article, we will dig deeper into the meaning of the word silent majority and explain its importance in marketing, so please use it as a reference.
What is the silent majority?
Silent majority can be translated as “voiceless” or “silent majority.” In marketing, it means “the majority of consumers who do not actively speak out.”
For example, even if people are dissatisfied with a product or service, the majority of people do not speak up because they feel it is too much trouble to take action or express their opinions. It is said that 96% of customers are the silent majority.
However, even if you continue to operate your business without being aware of the silent majority, it will be difficult to continue to make profits.
The silent majority specifically refers to the following people:
We focus on the silent majority because it is important to meet
the needs
of the majority of consumers.
Also, with the recent spread of SNS, it has become easy to view private comments made by ordinary people. As a result, the voices of the silent majority are beginning to become visible.
Silent majority word
Silent majority is made up of two words: silent and majority.
Below, we will introduce the meanings of three words, including the antonym of majority, minority, and how they are used in business.
majority
Majority is translated as majority, mainstream, and is an antonym of minority. Examples of words using majority are as follows:
The early majority refers to those who actively accept new products and services. On the other hand, the late majority is the opposite of the early majority, meaning people who are reluctant to accept new things and services and take time to accept them.
Since the majority makes up the majority of society, urban development tailored to the majority and product development and services tailored to the majority are often promoted.
minority
Minority means minority and is an antonym of majority. It has the meaning of being few in number and can also refer to a group that is placed in a weak position due to the social structure.
Minority in business is used to mean a minority. Specific usage examples are as follows.
When someone says that they value minority opinions, it means that by paying attention to minority opinions, they try to gain new perspectives and ideas. Minority investment refers to an investment in which a well-run company owns a monopoly of shares in a company with no more than a majority.
The advantage of this is that companies with financial difficulties can retain management rights because the ownership ratio of shares does not exceed a majority.
silent
Silent means being quiet, not making a sound, and can also mean not being contacted.
There are two specific examples of use in business situations:
Silent prayer is when a candidate who fails the document screening or interview is left without being informed of the failure. The benefits for companies of silent prayer include saving time and effort, and avoiding having to answer questions about the reasons for failure.
Silent complainers are customers who never use your service again without complaining directly.
Antonyms of silent majority
The silent majority refers to the majority of consumers who do not actively speak out in marketing. Introducing words with opposite meanings that are antonyms of silent majority.
noisy minority
Noisy minority means a vocal minority. It has a strong critical meaning.
A characteristic of the noisy minority is that there is no logic in their claims and they are just noisy. Examples of noisy minorities include complainers, monster parents, and monster patients.
Although the noisy minority is a minority, the problem is that their influence can sometimes become strong because they make noise. Complainers may continue to complain or post on the internet, which may affect the store’s management.
As a result, there are many cases where the silent majority quietly leaves the company and business failures occur.
loud minority
Loud minority is translated as noisy minority and has the same meaning as noisy minority. It is one of the antonyms of silent majority.
Although loud minorities are a minority, they have a loud voice, so one of the problems is that we tend to accept their opinions.
The influence of the loud minority is clearly visible in the issue of accepting debris from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Even if the mayors and citizens of regions that were not affected by the earthquake are in favor of accepting the rubble, the loud minority is making a fuss, so no progress is being made in clearing the rubble.
Loud minority has the same meaning as complainer, so it is used as a negative expression.
vocal minority
Vocal minorities refer to people who actively express their political opinions or express their own opinions. It is an antonym of silent majority, but unlike noisy minority or loud minority, it has less critical connotation.
However, the question is to what extent vocal minorities should be recognized and accepted as a system. A biological male who identifies as transgender impregnates a female inmate in prison, and a biological male who identifies as female competes in competitions as a female and aims to qualify for the Olympics. It’s from.
The specific examples above are unlikely to be directly related to marketing. However, it is important to understand that vocal minorities are often involved in political and LGBTQ issues.
Silent majority is very important in marketing
The silent majority is very important in marketing. Because the silent majority makes up 96% of consumers.
In order to gain support from the majority of consumers, we must face the silent majority. By respecting the silent majority, you can target many consumers and expand awareness. This will be explained in detail below.
Can target the majority of consumers
By being aware of the silent majority, you can target the majority of consumers.
Only a small percentage of people make complaints or opinions about products and services, and most people are the silent majority.
We appreciate receiving opinions on our products and services, but those opinions do not necessarily match the opinions of the majority.
By listening to the voices of the silent majority through corporate surveys and social media, you can learn about the needs of the majority of consumers. It is possible to develop products and improve services based on these needs.
By visualizing the voice of the silent majority and utilizing it in marketing, you can target the majority of consumers.
You can increase sales by targeting the majority of people.
If we can visualize the voice of the silent majority and utilize it in marketing, we can expand our target group of consumers. The more targets you have, the more you can expect to increase sales.
By focusing on the opinions of the silent majority, we can understand the true needs of consumers.
An example is when a restaurant attracts customers through SNS such as Instagram or TikTok. Until now, we could only hear opinions from familiar customers. However, if you post on SNS, you can see the reactions of potential customers by the number of likes and the number of posts saved. If you can utilize the reactions of not only familiar customers but also prospective customers in your management, you will be able to acquire new customers.
By listening to the opinions of the silent majority, you can expect to increase sales.
At the same time, awareness can be expanded
By emphasizing the existence of the silent majority, we can expand awareness. This is because even if your message could only be spread through word of mouth from customers, you can spread it all over the world through SNS.
Companies are not the only ones who disseminate information about products and services on SNS. Customers’ impressions and opinions regarding products and services are freely exchanged.
Let’s take the example of someone from the silent majority tweeting their impressions of a product. With the increase in the usage of SNS, consumers have started gathering information on SNS before purchasing products. Therefore, impression tweets from consumers who have already used the product are highly reliable information.
You can also expand awareness by conducting marketing using consumer word of mouth.
Silent majority case
In order to receive support from the majority, it is important to know how to deal with the silent majority. Specific examples related to the silent majority are as follows.
Honda is an event that non-Honda users can also participate in, and in order to conduct a survey aimed at young people, Honda is conducting an online survey using LINE, a tool that is often used by young people.
As a result, we were able to get opinions from people and young people who don’t own Honda products. In addition, in terms of opinions, it is believed that going to a dealership is a high hurdle, so we are able to hear the true voices of the silent majority, such as the high evaluation of car models on display.
While the local government received opinions from the complainers as they were developing the city, they were not able to obtain the opinions of the silent majority. Therefore, by randomly selecting citizens and holding consultations with them, we are working to create a city that reflects the opinions of the citizens.
summary
In this article, we introduced the meaning of the silent majority, its relationship to marketing, and specific examples. Because the silent majority does not speak out, it is very difficult to understand the needs of the majority. However, with the recent increase in the number of people using SNS, the voices of the silent majority are becoming more visible.
By visualizing the voices of the silent majority, we are now able to understand the needs of the majority of consumers. Respecting the silent majority will help you gain new customers.