In this book on marketing, Seth Godin talks about a whole new approach to marketing products and services.
Basically, the traditional notion of marketing was to create a product or service, identify the target audience and, force the product or service into people’s lives by continually promoting its benefits and feature sets.
Godin sees this in a different way and believes that marketing can be in better shape. He says that marketing can be the driving force for change and change begins by asking the right questions and challenging the status quo.
It starts with stating that advertising should no more be the only shoulder to rely on. Instead, businesses must focus on what people require to develop the product’s value.
Throughout the whole book, Godin presents many philosophical views on how marketers should work. He tries to teach the lesson that marketers need to weave an engaging story around their product to change the opinions people hold and that marketers should use the smallest viable market instead of the minimum viable product.
The basic idea is that the price is the story the marketers will tell and all the philosophical notions attached with it are the building blocks of the company’s reputation. Godin encourages the readers to be authentic and also says that effective marketing should be enough to attract people.
‘This is Marketing’ re-evaluates all the components that constitute marketing though it does not shine any light on modern digital marketing techniques.
But still, the readers can use the book to set solid goals and establish a direction for their marketing strategy. The book is a compilation of the techniques that all entrepreneurs, marketers, and leaders have tried, and now must know.Godin asks one big question in the book, “What changes are you trying to make?”
This question nudges the marketers to take a step back and stop thinking about the “results” for a minute and about the impact they’re about to make (or not).
Once the marketer figures the change, then they need to determine who is getting affected by the change.
He also offers an opinion that marketing does not have to be selfish. Times have evolved and so should marketers and work on redefining themselves. These notions are supported by various tangible scenarios in the book that will help you put things in perspective.
Here are some of the things covered in the book:
- A marketer’s job is to change the opinions of the people through their stories.
- Use the smallest viable market instead of the minimum viable product approach.
- “When you know what you stand for, you don’t need to compete.”
- Treat every individual differently.
- Price is a story the marketers are telling.
- Trust is as meager as attention.
- Always take permission to send daily messages to the customers.
- Organize and lead your tribe.
Overall this book is the ultimate go-to-guide for all marketers. If you are a business owner looking to understand the marketing world in the right mind frame and to know the customer effectively, we recommend adding this to your Goodreads!
