Marketing Funda: Be Creative in your Marketing Approach

Today, I came across this talk given by Seth Godin at a TedTalks event in 2003. Following is what I have to say.

Sell to people who are listening. Fair enough. But, is it not the main task to find out who is willing to listen? Seeing the concept on a graph seems super easy, but the fact of the matter is that things take time. We are listening to Seth Godin today only because he made a place for himself, which took around two decades (I guess this talk was given in 2003). Nobody would have listened to him in 1986 when he left his job to start his own company; he was a white cow. It took him time and effort to turn into a purple one. It took him a tremendous effort. I do not mean any disrespect to anyone, but things take time. People will notice when, (a) you have some product that none has seen yet, (b) you have built a reputation. Steve Jobs had a product that none had seen. Steve Jobs built a reputation.

As far as the marketing strategy is concerned, I feel that the concept of permission marketing is good, but it will never overtake interruption marketing. In fact, the former requires the latter for greater efficiency and gains. It is only when I have invaded someone’s mind with my product, I shall be able to make them listen to me. We must understand there is a difference between ‘listening’ and ‘listening with the intent to understand. How do I know who really wants to understand? Let me interrupt them, let me throw at them my idea, if they are captivated by this interruption, I know they will not only listen to me but will also try to understand. And at this stage, I have crossed level one. It now depends upon my ability to make him interested enough in my product so that he is willing to invest in my product and ditch my competitor’s, of which he has been a loyal consumer.

The talk should not be about not interrupting them, rather about how to interrupt them. Interrupt them in a fashion that grasps their attention. A perfect example is YouTube ads. Most of the ads that appear on YouTube are skipped, but those very few which are either too silly or too funny or too fancy or too different are viewed because those are depict something new. The product that those ads are endorsing might be old but their idea to sell that is new and that is where the purple cow comes in. The first 10 seconds of a 40-second ad are crucial, there lies the game. The chances are high the next 30 seconds will not be watched/listened to. Walking away, changing the channel is not a tough task.

Captivate them. Don’t be boring. In the last two weeks, I came across more than 700 software companies and I remember the name of only one. It is not slipping away... HotWax Systems.  It was different.

And the chief idea that any marketer must take from this talk is to find the right customer. Build an average product for an average customer and a fancy product for a fancy customer. A Sonata wristwatch worth Rs. 1000 tells the same time as the Graff Diamonds Hallucination which costs around Rs.1500000! 

Figure out what people really want and tailor your product around that specific audience and make sure that you don’t drop your standards. Rolls Royce does not even advertise! Be remarkable, and you may stop advertising one day!!