Keynote at SES Chicago is food for thought.
If you thought you had Marketing 101 down pat, it’s time to think again.
Seth Godin’s keynote at SES Chicago lived up to the promise and certainly gave the audience some new ideas to chew on. He started with a new look at the origins of marketing – the story of Josiah Wedgewood, a potter in England in the 1800’s at the start of the Industrial Revolution.
Wedgewood was the first to create a factory environment and a production line with specialized job functions. He built a showroom and shipped product around the world. He made millions and his name is still famous in ceramics and china today. His brother Thomas stuck to the ‘tried and true methods.’. He did it the way it had always been doine before. He died poor.
The point of this history lesson? Wedgewood took advantage of changes in society and technology and changed the way he structured his business. Marketing is not just the whipped cream you add on top, says Godin. It’s a core function of how you operate.your business. It’s a high level decision about how you’re going to create, promote, distribute and deliver your wares. If you’re smart you adapt your business model to the forces in the marketplace.
Another revolution is upon us, he warns. And this one will be the biggest yet. If we don’t realize this we are going to the Thomas Wedgewoods of our age.
His new book due out in December called Meatball Sundae – is your marketing out of sync? covers the 14 trends that are causing this revolution.
I covered these trends in a previous post.
These are not new ideas or trends. What makes this book different is that Godin gives us direction on what we need to do to take advantage of this revolution in the marketplace.
It’s no longer just a BtoB or Bto C world. It’s BtoCtoCtoB. ther is direct contact between producer and consumer. Poele are connected and they are talking to each other. Online publishing tools have given consumers the power of voice.
The smart way to do business today is not to look for customers for the products you make, says Godin. Create products your customers want.
YouTube did it and made billions.KIVA is a non profit that is getting ir right.
If you figure out what these trends mean to your business you could be the next success story.
