Here we are, the final trend in Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae, “new gatekeepers, no gatekeepers.” It used to be that large companies only worked with other large companies. Basically a big company would pay top dollar to promote a product on television with commercials, reviews, news stories, whatever. Smaller companies couldn’t afford to do things this way and were therefore left out of the party. Those times are over. How much does it cost to be on YouTube? That’s right, absolutely nothing. And even better, the audience actually seeked you out, and therefore you didn’t need to interrupt anyone. Wow, you just bypassed the traditional gatekeeper.

The true gatekeeper in today’s marketing landscape is Google. If you can be on the first page of Google it means that you’re among the most relevant pages on the internet regarding your chosen topic. But unfortunately many of us will not be on the first page of Google. We need help. Which means that you need to look at other ways to promote your webpage, podcast, video, blog, etc. You can have excellent content, but what does it matter if no one sees it. We’ve discussed some ways to get your name out there, but the most important of all is to just go out there and be a part of the community you are trying to build. If your site is about marketing, then go out to all the marketing blogs and comment on the things that are interesting to you. Before long, you will have the visitors, listeners, and all that good stuff.

So yeah, I’m looking at you guys that visit, but never comment. I know you’re there because I check Google analytics. I dare you to comment on this post…. if you’re marketer enough. And be sure to leave a link back to your own blog.

Well, that’s it for Meatball Sundae. I hope you guys dug it… dig it… whatever. I recomend reading the book yourself as there’s tons of insights I’ve left out. It’s definately worth it if you’re serious about online marketing.

Notable quote from this section:

• “The web is the biggest haystack in the history of mankind, and you’re just a tiny little needle. You might be sharp and you might be shiny, but without help, no one will ever see your webpage, listen to your podcast, or watch your video.”

Now is not the time to be mediocre. People want something inexpensive, or they want something of exceptional quality. No one wants “just good enough”. Right now we are in a recession, which means that now more than ever before, products need to fall in to one of those two categories. It used to be that wealthy people were so far removed from us average Joe’s. But the truth is, wealthy or poor, consumers are all very similar. When it comes to a product that is important to you, it doesn’t matter how much money you have, you will spend top dollar for the quality. Likewise, when you are looking at a commodity, or something that you don’t think too much about (salt is salt after all), price becomes more important. Seth Godin discusses this with his thirteenth trend in Meatball Sundae,”the wealthy are like us.”

Godin mentions that there are more wealthy people today than ever before. I guess this book was written a few years ago, because I’m actually seeing the opposite trend. I think that because of this current recession, more people than ever are starting to understand what it’s like to be poor. When you’re poor there are alot of things that you have to do without. Sacrifices must be made so that you can afford the things that you and your family need. If you are going to spend alot of money, alot of thought goes in to the purchase, and quality becomes even more important than it used to be. Even those fortunate enough to have jobs right now are feeling this pinch. Afterall, they are probably supporting an out of work spouse or partner. With this in mind, you need to begin thinking from the point of view that your product (or service) needs to be the inexpensive option, or the best quality option. If you are mediocre, you’re dead.

I could go on and on, but you probably would get bored and I’m sure you get the idea. The final trend discussion is coming soon.

Notable quote from this section:

• “It turns out that not only are the wealthy like us, they are us.”

Sometimes it’s the little adjustments that you make that can mean the difference between success and failure. Minor tweaks, things that increase efficiency, small improvements that maximize the effectiveness of your product or whatever (look at pro football where one yard can mean the difference between a win or a loss for that week, or basketball where one team usually wins by one or two points). Small things can mean big money for some companies, but it’s the big ideas that will set you apart from the competition. Seth Godin discusses this as his eleventh trend in his book Meatball Sundae, “The triumph of big ideas.”

In a world where all companies seem to behave the same, a big idea can make you stand out. A big idea demands attention. Look at what Nintendo did with the Wii. I’ve played video games all my life. Anyone that knows me will tell you that I love video games. But what about all those people out there that have never picked up a video game controller? I remember when controllers only had a joystick and a red button, but today controllers are more complicated than ever. How is a first time gamer going to make heads or tails out of it to enjoy a game, much less actually be good at it? Nintendo created the motion controller in the Wii to appeal to that person. Now “casual gamers” (as they have been dubbed) and “hardcore gamers” alike can enjoy the same games. Parents can play with their kids, and everyone has a great time. It’s no wonder that Nintendo is such a successful company. They get it.

What are some of your favorite big ideas? Discuss below… or else.

Notables quote from this section:

• “A big idea can spread so far and so fast that the market leader cannot stop it.”

I remember when I first discovered ebay way back in the day. Thankfully I had a job back then, and spent most of my disposable cash on all kinds of products that I just couldn’t find in stores. I used to by manga (Japanese comics), out of print books, out of print CD’s and old NES games. It was fun and cool, and it opened up a whole new world for both companies and consumers. With ebay and other auction sites like Bonanzle customers can now buy products directly from each other. As a matter of fact it’s about time for another shameless plug (it’s been a while since the last one). If you’re a woman, and are into clothes and stuff, check out my friends auction site here. Seth Godin’s discusses this with his ninth trend in Meatball Sundae, “direct communication and commerce between consumers and consumers.”

Many businesses have been created (or have become more successful) because of this new trend. My favorite bookstore in the world, Half-Price Books has taken advantage of this customer to customer interaction. Sure, they buy and sell used books, but I’m talking about their community meeting groups. I don’t know if all of their locations offer this, but the main store on Northwest highway in Dallas offers a place for clubs and groups to meet up and discuss their chosen topic. That means all you pen-and-paper rpg folks can game it up, all you manga readers can get together and swap and discuss books, poets are welcome to come out and try their new stuff out on an audience, Star Trek fans can live long AND prosper (how about that?), etc. I don’t know of any other company that offers this type of meeting place, and I applaud Half-Price books for doing this (HPB marketing team, please start promoting this stuff).

Instead of fighting against this trend (look at what software producer Electronic Arts is doing to punish people that buy used games; they call it “project ten dollar”), companies should embrace and even encourage their customers to interact with each other. Let’s be honest, the genie’s already been let out of the bottle anyway; we’re going to talk to each other whether you like it or not. Get with the program and create a place where your customers can talk to each other. If you don’t, just don’t be surprised when you competition does (and takes home some extra goodwill and business as well).

Trend ten discussion coming soon.

Notable quote from this section:

• “As social networks become more powerful, consumers will gravitate to each other, not just informing each other about their experiences but banding together into unions that will pressure organizations for more of what consumers want.”

There used to be only a few channels out there for businesses to communicate with their customers: radio, television, and print. Now there are an infinite number. The eighth trend in Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae is “Infinite channels of communication.” Today, every interaction with a customer is a channel of communication. Sure, your Facebook page is a channel, so is your Twitter account, but so also are the interactions your customers have with each other and with potential customers. Let’s face it, people talk to each other, and in today’s marketplace it’s easier than ever for people to have discussions about your company and your brand. In the wise words of Luke Skywalker, “you can either profit by this or be destroyed. It’s your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my power.”

So what does this have to do with you? Everything. Before, companies had to broadcast their messages to anyone and everyone out there in the hopes that the message would reach their target demographic. This meant that it just wasn’t economically feasible to market niche products. Why spend a fortune marketing something using mass media that has limited appeal? Sure, there are specific demographics for specific programs on TV, radio, or print articles, and so it’s not impossible to reach your target demographic in this manner. However, you will waste alot of money reaching people that don’t care about your product. Not only that, but people are actively trying to avoid these types of interruption messages.

On the internet, it’s not only possible to reach these niche audiences, it’s actually preferable. You don’t need to interrupt anyone; customers will look for you and your products if they pertain to them. You can succeed with a smaller market, but a larger market share. All you need to do is stay relevant, and treat every interaction with your customers as a channel of communication.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “In order for a customer to make a decision, two things need to happen. The second is that she needs to determine that it’s worth the time or money or risk to take action. But first, she needs to know about the opportunity.”
• Instead of reaching everyone (because you have no other choice) and creating generic products for large audiences, you can now reach a tiny slice of the market - just the people who are passionately interested in your products and services.”
• “The product is everything the company needs to spread the idea itself.”

A few years ago Chris Anderson wrote a book called The Long Tail. It’s an excellent read and very much recommended. Godin’s fifth trend in Meatball Sundae is exactly this, “the long tail.” Basically what this means is that as a company introduces more product lines, sales usually increase as a result. This means that companies are creating more and more products to cater to small niche groups rather than mass appeal, one size fits all type of products. In the past there was a clear market leader, but as the marketplace has become more and more segmented, the leading brand is often “other.” For example, the leading soft drink may be Coke (don’t hold me to this, I didn’t do any research on it), but if you look at the leading soft drink among 25 year old males, it may be different.

In the past, if you didn’t have mainstream tastes, then you were out of luck. Products that you would enjoy simply weren’t promoted. And why not? Why would a company spend millions of dollars to market to a small little group of pinball machine enthusiasts (or whatever). Today, on the internet, you can find a fan page or a discussion board for just about any subject you are interested in. And it doesn’t cost millions of dollars to put a product in front of this captive audience. There’s money to be made for companies that serve these niche markets and know how to promote to them.

So what does this mean for you, the evil marketer? It means that you should find a market that hasn’t been found yet; a group that is under served. Create something so awesome that the people in that market will go out of their way to find you, then serve this community. If you can connect enough of these types of markets then you will definitely be on your way. In today’s marketplace, you don’t need to be one of the big boys to be profitable. Concentrate on a market that the big boys don’t serve and don’t really care about, and you can really succeed.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “Consumers reward providers that offer the most choices, and the economics of creating and selling a product have fundamentally changed.”
• “It’s not about what you think the market wants, or what you want the market to want. It’s about creating and assembling a collection of goods and services that captures the attention (and commerce) of the people who truly care.”
• “The web allows minor obsessions to coalesce.”

Every time I go see a movie in the theater there always seems to be some person right in front of me texting away like (s)he was at home. It’s not just the kids, you see it with adults and their Blackberry’s too. Why do people do this? It’s the same reason why they talk on the phone while driving, or have those DVD players in the car, or listen to the radio while doing something else: There are an unlimited number of distractions out there which divide our attention constantly. We focus less and less on the task at hand, and therefore attention spans are very limited. Godin discusses this with trend #4: “extremely short attention spans due to clutter.”

Some companies seem to think that they can go on and on about a products features and benefits, just because the product is good. The truth is, if you don’t capture a customers attention in a few seconds, they’re clicking away from your site (wait! don’t go yet, you #@!$%*%). This means that you should always respect your customers time, and realize that they have better things to do than sit around and listen to your marketing message. You need to think about what your customers want, and then deliver with something that directly pertains to them. Don’t just interrupt people’s television or radio programs to let them know. Look for ways to talk directly to the people interested in what you’re offering. The era of spam is over. Or at least it should be. And if you don’t understand that, then your competition will.

I could go on, but I’m going to be brief (that is the point of the post after all). Trend 5 discussion later.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “It means that every interaction with a consumer is a make-or-break proposition.”

I’ve talked about it before, and will probably talk about it again. Authenticity. The third trend that Godin discusses in Meatball Sundae is “need for an authentic story as the number of sources increases.” How many times have you looked for information on a corporate website? I’ve visited my share, and they’re all filled with the same old corporate talk. Even when they are trying to have fun, it’s corporate. It reminds me of the 50 year old man wearing the backwards baseball cap calling me dude or man, or those guys with the fake mohawks (you know who you are). That’s fine if that’s who you are, but if you’re not, watch out. Big brother is watching… and so is big sister, and everyone else in the world for that matter.

Corporate websites are great if you want to hear what the company is saying about itself, but to get any kind of objectivity, you usually need to look elsewhere. It shouldn’t have to be that way. The internet is a big place, and there are tons of sites available to find the information that your looking for. Customers are going to visit the sites where they will get an honest, unfiltered answer. And why shouldn’t they? You don’t like being lied to and neither do your customers. Be honest with them, be authentic to your brand, and you’ll never have to worry about getting caught lying.

There are tons of stories about people saying one thing and doing another. We hear about them all the time, Godin discusses them in his book, so I’m not going to bother listing them out (maybe later). The bottom line is that if you say one thing and do another, you will get caught eventually, and the world will find out about it in minutes. And then you’ll be stuck sending out one of those fake apologies written by a PR person, and I will make fun of you.

Trend #4, “Extremely short attention spans due to clutter”, will be discussed later.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “Saying one thing and doing another fails, because you’ll get caught.
• “When consumers are making a decision that matters to them, they often rely on the truth as they receive it from the community, not on the story the marketer manufactured.”

For years, companies have searched for ways to “eliminate the middleman.” Well, we’ve gotten to the point where this is a reality for many types of businesses. Unfortunately, many companies mistakingly see this as a problem, not a solution. The first trend that Seth Godin discusses in Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync? is “direct communication and commerce between producers and consumers.” Basically this means that consumers now have (and expect) the ability to communicate directly with companies. This also means that it’s possible for companies to market and sell directly to consumers.

In the past businesses relied only on mass media to reach customers, but today the average consumer is going out of their way to avoid these interruptions (commercials are skipped, radio stations are changed, ads are forgotten). So much money has been wasted, and continues to be wasted on marketing to masses of people. Only a small percentage of people will even pay attention, much less be moved, by these mass marketing messages. So why do companies spend so much time and money on these methods? Because it’s the way it’s always been done. Like I said in an earlier post, instead of spending a ton of cash on ads, I would instead hire a team of excellent marketers that can take advantage of the free and cheap tools on the internet… but (you guessed it) that’s another story.

So, how can you take advantage of this new trend? Well for one, you should be immediately responsive to your customers. When they send you and email, they expect a reply. And fast. I’ve been guilty of leaving email unanswered for too long, and I’m sure you have too. It’s a mistake, and smart people learn from mistakes. Be smart, and remember that every unanswered email is a missed opportunity for you. Every interaction with the customer matters, and yet many companies seem to go out of their way to avoid customers (how many times have you been given the runaround?). This is a big opportunity for you to differentiate yourself and your company. Instead of ignoring those emails, answer them; engage yourself with your clients.

One of the advantages of this type of communication is that you can learn more about your customers, and even begin designing products based on their needs. In the past, companies created products and then used marketing to find customers. Now, you can communicate with your customers and create products and services that are specifically tailored to their needs. Pretty cool, huh? Godin has tons of examples in his book, and I’m sure you could think about many more.

Another way to take advantage of the changing relationship between companies and consumers is to begin taking part in permission marketing. Godin talks alot about this, and it’s easy to see why. With mass media becoming less and less effective (and therefore more and more expensive), permission marketing is the way to go to reach customers. Here’s how it works, instead of spamming tons of people with a message that may or may not pertain to them, you should find (and eventually build your own) communities built around the types of people that your product appeals to. Talk to them, respect them, don’t waste their time. Godin outlines some basic rules for permission marketing. Here’s the short version…

1. Serve your customers, not yourself.
2. Permission is not to be bought and/or sold.
3. Keep your message relevant. If it has nothing to do with the customer and their life, they will leave.
4. Legal print and privacy policies are meaningless. If you do wrong by your customers (even if you are legally correct) they will leave.
5. Respect your customers.
6. Strike first, strike hard, no mercy sir! (okay, I just made that one up)

Next we will discuss trend 2, “Amplification of the voice of the consumer and independent authorities.” See you then.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “The fact cannot be denied: Your people (customers, employees, prospects, readers, whatever) want to be heard. They demand it.”
• “An inbound e-mail is not (just) an expense; it’s (also) an opportunity - a chance for your organization to eliminate barriers and have a dialogue with a prospect or a customer.”
• “The job of marketing is to grow the organization, and growth comes, obviously, from putting yourself in front of people who didn’t know about you before you got there.”
• “Outbound marketing now demands respect for the people on the receiving end.”

Nothing stays the same, everything changes. Everything I’ve been talking about, and will talk about in the future can and will change with time. The information in “Crush It!” is not absolute, it can change tomorrow or even later today. It’s up to you to stay ahead of the curve, and you need to always be willing to adapt, especially when something isn’t working. As a matter of fact, social networking and new media is a fantastic way to find out what people think of your brand.

In the past, it was very difficult for businesses (and individuals for that matter) to address criticism or feedback from the masses. With social media it’s easier than ever, and you need to take advantage of the opportunity. Look at what Dominoes Pizza is doing. It’s very impressive that they are willing to interact with their customers on a one on one basis. The new social media offers this opportunity, but far too few major companies are taking advantage of this. Think about how you can interact with individuals within your community (more on this later when I attempt to define marketing) and you will always be ahead of the curve.

Notable quotes from the final chapters:

• “If you see falsehood, you can correct it. If you see praise, you can show appreciation. If you see confusion, you can inform.”
• “We’re all in the public eye now.”
• “Think through the consequences of every business decision you make before you actually make it.”
• “No matter how big you get, every email, every customer, every friend, every single person with whom you come into contact matters and deserves respect and attention.”

This concludes the discussion of “Crush It!”. It’s an excellent book and worth the read so check your local library or purchase using my shameless link.