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.”

Back when I was in college studying marketing, they showed us the marketing funnel. I’m not sure if they still teach this, but if you’ve studied You’ve probably seen it too. It’s basically a process where you start with a large number of prospects then proceed to a shorter number of qualified leads, then to customers, then to clients. This is the old way of doing things. In the past, marketers had no choice but to interrupt people and inform them about your company’s offerings… whether they were interested or not. The focus was on mass. Marketers needed to constantly fill that funnel with fresh prospects constantly. My how things have changed. Seth Godin discusses the shift away from mass (yet again) with his twelfth trend in Meatball Sundae, “the shift from how many to who”.

We’ve talked about it before, and we probably will again. Now is not the time to waste resources spamming people. Instead you should focus on exactly the people that are interested in what your company offers. Think of it like this. If the old approach to marketing was a hand grenade, then the new approach is like a phaser from Star Trek (or a laser for my readers that aren’t cool enough to watch Star Trek). It’s very focused on individuals not on random groups. These individuals, if targeted correctly will be your biggest fans and will go out and spread the word to others in the community. If you’ve segmented the market properly, finding these communities online should be a piece of cake.

Even if you have a product that appeals to a large group of people (say beer for example) it doesn’t mean you should spam random people. There are appropriate places for your message, and it’s your job as a marketer to find them. Maximize your resources (time and money) don’t waste them, marketing to an audience that doesn’t care or can’t afford you’re offerings.

The problem with a lot of online marketing is that many companies try to focus on using the new tools of the internet to focus on doing things the same old way. They look at things like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and online ads to interrupt masses of people and spam them with their message. It just doesn’t work that way, no matter how much you want it to. Especially online, it’s very easy to click away and ignore your message. In order for me or any other consumer out there to be interested in what you are offering, it must be relevant to what I’m looking for at that instant.

Anyways, you get the point. Focus on individuals not on mass. Only two more trends to discuss!

Notables quote from this section:

• “Let’s be really clear: the web is the single worst medium ever devised for interrupting people who don’t want to be interrupted.”
• “Marketers who are in sync with this new tool realize that it won’t let you do the old thing better, what it will let you do is find people to spread the word for you.”

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.”

In business, you want to create a product that fills a need. If the solution is scarce, then it becomes more in demand. This is basic economics. However, according to Seth Godin, the things that previously were scarce are now common, and things that were common in the past are now becoming scarce. In his ninth trend “the shifts in scarcity and abundance”, Godin discusses these shifts in detail. Here’s his list of things that used to be scarce, but now are common:

• Hard drive space
• Manual labor
• Overnight shipping
• Airtime
• Shelf space
• Long distance phone service
• Knowledge about other people

Many of these things are very important to businesses today, but they are readily available, and therefore inexpensive. If you previously made a majority of your money on one of these categories, you’ve probably had to re-adjust your focus, specialize, or come to terms with lower profits.

Here’s Godin’s list of things that were previously common, but now are scarce:

• Spare time
• Attention
• Ability to pollute without consequences
• Trust
• Sufficiently trained workers
• Open space, clean water, and other natural resources

Yeah, I think we can all agree on these. There have been companies taking advantage of these things for a while now (bottled water companies, online schools, handheld gaming systems, etc), but you need to find out how to take advantage of these for your business. Think about it, and keep these opportunities in mind when you create new products or market your existing ones. If you can fulfil the scarce needs of your clients and customers then you will be on your way to profits.

Discussion 12 coming soon.

Notables quote from this section:

• “Create and sell something scarce and you can earn a profit. But when scarce things become common and common things become scarce you need to alter what you do all day.”

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.”

One of the first rules of marketing is to segment the market. You probably already know that, but if you don’t, now you do and remember kids, knowing is half the battle (the other half is apparently blowing stuff up). What’s been happening lately though is that the market has actually been segmenting your business. Before, you could get away with packaging products together, but in today’s market, customers are demanding pick-and-choose component based solutions. Look at products like iTunes where you can purchase individual songs instead of complete albums. This phenomenon is Godin’s seventh trend, “Google and the dicing of everything.”

I’m not sure exactly when Google became the standard for web searches, but one thing is certain. They have completely changed online business forever. Before Google, we had to go though a company’s main web page and then click though different pages to find the one with the information we needed. Now with Google, we can jump directly to the page that pertains to our search. This means that your company’s offerings should be very specific as opposed to the pre-packaged offerings of the past. If I’m looking for an adult sized banana costume, I can Google my query and pull up a number of sites where I might find exactly what I’m looking for. That’s just an example… no really, I’m not looking for a banana costume, stop looking at me like that!

The point is that no matter what your company offers, you need to understand that the customer will not be satisfied with the package that you put together. They demand to pick and choose the best elements themselves. They want to jump directly to the products (or services) that pertain to them, and they want to do it with minimal clicks. Respect your customers time, and segment your products accordingly. If you don’t, your competition will, and then they’ll reap the benefits while you go out of business.

Trend eight discussion, “Infinite channels of communication” coming soon.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “Specific searches mean that bundling is not necessary.”
• “If you can’t offer more than a commodity, someone else will sell it cheaper.”

The sixth trend that Seth Godin discusses in Meatball Sundae is “Outsourcing.” It’s no secret that outsourcing has become a way of life for business people today. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to get things done, and can really boost your productivity. That being said, you should use caution when choosing to outsource; just because you can doesn’t mean that you should. The best tasks to outsource are those by-the-book things that are necessary for business, but are too expensive to do in-house. If you are a small business, outsourcing things like payroll or accounting may be the only way to get things done. Rather than spend the money to purchase a new server it may be a good idea to hire a web hosting service. Instead of paying for a silk screening machine, perhaps you should order T-shirts from a company that already has the equipment.

So when shouldn’t you outsource? When it involves your customers, when you can genuinely do a better job in-house, when you have a specific process or philosophy that cannot be duplicated, etc. One thing that always bothers me when companies choose to outsource customer service. How can you say you care about your customers when all you are doing is putting them off on someone else. Who else understands your clients better than you? Sometimes it’s best to take matters in your own hands, especially when it’s something that the customer is going to see.

It’s possible that you are currently in a job that may be outsourced. It’s a scary thought, but the sad reality is that if something can be outsourced, it will be at some point. The best way to cope with this is to do something in a way that cannot be duplicated. This means that you need to have the freedom to take on your tasks in a creative way. If successful, it can be a great way to differentiate yourself from other companies that rely on the one size fits all strategy of outsourcing.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “No industry is going to be untouched by the move to outsource anything that saves time or money.”
• “If a job can be codified, it will be outsourced, usually for less money.”

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.”