The last word on Marketing

The last word about Marketing

I am one of those people you see in the bookshops, browsing through magazines and books. (The kind of people that annoy even me.) There are a number of reasons why I do this, and it isn’t about money. I find ‘topical’ magazines to offer very little value, but like an addict I keep going back to look. There are several magazines on marketing (and every now and then even a runaway best seller) that propagate a new buzzword and makes amazing claims about a wonderful insight the author has.

(I actually created a table that allows you to create your own NEW theory in 5 seconds flat – more about in the next blog.)

I thought about the discipline of marketing quite long and hard, because quite frankly, I am struggling to see how marketing (as it is practiced today) will retain its relevance over a long period.

I have come up with these 7 immutable laws of Marketing. The Contrarian 1-2-3 of Marketing:

1 Law of Process

CONSISTENCY

2 Laws of Product/Offer

FILL A NEED (Have a perceived utility)
PRICE/VALUE/QUALITY MUST BE PERCEIVED TO BE BALANCED

3 Laws of Brand

BE DIFFERENT
BE AUTHENTIC
CONNECT EMOTIONALLY

Would love to hear from anyone who can add something to this list.

(Simply adding an adjective/adverb does not count, so I am not interested in fast/ focussed/ innovative etc.)

Comments

Hey Bruce Springsteen; you hypocrite

Bruce, I love your music man. It is old-fashioned, but I like it. My favourite song is actually not Born in the USA or the like, but Streets of Philadelphia. Not only is it a nice tune, I really like the message too. But you know, I don’t like how you play your politics. Make no mistake, I don’t MIND your politics and I am sure we can agree on a lot of things – and even in this case I may even agree with your belief. So the point is not where you stand on the issue. But I don’t like the hypocritical way you play it. So you cancel a concert and boycott a state that you disagree with. I am sure you think that it is your way to express your support for people who are getting the short straw. I am sure you see it as your right to play in front of whoever and wherever. But Bruce, can I ask you this: Have you refunded all the money you made from selling songs to the states that hold a different view to you? Have you asked those citizens not to buy your...

How to be a Proper Grown-Up

A child who throws a tantrum in the supermarket, demanding a treat, is clearly not a grown-up. This is obvious to most people older than that child; such ‘childish’ behaviour stands in stark contrast to mature, grown-up conduct. But what happens when you’re supposed to be a grown-up—by age, at least—but find yourself caught up in your own life? How do you recognise that your thoughts, beliefs, actions, and reactions may not be particularly mature? Most of us assume that real grown-ups want to be ‘grown up’—for their own good, and for everyone else’s. There’s a collective belief that if every adult acted like a grown-up, the world—and the individuals in it—would be better for it. To understand what it means to be grown-up, we must start by understanding what makes behaviour childish. And that part is simple. Take the child in the supermarket who desperately wants an ice cream. They see a fridge full of options and a parent nearby with money. They sense the possibility that the wor...

An Open Letter to the CEO

Dear Mr CEO You said your job is to develop a vision and create an organisation with the right values that will make that vision a reality, so I thought I would drop this note in your lap for consideration. It is my contention that what goes for ‘strategy’ and ‘best practice’ in the modern corporate boardroom is a terminal degree of “me too-ism”. I think you have bought into a narrative that is promulgated by people who have a gnostic view of the world and specific agendas that appeal to the pseudo-thinkers of the world, but are in reality going to lead your organisation to its premature demise. OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY Over the years business organisations have been eaten away slowly from the inside by social justice warriors (SJWs). How this happened, requires us to go back a few years and in the evolution of the business organisation. Once you understand that, you will see how it has infested your organisation. Business organisations used to have a simple, clear obje...

DrContrarian

Search This Blog