This Is Marketing

1. Marketing is about making change happen, not just selling products

Marketing is the generous act of helping someone solve a problem. Their problem.

Change the world. Marketing is not just about selling products or services; it's about creating positive change in the world. By focusing on solving people's problems and improving their lives, marketers can make a meaningful impact.

Serve others. The most effective marketers approach their work with empathy and generosity. They seek to understand the needs, desires, and fears of their audience, and then create solutions that genuinely help. This customer-centric approach builds trust and loyalty, leading to long-term success.

Create value. Marketing is about creating and delivering value to your audience. This value can take many forms:

• Solving a pressing problem
• Fulfilling an unmet need
• Providing a unique experience
• Offering emotional satisfaction or personal growth

2. Focus on the smallest viable market to create meaningful impact

The relentless pursuit of mass will make you boring, because mass means average, it means the center of the curve, it requires you to offend no one and satisfy everyone.

Find your niche. Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, focus on a specific group of people who are most likely to benefit from and appreciate your offering. This allows you to create something truly remarkable and tailored to their needs.

Create superfans. By focusing on a smaller, more dedicated audience, you can create superfans who will eagerly spread the word about your product or service. This word-of-mouth marketing is often more effective and cost-efficient than traditional advertising.

Scale strategically. Once you've successfully served your smallest viable market, you can expand to adjacent markets or scale up gradually. This approach allows you to:

• Refine your offering based on feedback from your core audience
• Build a strong foundation of loyal customers
• Develop a clear brand identity and message
• Avoid the pitfalls of trying to please everyone and ending up pleasing no one

3. Understand and leverage status, dominance, and affiliation in marketing

Status is our position in the hierarchy. It's also our perception of that position.

Recognize motivations. People make decisions based on how they perceive their status and how they want others to perceive them. Understanding these motivations can help you create more effective marketing strategies.

Appeal to identity. Marketing that resonates with people's sense of identity and desired status is more likely to be successful. This can be achieved by:

• Highlighting how your product or service enhances status
• Appealing to people's desire for affiliation with a particular group
• Addressing fears of losing status or being left behind

Balance approaches. Different audiences may be motivated by either dominance (being on top) or affiliation (belonging to a group). Tailor your marketing messages to appeal to the appropriate motivation for your target audience.

4. Build trust and create tension to drive action

Marketers make change happen. We change people from one emotional state to another.

Establish credibility. Trust is the foundation of effective marketing. Build trust by consistently delivering on your promises, being transparent, and providing value to your audience.

Create positive tension. Use storytelling and framing to create a sense of anticipation or urgency that motivates people to take action. This tension should be:

• Positive and exciting, not stressful or manipulative
• Focused on the benefits of taking action
• Aligned with your audience's goals and desires

Resolve tension through action. Provide clear, easy ways for your audience to resolve the tension you've created by taking the desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or sharing content.

5. Tell stories that resonate with your audience's worldview

We tell stories. Stories that resonate and hold up over time. Stories that are true, because we made them true with our actions and our products and our services.

Understand worldviews. People interpret information through the lens of their existing beliefs and experiences. Craft your marketing messages to align with and reinforce your audience's worldview.

Create meaningful narratives. Develop stories that:

• Illustrate how your product or service fits into your audience's life
• Showcase the transformation or benefits your offering provides
• Evoke emotion and create a personal connection

Be authentic. Ensure that your stories are genuine and backed up by your actions and offerings. Authenticity builds trust and creates a stronger connection with your audience.

6. Use permission marketing to build lasting relationships

Real permission is different from presumed or legalistic permission. Just because you somehow get my email address doesn't mean you have permission to use it.

Earn attention. Instead of interrupting people with unsolicited messages, focus on earning their permission to communicate. This approach leads to higher engagement and more effective marketing.

Provide value consistently. Once you have permission, consistently deliver valuable content or offers that your audience wants to receive. This builds trust and strengthens the relationship over time.

Respect boundaries. Honor the terms of the permission you've been given. Don't abuse it by:

• Sending too frequent communications
• Sharing or selling contact information
• Straying from the agreed-upon content or purpose

7. Create remarkable products that spread through word-of-mouth

It's worth noting that whether something is remarkable isn't up to you, the creator. You can do your best, but the final decision is up to your user, not you.

Focus on being remarkable. Create products or services that are truly worth talking about. This often means going beyond functional benefits to create emotional connections or unique experiences.

Design for sharing. Make it easy and rewarding for people to share your product or message. This can include:

• Built-in social sharing features
• Referral programs or incentives
• Content that enhances the sharer's status or identity

Empower advocates. Identify and nurture your most enthusiastic customers, giving them the tools and motivation to become brand ambassadors.

8. Navigate the adoption curve and cross the chasm to reach the masses

The bridge across the chasm lies in network effects. Most of the fast-growing marketing successes of our lifetime have spread because of ideas that work better when everyone knows them.

Understand adoption stages. Recognize that different groups adopt new ideas at different rates:

1. Innovators
2. Early adopters
3. Early majority
4. Late majority
5. Laggards

Focus on early adopters. Initially target innovators and early adopters who are more open to new ideas and can influence others.

Build bridges. To cross the "chasm" between early adopters and the mainstream market:

• Create products with network effects that become more valuable as more people use them
• Develop social proof and case studies from early adopters
• Adapt your messaging to address the concerns of more conservative customers

9. Utilize effective pricing strategies as a marketing tool

Pricing is a marketing tool, not simply a way to get money.

Align price with value. Set prices that reflect the true value of your offering to your target audience. This may mean charging more than competitors if you provide superior value.

Use price to signal quality. In many cases, a higher price can actually increase perceived value and attract customers who are looking for premium offerings.

Consider different pricing models. Explore various pricing strategies that align with your marketing goals:

• Freemium models to attract users and upsell premium features
• Subscription pricing for recurring revenue and customer loyalty
• Value-based pricing for customized or high-end offerings
• Loss-leader pricing to attract customers and sell complementary products

10. Organize and lead tribes to foster connection and loyalty

The tribe doesn't belong to you, so you don't get to tell the members what to do or to use them for your own aims.

Facilitate connections. Create opportunities for your customers or followers to connect with each other, fostering a sense of community and shared identity.

Provide leadership. Offer guidance, inspiration, and resources that help your tribe achieve their goals and reinforce their shared values.

Respect autonomy. Recognize that you don't control the tribe, but rather serve as a facilitator and catalyst for their growth and connection.

Nurture engagement. Continuously engage with your tribe by:

• Creating valuable content and experiences
• Listening to feedback and adapting to their needs
• Celebrating and showcasing community members' achievements
• Evolving your offerings to meet changing needs and desires

Last updated: August 8, 2024