April is marketing month.

We’re looking at the new theories of marketing.   It used to be about AIDA: getting attention, piquing interest, and sparking desire that leads to action.  Getting attention is becoming much harder today as we are all hit with almost 3000 marketing messages – a day!

We have had to become adept at ignoring all this noise.  We are getting our product information from other people.  We are becoming attuned to what Trendwatching.com calls Twinsumerism and Malcolm Gladwell calls Sneezers.

These are people we feel we are like or we want to emulate or are our neighbours who are the early adopters and can tell us what we should buy.

We, as business owners, understand that.  We feel the same annoyance when another marketer tries to get in our face.  So let’s think about the marketing that works with you.  Isn’t it about finding the things everyone is talking about?  Knowing who to turn to for good information? Looking for the company that walks the walk? Seeing who treats us best?

These are the concepts we will explore this month.

Everyone is talking about the Purple Cow.

Seth Godin wrote Purple Cow about creating a remarkable experience.

Tribes are the ultimate permission marketing.

Yes, I am a huge Seth fan.  Seth wrote the book on this one too.

He says to be the leader who gathers, connects and gives value to a relevant, interested community.

Transparency

Trust is important in marketing.  These days word travels quickly and you won’t be able to hide so once again that kindergarten adage of honesty is the best policy still holds true.

Giving

The Secret tells us to give in order to open our hearts to receive.  Many of the profiles of the rich tell us that they have made a commitment to give from a very early stage.

The success of a business hinges on it’s culture.  Here Tony Hsieh talks about the success of Zappos and how it is linked to the culture of the company.  They are a very generous company and it has been a contributing factor in it’s success.

Esther and Jerry Hicks, the people behind the secret.

It’s a little weird to watch Esther begin to channel Abraham who is the real ‘mind behind the Law of Attraction.  This is not for everyone, but it is the origin of much of what is said about The Secret and the Law of Attraction.

In the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini tells us about the power of reciprocity.  We are compelled to give like in return.  Use this power for good.