From the Desk of John Kumpunen:

Why Do We Need Marketing?

In a VillageEconomy, there was no need for marketing. There was the blacksmith, the seamstress, the storekeeper. It was a closed loop, everybody knew everybody and everybody gave their business to one another.

Then along came the Gutenbergs and the Henry Fords and the other industrial titans with some serious mass production skills. Cranking out products like there is no tomorrow (one well-to-do lady shrieked: “Ohmigod, it’s the same coffee table everywhere”). Industrialists needed armies of predictable workers. Public schools were set up to train, test, and discipline predictable clock-punching factory workers. People were taught to read so they’d be better consumers. “Respect and honor are paid to the principles of industrialism, and reverence is offered its founders and leaders”. —Ewen

And before long, the affluent CityEconomy was full of all kinds of products. But excess is not success. Too many products fighting for the consumer attention. We’re now in a crisis of overproduction and choking from excess. Somebody counted 437 different mp3 players. And 20,000 brands of beer? Do we really need that many brands of beer (since 15% of us Homer Simpsons drink 85% of all the beer)?

Michael Masterson’s ETR reported that 95% of books out there sell fewer than 100 copies. I had no idea. A recent guest on Coast to Coast openly confessed he had written 165 books. Shocking. Like Stephen King. How about just ONE really good book? Thankfully, Steve Jobs spaces the new iPods at least 4-6 months apart! Four-month planned obsolescence I can take LOL.

But really. Just too many of everything. That’s why we need marketing. To differentiate, to stand out from the masses. Even if it’s only for a short product life cycle … or 4 minutes on Oprah.

1. Base your thinking on the notion that you are marketing in a world of obscene excess. Even if you have no direct competitors, there are hundreds of other places where the family would rather spend their money than on your product. Every single day they’re being choked by 3,000 sales pitches in one form or another.

All CityEconomies are flooded with products. Less than 1% of them will ever rise to Seth Godin’s Domain of Excellence — products that are ranked so good, people rave about them and they sell themselves. They’re on CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Very few make it to the A-list.

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