9 Takeaways from ‘This is Marketing’ by Seth Godin — Olivine — A Product Marketing Agency (2024)

About Seth Godin

Seth Godin is a prolific writer and genius marketer with 18 bestselling books, including This Is Marketing, Permission Marketing, and Tribes. His daily blog is read by millions.

He believes that marketers don’t just make noise; they make the world better and that truly powerful marketing is grounded in generosity, empathy, and emotional labor.

Key takeaways from This is Marketing—You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See

1 What marketers do

Marketers make change happen for the smallest viable market and by delivering anticipated, personal, and relevant messages that people actually want to get.

2 People like us do things like this

Everyone always acts in accordance with their internal narrative. Changing our behavior is driven by a desire to fit in (people like us do things like this) and our perception of status (affiliation and dominance).

3 Marketing in 5 steps:

  1. Invent a thing worth making, with a story worth telling, and a contribution worth talking about

  2. Design and build it in a way that a few people will particularly benefit from and care about

  3. Tell a story that matches the built in narrative and dreams of that tiny group of people—the smallest viable market

  4. Spread the word

  5. Show up, regularly, consistently, and generously for years and years to organize and lead and build confidence in the change you to seek to make. To earn permission to follow up and to earn enrollment to get to teach.

4 Marketing Driven vs. Market Driven

A marketing-driven organization is run by the Marketing department. It revolves around what marketers do.

A market-driven organization is driven by what the market wants, regardless of what the marketing department feels like doing.

5 You must begin with a world view and invite people who share that world view to join you.

Example: Former CEO Ron Johnson of JC Penney's came from Apple in 2011. Johnson liked luxury goods and had a world view that retail shopping at a quality retailed should be high end. So he cut discounts and flash sales. JC Penny’s sales plummeted more than 50%. Ron Johnson failed to understand that JC Penny’s tribe did not share his world view and the JC Penney's board failed to appoint a leader that shared the same world view as their customers. The moral of the story is that hiring people who have been successful in the past means nothing if their worldview isn’t aligned.

6 The three-sentence marketing promise template

My product is for people who believe ______.

I will focus on people who want ______.

I promise that using my product will help you get ______.

7 Ten things your story needs to do

  1. Connect us to our purpose and vision for career and biz

  2. Allow us to celebrate our strengths by remembering how we got here

  3. A deeper understanding of our unique value and what differentiates us

  4. Reinforce our core values

  5. Help us to act in alignment and make value-based decisions

  6. Encourage us to respond to customers instead of reacting to the marketplace

  7. Attract customers who want to support businesses that reflect or represent their values

  8. Build brand loyalty and give customers a story to tell

  9. Attract the kind of like-minded employees we want

  10. Help us to stay motivated and cont to do work we're proud of

But your story is a hook, and now you're on the hook to deliver, which is a high-risk path. Great marketing is the generous and audacious work of saying, I see a better alternative, come with me.

8 Simple three-step narrative for action

Marshall Ganz, a Harvard professor who has worked with both Cesar Chavez and Barack Obama, has articulated a simple three-step narrative for action: the story of self, the story of us, and the story of now.

  1. Story of self gives you a platform to speak.

  2. Story of us is the kernel of the tribe—why are we alike and why is your story relevant to the tribe?

  3. Story of now is the critical pivot—it enlists your tribe on your journey.

9 The tyranny of perfect and the possibility of better

Perfect closes the door. It asserts we're done and that it’s the best we can do. Perfect forbids us to try. But the possibility of better opens the door. Better challenges us to try and gives us a chance to improve the lives of the people we seek to serve.

Get This Is Marketing by Seth Godin

9 Takeaways from ‘This is Marketing’ by Seth Godin — Olivine — A Product Marketing Agency (2024)

FAQs

9 Takeaways from ‘This is Marketing’ by Seth Godin — Olivine — A Product Marketing Agency? ›

As Godin is fond of saying, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but the stories you tell.” Customers don't buy a product, they buy a story. And when done right, people believe them.

What does Seth Godin say about marketing? ›

As Godin is fond of saying, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but the stories you tell.” Customers don't buy a product, they buy a story. And when done right, people believe them.

What is Seth's main point about marketing strategy? ›

He argues that the essence of marketing isn't the product we sell but the stories we tell. The book dismantles the notion of marketing as a mere tool for sales, positioning it instead as a vehicle for change, trust-building, and meaningful engagement.

What are the 5 steps of marketing Seth Godin? ›

The 5 marketing steps suggested by Seth Godin.

Design and build it in a way that a few people will particularly benefit from, and care about. Tell a story that matches the built-in narrative and dreams of that tiny group of people, the smallest viable market. Spread the word. Show up.

What is Chapter 11 of this is marketing about? ›

Chapter 11: Status, Dominance, and Affiliation.

Status is either measured by dominance (being at the top) or affiliation (being in the right circle) and your customer, not you, decides which worldview they subscribe to.

What is Seth Godin's branding quote? ›

Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touchpoints.” “A brand that stands for what all brands stand for stands for nothing much.” “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.

What is content marketing Seth Godin? ›

In his 1992 book, "Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends and Friends Into Customers ," Seth Godin defines content marketing as a form of "permission marketing." He describes it as "the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get ...

What is Seth Godin famous for? ›

Seth Godin is a well-known American author, entrepreneur, and public speaker. He has written over a dozen best-selling books that revolve around marketing, leadership, and the way ideas spread. Some of his most notable works include Purple Cow, Tribes, and Linchpin.

What is marketing's main goal? ›

While the primary goal of marketing is to generate revenue, marketing achieves this desired state through a unique approach as compared to other business units such as sales or customer service. Awareness: Target audience knows your brand and solution.

What was one of the 3 main purposes of marketing? ›

But if you look in that section of the newspaper, you'll see that none of the ads there accomplishes the three objectives of marketing: 1) to capture the attention of the target market, 2) facilitate their decision-making process by educating them about what they need to know, and 3) give them a low-risk way to become ...

What are the four 4 key marketing principles strategies? ›

The four Ps of marketing—product, price, place, promotion—are often referred to as the marketing mix. These are the key elements involved in planning and marketing a product or service, and they interact significantly with each other.

What are the 5 steps of marketing strategies? ›

The 5 steps of a marketing process
  • Step 1: Marketing analysis. Each marketing process should begin with a marketing analysis. ...
  • Step 2: Marketing goals. The marketing goals stem from the company goals defined. ...
  • Step 3: Marketing strategy. ...
  • Step 4: Marketing mix. ...
  • Step 5: Marketing monitoring.

What are the 5 keys of marketing? ›

The 5 P's of marketing – Product, Price, Promotion, Place, and People – are a framework that helps guide marketing strategies and keep marketers focused on the right things.

What is marketing everything summary? ›

This “Marketing is Everything” concept has developed over the years to refer to marketing in its fullest, proper sense as the intersection between the organisation and customer; all of the potential touch points the organisation can have with its customers or, indeed, entire ecosystem.

What is marketing 101? ›

It involves identifying customer needs and wants, developing products that meet those needs, pricing the products, promoting them, and ultimately delivering them to customers. Marketing is a way to connect with customers and build relationships with them, and it is essential to the success of any business.

What is the goal of the marketing concept _________________? ›

The goal of the marketing concept is to satisfy customer wants and needs.

Who said the best marketing doesn't feel like marketing? ›

Because as Tom Fishburne, founder of Marketoonist, once said: “the best marketing doesn't feel like marketing.”

Who is God of marketing? ›

Philip Kotler
Occupation(s)Author, Marketing Professor, Economist and Consultant
Known formarketing, economics
Websitepkotler.org
Signature
4 more rows

What is digital marketing Seth Godin? ›

Seth Godin is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking concept of "permission marketing." Unlike traditional interruptive advertising, permission marketing focuses on building relationships with customers, earning their trust, and creating a sense of value.

Who said marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department? ›

David Packard, of Hewlett-Packard fame, once said that marketing is too important to be left to the marketing people.

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