Today’s marketers need “a new set of rules,” author and marketing maven Seth Godin said in kicking off the Internet Summit on Wednesday at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Godin, the author of 18 books that have been translated into more than 30 languages and many of which have been best-sellers, was the headline speaker for the two-day conference that is focusing on digital marketing this year.

Instead of aiming at a mass audience, for instance, Godin said marketers should focus on the edge, on the fringes instead of the mass.

“The mass means average stuff for average people,” he said. “That worked for a really long time.” He also warned that trying to sell at the lowest price is a losing proposition because “Someone will always figure out how to charge a dollar less.”

Doing so, though often requires cheapening the product, not just the price.

He notes that big brands all still want that and trying to get it, the “Temptation is to talk louder. But it won’t work to get faster, shorter, or buzzier.”

The Internet, however, has changed things.

The connection economy

“The music industry is over,” he noted. “In 1972, it was perfect. You bought a record and if you wore it out or lent it you had to buy another copy. Now, every record ever made is available for free on the Internet. Some people still make it work, but it’s not an industry. We left the industrial economy for the connection economy.”

He said, “You have to learn to talk to different people because people listen differently. They want us to connect them.”
What’s the alternative to the mass? “Your goal is the smallest market possible,” Goldin said. “If you can overwhelm and delight a small group of people, they will not only pay you more, they will tell their friends about it.”

Go one step higher than “targeting” and make something people care about. Give people a choice and they’ll make a choice. One way to do that is by telling a story.

Change leads to loyalty

As an example, he cited Fancy Feast gourmet cat food, which charges more for products such as “Yellowfin tuna and shrimp with wild rice in gravy.” That he said “Makes buyers feel like they’re better people.”

The gold standard, Godin said, “Is to put ideas in the world that people care about and will recommend. Help transform people and you’ll create the kind of loyalty that really matters.

A key that, he said, using a Japanese word, is “Sowubana,” or “I see you.” You need to show people you care about them.
“This is a revolution where we all get to leave footprints somewhere.”

What customers are telling marketers, he said, as clearly as possible, is “We want you to lead us.”

Godin added, “Price isn’t the answer.”

He then told a story about a company that sells socks to preteen girls. They cost considerably more than regular socks. They make 133 styles, none alike, so the girls go to school and say, “Hey, want to see my socks.” Then the other girl goes home and says, “Mom, I need new socks.” Last time he checked, he said, “They were making $40 million a year.”

Aim for ‘remarkable thing’

So, Godin suggested, “Make a remarkable thing others can tell the tribe about.” Earlier he suggested, “Start at the design phase. “Great marketing isn’t advertising that gets done after the product is finished.”

Answering one of numerous questions from the audience, using a soft orange foam box with a microphone that was tossed from audience member to audience member, itself an example of the different thinking he recommends, he discussed being an entrepreneur.

Goldin said entrepreneurs often make a mistake he did, of trying to do all the work. “When I became an entrepreneur, it was thrilling, but killing,” he said. “If you want to be an entrepreneur, never do anything you can get someone who works for you to do,” he said.

“An entrepreneur is supposed to build something bigger than themselves, often with other people’s money. An entrepreneur’s job isn’t to do all the work, it’s to maximize return on capital.”

Speaking of his own career, he said, “I’ve had more bad ideas and failed more than anyone in this room. But that’s the secret. You can put something on kickstarter and if it fails, walk away. We live in a world where we can figure out what works.”