Seth Godin spoke at Business Marketing Association's national conference this year. The conference is called "BMA Unleash". Almost everyone is familiar with Seth Godin and his style of addressing things in society that are "broken" and how marketers and brand managers have a unique opportunity and often a responsibility to fix them. Seth takes his message about providing solutions to a whole new level with his latest book, Poke the Box. In this book, he talks about how social media and the Internet have changed the way that consumers are marketed to - and in fact, changed the ways in which consumers will allow you to market to them.Marketing messages should be anticipated, personal and relevant. Marketers should be more focused on building "permission" online - we should be focused on earning the privilege of being marketed to.
We have a new responsibility to seek our people who want to hear from us.
"Do you matter to your target? Earn the privilege," said Godin.
Godin used the example of a company called Cambridge Technology Partners, a company that, like mine, sells to CIOs. A colleague of Godin's who worked for CTP would seek out local CIOs and invite them to breakfast in 10-person groups. The CIOs who attended this breakfast each month spent the entire breakfast talking to each other about their problems. CTP helped this "tribe" stay aligned, stay connected. This is earning the privilege.
There was much talk about "community" throughout the week of sessions at BMA Unleash. Godin reiterated this sentiment when he said, "marketing management is now tribal leadership." Marketers should turn their brands into a movement. "CMO now stands for Chief Movement Officer," he said.
"Value is in finding new people who solve problems in interesting ways." And harkening back to his old mantra of finding unique and important solutions to problems that exist for the everyday consumer or the target market, Godin enlisted upon the audience of leading B-to-B marketers to, "Help invent the product that will sell itself."
BMA Unleash, and particularly the chance to see Seth Godin speak, was a unique, relevant and important conference for me as a B-to-B marketer, and I got to attend because I got quite a deal on the registration fee as a member of the national organization and a Saint Louis chapter member and leader. Find out how you can take advantage of this unique B-to-B marketing community in Saint Louis and nationally by becoming a member along with me.
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