25 May 2009

Book Review: "Meatball Sundae: How New Marketing is Transforming the Business World" By Seth Godin

"Meatball Sundae: How New Marketing is Transforming the Business World" By Seth Godin

Anyone in business is certainly facing a major paradigm shift in how to market. Seth Godin builds on Thomas McCraw's reasoning that there have been 3 major industrial revolutions. Godin goes onto to say that the 4th is the next one in which we are entering.

What intrigues me is that the 4th revolution seems similar to what life was like previous to the 1st: people working for themselves, perhaps at home, in a community oriented fashion (althought the community is no longer defined by geography). The difference lies in who has the power, finally consumers can get whatever they like without having big corporations or the fuedal lord telling them what they want. Essentially, we are all getting what humans have always wanted: to be treated with respect and to be connected to other like-minded people.

Godin gives 14 trends as tactical advice in the New Marketing. As he points out, "Successful organizations are built around successful marketing tactics. Without the tactics, there's nothing." Certainly marketing is essential to all business models, and marketing should be embraced at the core of every business.

As I am writing a business plan, of which I do not want to reveal at this junction, but the most pertiant points, in my opinion, are:
  • Trend 1: Direct Communciation Between Producers and Consumers
  • Trend 2: Amplifciation of the Voice of the Consumer and Independent Authorities
  • Trend 5: The Long Tail
  • Trend 12: The Shift from "How Many" to "Who"
I recommend this book for anyone interested in marketing or the paradigm shift that we are experiencing. It was recommended to me by a professor at University of Stellenbosch Business School.

What other business books would you recommend? I hope to read more of Godin's books after I get to a bookstore where English books are sold.

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