This ain’t your daddy’s marketing strategy. Heck. It isn’t even your older sister’s marketing strategy.

Unless you’re incredibly perceptive or a wonk obsessed with understanding the fundamental nature of marketing, you may not be aware of the profound changes going on in the world of marketing.

The change began with the advent of the internet but it really solidified after the DotCom Crash. With the Crash came a new incarnation of the internet. Rather than reflecting what marketers wanted it to be, it came to reflect what people wanted it to be.

The implications for marketing are profound. Today we’re seeing an exponential increase in the consumers’ ability to acquire and share relevant information on anything and everything a person could want. AND we’re seeing a similar increase in a company’s ability to be promoted through those channels.

So, what’s that mean? It means the balance of power has shifted from the company to the consumer. And the balance continues to tip.

So, what’s THAT mean? That means that the market’s selective pressures have changed. Whereas it was Survival of the Loudest. Now it is Survival of the Relevant. Marketing strategies designed to grab attention are failing to get results. But marketing strategies designed to offer a reason to be given attention are becoming phenominally successful. (For more on this, read Seth Godin’s Permission Marketing.)

Cripes! Get to the point! OK. THAT means that if you are better, you WILL be rewarded. And conversely, if you’re worse there is nowhere to hide.

Today, the only relevant marketing question is, “How can I be better, if not the best.” And I’m not talking about just making your core offering better. You have to make the entire experience better. Make it more convenient, more meaningful, more interesting, more fun, easier to talk about, more streamlined, simpler, more endearing, whatever.

And now I’d like to belabor a point. The only way to know how to make it better is to know who you are making it better for. And this, kindly colleagues, is why you must have a target market. (Demographic targeting - BAD. Lifestyle targeting - GOOD)

In case I was too vague with the subtext, I’d like to point out that this is AWESOME. With consumers increasingly in control of promotion, smaller businesses have an unprecidented ability to establish themselves and quickly grow.  In the new marketing landscape you can’t just relentlessly tell people you’re better.  Instead, be better and you will find the growth you seek.

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