This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See

by Seth Godin

It’s a mistake to believe that everyone wants to make their status higher. In fact, few people do. It’s also a mistake to believe that no one wants to make their status lower. If you’ve been conditioned to see yourself in a certain status role, you might fight to maintain and even lower your status.

In the last few decades, we’ve gotten lazier in our nuance of awarding status, preferring it to be related to either the dollars in a bank account or the number of followers online. But status continues to take many forms.

Shame is the status killer. The reason that shame is used as a lever is simple: it works. If we accept the shame someone sends our way, it undermines our entire narrative about relative status.

We each have our own narratives. The noise in our head, the worldview that is unique to us, the history and beliefs and perceptions that shape who we are and what we choose.

And sonder is the generous act of accepting that others don’t want, believe, or know what we do—and have a similar noise in their heads.

But in order to bring our change to the world, we need to make some assumptions about what others believe. We can’t hear the noise in their heads, but we ca...

The people you’re seeking to serve in this moment: What are they measuring? If you want to market to someone who measures dominion or affiliation, you’ll need to be aware of what’s being measured and why.

Affiliation isn’t as focused on scarcity as dominion is, because affiliation admires the network effect. More affiliation leads to affiliation for everyone involved. Abundance is welcome.

The way you see the world isn’t nearly as important as the worldview of those you seek to serve.

The only reason to launch a project is to make change, to make things better, and we want to know what you’re going to do and what impact it’s going to have.

Once you adopt a posture of service, of engaging with the culture to make change, the shift happens.

But a better business plan takes that universal need and makes it specific—describing who and what it’s for.

That’s not your purpose. It’s not your mission. It’s simply what you do.

Nike spent billions of dollars to teach millions of people that the swoosh is a symbol of human possibility and achievement, as well as status and performance.

Marketers have the humility to understand that not everyone sees a symbol the same way, the awareness to use the right symbol for the right audience, and the guts to invent new symbols to be placed on top of old ones.

This means that the logo you use, the stories you tell, and the appearance of your work all matter. Your words resonate with us, not only because of what they mean, but because of how they sound and how you use them.

Do the flashing lights at an arena rock concert change the way the music sounds? Perhaps they do, because they remind us we’re at an arena rock concert.

If you remind me of a scam, it will take a long time to undo that initial impression. That’s precisely why so many logos of big companies look the same. It’s not laziness. The designers are trying to remind you of a solid company.

It’s important to remember that it doesn’t matter what you, the marketer who created it, is reminded of. Semiotics doesn’t care who made the symbol. The symbol is in the mind of the person looking at it.

It’s worth restating that the smallest viable market gives you the freedom to pick those you seek to serve.

If we want to make change, we need to go first, hanging over one edge or another. But often, that innovation reminds (some) people of a past event that went wrong.

If you want to build a marketing asset, you need to invest in connection and other nontransferable properties. If people care, you’ve got a brand.

If a brand is our mental shorthand for the promise that you make, then a logo is the Post-it reminder of that promise. Without a brand, a logo is meaningless.

About sixty-eight of the hundred people will be close to the average. Another twenty-seven will be significantly further away, and four will be extreme outliers.

This happens often enough that we call it a standard deviation. It turns out that this is especially true for human behavior.

Good marketers have the humility to understand that you shouldn’t waste a minute (not of your time or of their time) on anyone who isn’t on the left part of the curve.

Lazy marketers try to buy enrollment with flashy ads. The best marketers earn enrollment by seeking people who want the change being offered.

Different people want different things.

Neophiliacs want to go first.

On the other hand, the typical corporate cog wants to avoid getting in trouble with the boss. And if trouble does happen, he wants an airtight alibi and a great way to avoid responsibility.

The social crusader wants a glimmer of hope and the chance to make things right.

The person who measures dominance instead of affiliation wants to win. And if he can’t win, he might be willing to sett...

Some people want responsibility, while others seek to be recognized. Some of those you seek to serve want a bargain, while a few eagerly want to overpay, to prove that they can. Almost no one wants to feel stupid.

spend more than others. When you ask, “Who’s it for?” the answer needs to be, “The kind of customers who are going to show up for us in a way that lets us keep going.” You’ll serve many people. You’ll profit from a few.

Run down to FedEx and get that shipment in the last pickup of the day. Amazement and delight go a long way. Have the CEO pick up the phone and call that customer that you accidentally triple-charged. It’ll take a few minutes and it will be worth it.

more tactics. Tactics are easy to understand because we can list them. You use a tactic or you don’t.

Strategy is more amorphous. It’s the umbrella over your tactics, the work the tactics seek to support.

your goal is the thing you’ll be betting will happen if y...

Your goal is the change you seek to make in the world.

The goal is your shining light, the unwavering destination of your work.

Your strategy is the long-lasting way you’re investing in reaching that goal.

enable you and your message to reach exactly the right people. The way you use stories, status, and connection to create tension and forward motion is a strategy. A strategy, if successful, gets you closer to your goal. You might need to change your strategy if it fails, but you don’t want to do it often.

And the tactics? The tactics are the dozens or hundreds of steps you’ll take on behalf of your strategy. If a tactic fails, that’s okay, because another one can take its place and support the strategy you have in mind.

You can change tactics the moment you decide that they’re not helping you achieve ...

Anyone with a stamp can send a letter.

Since advertising is faster, cheaper, and more measurable than ever before, why isn’t this the focus of all our marketing? Why isn’t this the beginning and end of the discussion? Because online advertising is also the most ignored advertising ever created.

Advertising is unearned media. It’s bought and paid for. And the people you seek to reach know it. They’re suspicious. They’re inundated. They’re exhausted.

But it’s not easy to act like a direct marketer when you’re trying to reach people who generally don’t click on ads.

Assign values to each step. If you can’t, don’t run any direct-response ads until you can.

The most important lesson I can share about brand marketing is this: you definitely, certainly, and surely don’t have enough time and money to build a brand for everyone. You can’t. Don’t try. Be specific. Be very specific. And then, with this knowledge, overdo your brand marketing. Every slice of every interaction ought to reflect the whole. Every time we see any of you, we ought to be able to make a smart guess about all of you.