Thoughts on marketing
I'm really glad about something I just read this morning in a book called Ambient Findability, in a few words, the fact that marketing did not begin with all the silly media fuss that's currently taking place, but mostly, that it all started out as conversation (ancient traders) and therefore the problem in our times is actually how this conversation was shifted into selling (pull to push) with what the author calls the holy trinity of mass production, mass marketing and mass media.
This may not be news for none of us, but we still tend to forget it all the time. So this was a little reminder that we should also keep in mind when we are the customer, how easygoing it is when you just buy something for your pleasure (convinced only by your need, desire and inspiration), without all that noise that's constantly pushing you to do so.
And, again, putting on the professional cap, the power of pull is reflected in this beautiful explanation by Peter Drucker:
"There will always, one can assume, be need for some selling. But the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy. All that should be needed then is to make the product or service available".
