Seth Godin believes small businesses fail because they market to the masses instead of the micro market. I have read his statements, I am not an expert but I do have an opinion about how I feel towards his reasoning. For the most part, I believe that I understand what Seth Godin is speaking about just from recent events in my life this past week.
To begin with when you start a new business, you create a business plan. This means that you need to do research on financials, location, target markets, products or services you would like to offer and so on. Particularly important to understand for this article would be who is your target customer, how will you reach your target customer, why are they your target customer. All important ideas that will help you determine how you want to market your business. Without knowing these who your customer is, how can one expect to be successful?
Let me share a couple of examples. Example number one, today I received the “ValPack.” For those of you who might not know, this is an envelope with coupons from businesses marketing their product, maybe windows, oil changes, carpet cleaning, restaurants, etc. There were approximately 35 advertising coupons in the “ValPak.” This truly is marketing to the masses. How much business does one get from this type of marketing? Personally, I looked at the first five advertising coupons and then tossed the whole coupon pack. Is this a typical response, maybe not? The fact is I had no interest in so many coupons for so many different things. This is a technique of marketing to the masses, not marketing to your target market that you outlined in your business plan. Example number two, Meijer’s sends me coupons on a regular basis. However, the coupons that I am receiving from Meijer’s happen to be directly related to everyday products that I actually purchase. Meijer’s does this by analyzing my product history; they know what I purchase when I am in their store. This is micro marketing to me; Meijer’s is giving me targeted coupons for their products and offering me value at the same time.
I know that my examples are simple in form, but I feel that they are applicable with Seth Godin’s. Godin’s philosophy. Basically, know your customer and market directly to them.
James, G. (n.d.). Seth Godin: Why Small Businesses Fail. Retrieved February 2, 2013, from Inc.com: http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/seth-godin-why-small-businesses-fail.html
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