The Face of Marketing Today

The world has gone through dramatic changes in the last couple of decades. Globalization, the emergence of social media, and mobile commerce are just a few. Likewise, marketing does not mean the same thing it did in the 1950s. Running a radio ad, having a commercial on TV, or an image in a magazine is not effective anymore. More than that, things that worked just five years ago are now outdated concepts in marketing. The world is changing, and we as marketers need to follow suit.

At its core, marketing is about relationships. As one party changes and evolves, the other must do so. We are the other party. We are the ones that must adapt to the changes facing consumers every day.

Guerilla Marketing is a new concept for me, but I am enjoying learning more about it. Author Jay Conrad Levison explains that marketing is a complex and all-encompassing process. In its simplest form, it is

"the art of getting people to change their minds."

From the first chapter, a few items called my attention:

• As a guerilla marketer, you must invest time, energy, imagination, and information.
• Repetition is paramount.
• Visuals are 78% more memorable than the spoken word.
• An effective symbol communicates an entire idea.
• Practice "you" marketing.
• Give away freebies, valuable information included!
• Help your customers solve a problem.
• Guerilla marketing is always intentional.

I will keep these points in mind as I work with my family's startup business. I hope to apply actionable items from this book to strengthen their business's presence and overall ROI in marketing.

References:

Levinson, J.C. (2007). Guerilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Marking Big Profits from Your Small Business (4th rev. ed.). Houghton Mifflin.