OPEN SOURCE MARKETING? A SHORT HISTORY OF MARKETING

In the 70's marketers focused on quality. Back then the game was about trying to sell a better product at a higher price than your competition.

In the 80's marketers focused on cost. Being the low cost supplier was critical in order to be able offer the lowest price.

In the 90's marketers focused on promotion. New economy notions spawned promotional strategies based upon giving products, services and content away for free.

The 00's have focused on the customer. After new economy notions failed, marketers decided to put the customer in total control of the enterprise.

So lets review... we went from selling for more... to selling for less... to selling for nothing... to not selling at all and putting the customer in total control.

The self-styled high priest of this curious strategy is James Cherkoff over at Modern Marketing who happens to be a ChangeThis alumnus also. Click the links to read his stuff.

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Comments

[James Cherkoff]

Oooh, I like the sound of self-styled high priest ;-) Really, it's an effort to learn from interesting new developments such as the Open Source Movement and to create a little innovation within the marketing industry which has been flogging the same product for 50 years - despite haranguing its own clients about creativity and innovation!

I think the massive collaborations that take place online could well offer a glimpse of the way that markets- and therefore marketing - will operate in the future. It's not quite putting customers in total control, more using modern infrastructure (ie the web) to open up the company to the way that people lead their lives today.

[Mike Smock]

Hi James,

OK, I officially, in my capacity as King of this Blogdom, annoint you High Priest of Collaborative Marketing. There you're now legit.

Nobody agrees more than I do that our industry needs innovation. I just happen to believe that most of the "innovations" over the past several years have decreased the effectiveness of marketing.

I like the way you think. Collaborative strategies are obvious and intuitive on one hand and very complex and potentially chaotic on the other.

If you haven't already, add Boyd's Patterns of Conflict to your reading list. It contains fascinating insights to many of the issues that can influence the success and failure of Collaborative marketing.

[James Cherkoff]

Thank you King of Blogdom, I bend my knee to the power of both your scenarios and with your blessing shall venture out into the world to spread the word of collaboration...
;-)