Week one in Global Marketing: BUS572-1 

The concepts gleaned from this week’s reading of Stokes focus first on Chapter 19.2 with a refreshing re-vamp of marketing concepts in today’s techno-savvy society. The dusty concepts of Product, Price, Placement and Promotion are replaced by Godin’s elements of data, stories, products, interactions and connection. How we as consumers connect with our products, as business owners invested in the information (data) that can be observed, analyzed and then re-defined, as a community sharing our experiences (stories) about the items (products) we use, embrace or reject via reviews, endorsements, articles and sharing (interaction). Very little is truly private; an endorsement on Facebook or a blog comment will be contributions to that products demise or success. The last element, connection is actually the summation of experience, if successful. Godin traces the path a successful business must engage in: For the GOMC, the client’s story must be understood for my contribution to be successful.

I found the concept (gestalt) of the Cluetrain Manifesto to be both beautiful in its simplicity and a summation of both Godin and Mootee’s theories: Markets are conversations. Simple: evocative of lively banter, between individuals, groups, business partners, reviewers, social medial posts… confiding a love for a newly discovered author, chocolate, recipe, restaurant, contractor or conversely, a discovery of fraud and deceit. There are no secrets when people share, and the internet is all about sharing.  Conversations lead to discovery, credibility and resources. Conversations are where we delve into the realities behind a clean veneer. What is my client’s conversation? Can I follow it through the public’s eye and interpretation? Is it perceived as real, honest, and tangible? Is there trust? What is the real dirt?

AdWords is the most important skillset which I gained (a small bit of) insight into this week.  The concept itself is fascinating & the implications include a skill to be tested both personally within this ongoing blog and for client based projects. Testing Google analytics will be interesting in tracking trends and results- what keywords are most successful?

I must confess to a Google bias. I resent using other search engines when “necessary”. Delving into additional Google tools/apps & learning to blog is fun. The challenge is keeping tasks in so many varied spots together! Yikes! The real world application of team based work for a client who truly needs the exposure is refreshing. My goal is to make sure I am keeping in line with their goals for this project, step by step.