Recently I found myself isolated from the digital world for a couple hours, courtesy of Idaho Power. After a brief period of anxiety, I picked up an old book I hadn’t looked at in many years—Guerrilla Marketing Weapons by Jay Conrad Levinson.

My first observation was how antiquated some of the strategies are. 1990 does not seem that long ago but from a business and marketing perspective it’s a world apart in many ways. Regardless of the era, I question some of the council he provides in his promotion of advertising as “affordable” and a “necessity”. The author was an advertising guy in a bygone era…can’t blame him for pushing his industry.

While some of the info was off base (should I really consider promoting my business through matchbook advertising?) most of the “weapons” are still spot on. One point the author made that really resonated with me was under the heading, Identity:

A word to strike from your marketing vocabulary is image. An image is a facade, something phony…prospects come in…and learn that the company is not, indeed, what it held itself out to be in the first place. Instead, it is different—not bad, but different.. This makes the prospect unconsciously feel ripped off…because you communicated an image that had little basis in reality, only in hope. A far better
i word than image is identity. An identity is automatically honest.

This timeless insight is the essence of the social revolution that New Media / Web 2.0 have brought to bear in the last 15 years and in fact it’s the catalyst that established RisingLine.

In the past, many companies could trick enough people (mainly through advertising and gimmicks) to keep a sustainable level of demand generation to feed their habit. In the New Media world, consumers have the power to cut through the phony facade of images and create their own expose of each company. We see it well established already on such outlets as Amazon’s star ratings and user reviews and are seeing it trickle down to even small businesses through the
local business rating systems of SuperPages.com and Google. It’s at an accelerate pace now that social media will continue to drive out the fakes and increase quality across the board.

It’s ironic that this sage advice is given in a book promoting advertising and gimmicks. I believe the important take away is that more than ever, prominence should be given to building real quality into your product or service and developing a marketing plan to empower your customer evangelists who will be the authenticators and communicators for your marketing message. While advertising and marketing “weapons” may plan a part, their role has been significantly depreciated in today’s business environment.

As a post script, I notice that on the Guerrilla Marketing website Guerrilla Marketing, New Edition is being promoted as an updated version including “strategies for the Internet.”

Apple’s current ad campaign

For those of you who know me best, you’re already familiar with my incessant evangelism regarding Apple’s Macintosh. For those of you who don’t know me that well, just keep reading this blog. But for all my biased chest-beating, even the most anti-Apple critic has to acknowledge the recent strides the Mac has made in the marketplace. First off, Apple increased its earnings 88% last quarter, the company’s stock/equity portfolio is higher than it’s ever been, and well known icons within the PC industry are in the process of making “the switch.”

So how does Apple leverage their success? Simply buy understanding the consumer and building stylistic products suited to their needs. Steve Jobs and his engineers and marketers strive toward building and communicating value to those who believe there has to be more to computing than blue screens, random shut-downs, and indistinguishable error messages. Not to mention, Apple has developed a reputation for taking care of its customers, providing the industry’s highest standard in design, all the while building quality products that put the competition to shame.

The point I’m trying to make here is that Apple is successfully de-commoditizing itself within the computing market by establishing itself as a leader in consumer satisfaction. It’s one thing for a company to claim it’s good at pleasing customers, it’s another thing when the customers are saying it themselves. While Dell is struggling to right itself by opening low-price channels through Wal-Mart, Apple is creating the undercurrent for a consumer revolution that will only help to break the Microsoft hegemony within the market.

In conclusion, Apple has proven that organizations are able to operate with substantial margins within a commoditized industry. If your business is struggling to find it self within a competitive, dog-eat-dog market, remember to follow Apple’s example in focusing on your customer’s needs. After all, customers are the most selfish people on the planet; they only care about what your product, service, or brand means to them. Apple understands this principal, as do most profitable businesses.