Democratic and Dictatorial Marketing

I really like Kathy Sierra.

Her latest post shows how marketing has evolved from the old-school 4 Ps to today’s user-centric conversations.

What’s fascinating is just how much of this evolution took place in the past 10 years. Back in 1995, when I first helped launch a company, we focused on things like article placements and direct mail. Today, my primary concerns are email marketing and finding a way to drive consumer-generated content on our productsw.

Kathy asked for a better term than “old-school” and “neomarketing.” I think the best dichotomy is probably dictatorial vs. democratic marketing.

Today’s best marketers understand that the buyer is an active participant, not simply an “audience.”