The man Business Week calls "the ultimate entrepreneur for the Information Age" explains "Permission Marketing" -- the groundbreaking concept that enables marketers to shape their message so that consumers will willingly accept it. Whether it is the TV commercial that breaks into our favorite program, or the telemarketing phone call that disrupts a family dinner, traditional advertising is based on the hope of snatching our attention away from whatever we are doing. Seth Godin calls this Interruption Marketing, and, as companies are discovering, it no longer works. Instead of annoying potential customers by interrupting their most coveted commodity -- time -- Permission Marketing offers consumers incentives to accept advertising voluntarily. Now this Internet pioneer introduces a fundamentally different way of thinking about advertising products and services. By reaching out only to those individuals who have signaled an interest in learning more about a product, Permission Marketing enables companies to develop long-term relationships with customers, create trust, build brand awareness -- and greatly improve the chances of making a sale. In his groundbreaking book, Godin describes the four tests of Permission Marketing: 1. Does every single marketing effort you create encourage a learning relationship with your customers? Does it invite customers to "raise their hands" and start communicating? 2. Do you have a permission database? Do you track the number of people who have given you permission to communicate with them? 3. If consumers gave you permission to talk to them, would you have anything to say? Have you developed a marketing curriculum to teach people about your products? 4. Once people become customers, do you work to deepen your permission to communicate with those people? And in numerous informative case studies, including American Airlines' frequent-flier program, Amazon.com, and Yahoo!, Godin demonstrates how marketers are already profiting from this key new approach in all forms of media. |
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77 of 82 found the following review helpful:
 Why interrupt when you have the permission to talkNov 25, 1999
By Biswajit Dey
When traditional methods of advertising or direct mail don't work as effectively in attracting your customer's attention, what do you do? Read up 'Permission Marketing' and apply the principles and practices recommended by Seth Godin. According to Godin, an advertising message which interrupts a customer's life - her time, privacy and peace of mind - has a lower chance of persuading her to buy a specific brand. Instead, he advocates, a marketer can build a relationship with a customer over time and win her permission to market to her. In other words, make friends with the customer. The customer, then, not only becomes more receptive to the advertising message, but actually anticipates it. Godin calls this method 'permission marketing' and illustrates its strengths with success stories ranging from Amazon.com to Yahoo!. Simple? Well, not exactly. It requires a deep understanding of direct marketing and using the Internet as a direct marketing tool. But, Godin makes all this easier in his new book. Read it before your competitors do.
35 of 36 found the following review helpful:
A watershed book--I recommend all my clients read itJul 01, 1999
Internet marketing and relationship marketing are the subject of numerous books, but Seth Godin's Permission Marketing does a better job of explaining the concepts better than any other single volume. Permission Marketing explains the differences between Interruption Marketing (old-style newspaper, TV and radio ads) and Permission Marketing--where visitors ask to be kept informed and willingly share information about themselves and their purchasing needs. It reinforces the successes I've enjoyed in over twenty years of marketing and shows how customer relationship-building techniques that were previously inefficient and, thus, unaffordable are now within the reach of all. Permission Marketing cuts through the clutter of marketing theory and web technology and provides a highly readable, jargon-free conceptual framework for viewing web marketing in an new light. Throughout, Permission Marketing emphasizes integrity and customer respect--in contrast to books which are often subconsciously predicated on an adversarial relationship with prospects and customers. Permission Marketing will change the way you think about advertising and marketing and suggest a whole new approach to your web site. It will inspire you to break out of the mold of price advertising.
58 of 67 found the following review helpful:
Change agent Seth Godin reveals the futureJan 21, 2002
By Just Bill
In addition to working in the profession of advertising and marketing, I'm an adjunct professor at a nearby university. I taught Seth's principles in my course on Direct Marketing last semester, and I intend to teach his principles in my course on Fundamentals of Advertising this semester. In fact, I intend to teach his material in every class I have that's even remotely related. Frankly, I think Seth's material should be taught in every university throughout the land -- and shouted from the rooftops amongst those in my profession. Simply put, the material in this book -- deceptively clever, succinct and, at times, humorous -- is explosive. I say deceptive because if you don't "get" what Seth's trying to tell you, I imagine it would be possible for you to dismiss the entire concept as shallow or gimmicky. However, I believe this information represents nothing less than the future of advertising and marketing. You will ignore it at your own peril. One of the biggest thrills for me was hearing my students put into use Seth's Permission Marketing phrase "Turning strangers into friends and friends into customers" -- even months after the class ended! Not only is that a testament to the clarity and brevity of Seth's ideas, it's also the distillation of his book's premise. For in today's world, we're bombarded by no less than 3,000 paid advertising messages per day. There's no way we can assimilate, remember and act on that many messages. No matter how creative they may be. It's no longer a matter of breaking through the clutter with killer creative; it's now a battle for one of the most precious commodities we're left with: our attention. And advertisers lose that battle every single minute of every day. Therefore, agencies who seek ever more creative (and expensive!) creative approaches to help boost their clients' sales would do well to read Permission Marketing. Clients who whip their agencies mercilessly, sometimes changing them as often as they change their underwear (because they just aren't seeing the results they expected), would do well to read Seth's Permission Marketing book. BEFORE they blow millions of dollars looking for the next 15-minutes of fame for their advertisement. Odds are, it ain't gonna happen. Permission Marketing clearly describes the problem and equally as clearly provides the answer: ask permission first. Then only send your advertisement to those who ask to see it. Reduced to a catchphrase, what you need to do is turn strangers into friends and friends into customers through the power of direct marketing. Since my field of expertise IS direct marketing, I grasped immediately what Seth was saying. I "got" it. And I know as sure as I know my own name that what he writes is rock-solid, essential information. The only critical point I'd make is that right now Seth's ideas have a chance to work. And maybe work for a decade or two into the future. But what happens when even those who have given "permission" to receive advertising messages don't have time to read all the messages they've given permission to receive? I'm a great example of that. I've given permission to receive about a dozen online e-newsletters. (In direct marketing parlance, I've "opted in.") However, I simply don't have time to wade through them all. (Truth be told, the only one I read -- and look forward to -- on a regular basis is Seth's.) So not all permission is created equal. I imagine as people get even more busy that even those advertisers with whom they have a relationship will begin to see a drop-off in response. But until that time, Permission Marketing should be required reading for all university students, direct marketers (who likely already know its simple, yet powerful message), advertisers, marketers and clients. Once you "get" what Seth is saying, you'll never look at advertising the same way again!
31 of 34 found the following review helpful:
 Interesting Points But Falls ShortJan 20, 2000
By Christopher Thomas
Overall the book raises some good points with regards to developing open dialogs with both existing and potential customers. The book definitely could have been summarized in fewer chapters. Some of the cases cited were great examples of developing interest in a product or service that definitley displayed excellent built in follow up mechanisms. However, since the jest of the book leaned towards the use of the Internet and e-mail as a marketing vehicle the case studies did not necessarily match the vehicle for outreach he was promoting. The book also left one feeling that unless games and sweepstakes were involved the Internet campaign would not necessarily be successful (I may be stretching this view point a bit but it's the impression I left with). Sweepstakes do not work within some arenas. Finally, what I was expecting was some strong advice on Intenet marketing but I felt more like I was getting a sales pitch as to why the firm I worked with should consult with Godin's firm. Perhaps an excellent method of permission marketing! But with any good book I did leave with a few good ideas I could replicate. If I increase my sales from the points of this book it will definitely be well worth the cost.
23 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Permission MarketingDec 24, 1999
This book was a quick read, and I'd have to say more inspiring than informational. Instead of in-depth looks at permission marketing in action, there are quite a few brief examples. Overall, I'd recommend purchasing this book, but not if you are looking for a "How To".
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