Modern vs. Traditional Marketing

Seth Godin and Roger Kerin are two of the greatest marketing minds of our era. Although their goal is ultimately the same, to market products to consumers, their methods and ideals are couldn’t be more different.

Kerin follows the traditional ideas of marketing. Identify what the consumers want and find a way to communicate your product to fulfill their needs.
Pretty simple.
The consumers have a need and buying product fulfills such need, therefore they will go through a five-step process, which he calls the Consumer Decision Process, to identify what’s the best product for them.
This is the conventional way to think of marketing.

Godin has a whole different approach. Godin believes that marketing should not be waiting for them to decide what they want or need, but rather telling the consumer what they need. Marketers should “create change” and “normalize new behaviors.”
For him, decision-making is far too complex to break down into steps and stages. Consumers should be treated as more than just customers in order to build a strong relationship with them. They in turn could turn into brand ambassadors, or a Tribe as he calls it, who are basically walking ads for the brand. Just as Kerin, Godin's approach cannot be applied to every product/service.

Godin’s take on marketing is definitely more interesting and creative than Kerin’s view. However, I believe Kerin represents the basics of marketing and one cannot jump straight into Godin's philosophy. It would be like wanting to run before one learns to walk. Kerin has a more orderly and manageable process, which is easier and more convenient for beginners. Godin definitely disrupted this traditional take, but I believe that there’s space for both schools of thought in an increasingly complex field.

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