Marketing with Meaning
ByBook Review: “The Next Evolution of Marketing: Connect With Your Customers by Marketing with Meaning” by Bob Gilbreath. Published 2010 by McGraw-Hill Books. (Until August 2nd, you can enter to win a copy of this book at Marketing Sherpa.)
Marketing Strategist Bob Gilbreath of MarketingWithMeaning.com says there’s a marketing revolution now underway. We’re in the midst of a sea change in marketing. Old formulas are no longer working. Why? Because most traditional marketing is void of meaning.
The solution? Create marketing that’s meaningful and adds personal value to people’s lives. Create marketing that people can actively choose to engage with.
To paraphrase Bob’s message: With direct marketing that evolved in the 50’s, you approached strangers. Permission marketing became popular in the 90’s where you turned those strangers into friends with your message. Now, with meaningful marketing, you can improve people’s lives through the marketing itself. The focus is more on providing meaning to potential clients than on pushing your message out.
“People want richer experiences and deeper social connections. . . People are seeking higher meaning…ways to improve themselves, realize a dream, or make a positive impact on the world.”
For marketing with meaning to be effective, you’ll want to create social connections between your brand and your audience. To find out what’s most meaningful to your clients, you need to determine what’s genuinely important to them.
“To forge a genuine connection with your customers, you have to be one of your own biggest fans and it helps to be vocal about it.”
One thing I really like about this approach of marketing with meaning it that’s it’s in alignment for the service professionals I coach. Teaching people skills and improving people’s lives can all be done through your marketing.
My “Teach to Sell” Marketing Model falls in line with this approach. Teach people what you know, educate and entertain them, develop meaningful relationships with them, and you’ll never have to sell again.
Marketing with meaning leads to higher quality engagement with a smaller group of people. The new approach is to inspire and educate, rather than to promote – and to create marketing that your clients will find valuable. Examples might be providing a free online course or special report, or a video series that teaches them something they really want to know, or a tips booklet or workbook – and of course publishing ezines, blogs and social media tips – any content that your clients would find meaningful.
Take a look at your marketing approach. How are you having a positive impact on your client’s lives through your marketing? What could you change to take more of an “education marketing” approach and make the shift to the new marketing paradigm of providing more meaning and value?
I invite you to post your thoughts and comments below.
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Jan Marie Dore is passionate about empowering women entrepreneurs to get their message out to wider audiences and reach new levels of success, fulfillment and profits in their business. Her clients are women around the world who have a talent, passion, service or expertise they want to share to make a difference in people’s lives. 
