Years ago (during the industrial revolution) humanity didn't really make much. So selling became an operation around production. If you could make it you could sell it.
Move on a few decades and we started having to sell. There were lots of people making things, so producers had to find ways to shout loudly 'buy this'
The marketing landscape had changed massively from one of under supply to one of over supply.
Then we had another seismic change. People got to know and understand the tricks marketers used and so the tricks stopped working. Marketing had to work towards building relationships with their customers
Wind forward and all of a sudden the landscape has changed again. People can get all sorts of stuff really easily. The big change is that if you give things that people value away for free then you'll make more money.
This weekend I've been out of town. I found a coffee shop and a pub that offered free wifi. In a small town the pub was one of five and I chose them because they advertised free wifi. I bought drinks and food and spent time there. The next evening, when I was thinking where to go I didn't even consider the competitors. The original pub had thrown its competitors out of the game.
I did exactly the same during the day with the coffee shop. Being able to pick up my emails on my laptop is really valuable for me but for the two businesses probably cost £20-£30 per month. Nothing in the great scheme of things.
Think about the sorts of problems your customers face. Can your business give something of value away? If you can tap into this mine of goodwill then it's distinctly possible you could throw your competitors out of the game.
