Nov 14, 20194 min read

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin

Why Should you read purple cow?

Purple cow by Seth Godin, along with Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, are the precursors, to what we have seen in terms of social media marketing.

Remarkable services, personalities, and brands are what drives successful businesses in today’s market. If you think you can survive by coasting and fitting in, you are by definition the opposite of a purple cow. Only once you have found your core market, and continue to be unique one of a kind and remarkable, will you be a success.

Traditional Advertising, and marketing is dead, Instead be a purple cow

The basis, behind being a purple cow is to be something unique and rare in your market. How many times have you logged on to a site like YouTube, and been asked to take a survey about ads you’ve seen on the platform. Only to click the haven’t seen or heard of this brand answer.

Most people drown out ads, even the ones that play right before a video because it fails to attract their attention. It is not unique or remarkable in the slightest.

In order to stand out you have to target a direct niche, most successful social media influencers, are good at finding and building upon their niche market. When you have a core demographic and truly appeal to them, you will stand out.

Some social media influencers are famous for the sake of being famous, but temporary fame, without an end goal in mind is pointless.

Following the leader, doesn’t create purple cow’s

YouTube is a platform of notorious follow the leader bandits, constantly coping and making videos to keep up with or compete with the more successful channels. This form or marketing is taxing because you literally have to wait for the next man to create the trend rather than creating your own trend and following.

You have five types of people that have to be influenced, when you hit the third and fourth group, that will allow you to hit your tipping point, and capture the masses.

Five types of people who need to be influenced

Innovators, the people who want to be first, and tell the world about how they were first, or here before you had a huge following.
Early adopters, people who may be more interested in your brand and willing to tote and share your brand everywhere.
Early Majority, they see the trend and start using your product or brand because everyone else is.
Late Majority, they see that they are missing out and want to join the party, because they are late to what it is you have to offer.
Laggards, The are the last people to the party, and are only here because the masses have declared you to be a taste maker.

In order to be a Purple cow ask yourself, “What can I do to make my product/service worth sharing?”. The Last three types of people who need to be influenced will be your biggest consumers, but you have to make products that appeal to the innovators, and early adopters to attract the latter.

What does your marketing say about you?

When you finish your product, you have to consider, what makes it a perennial seller. Sometimes you have to change what you thought your marketing should of been to appeal to the crowd you want to reach.

Sometimes the early innovators come from cultures, and demographics, you wouldn’t of expected, so you may have to change your marketing to become deeply associated with that sub group.

Once you build your Tribe, all you have to do is remain “You”.

Consider Solution based marketing

Mass marketing, suggests you just overwhelm you audience, with ads about what you think is important. Unless your McDonald’s or Coke, mass ads, for the sake of running ads, will not allow you to gain or keep an audience.

Solution based marketing, is a much simpler approach and allows people to find you because they may have a problem you can fix. People find me and my personal training services, from googling about specific issues they have. Like, “How do i Lose weight”, or “How to I build a better six pack”.

What are the questions your core audience is asking, if you are unsure, you need to visit forums, or google away things related to your niche until you find their core problem. Once doing that create and advertise solutions to their problems.

Purple Cows draw criticism

Kanye West, Donald Trump and the list could go on and on, aren’t afraid of making controversial statements to draw a crowd. Whats conversational to the masses, is only conversational pieces, for their advocates who will defend them to death. While you don’t have to be as critical as them, having a definite personality and opinion, will do wonders for attracting your core audience.