Forty years ago Ron Shimek, a bar owner named Tombstone Tap (by virtue of the fact that once stood near a cemetery) began selling its local frozen pizza takeaway. The product was so successful, and at times so fast, that even the grocery stores decided to treat it. In 1986 he bought Kraft Foods brand, tossed with a huge commitment to advertising and made money hand over fist. This is the story of a typical big American success: to invent a product that everyone may want, publicizzarlo at mass and achieve huge gains. The strategy was not only effective for the pizza unimpressed any product came in the houses, even aspirin. Imagine what must be drawn exciting to be the first to market aspirin. It was a product that anyone on Earth would have the need, and that she wanted to buy, a product of low cost, easy to use and immediately showed its beneficial effects.

Of course he had enormous success. Today American who walks into a pharmacy is located in front of Advil, Aleve, Alka-Seltzer Morning Relief, Ascriptin, etc. In addition to a score of frames, each of which is available in different variants of the product and in packages of varying size, for a total of over a hundred of articles from which to choose.

Do you think it would be even easier to organize marketing to promote aspirin? Who would put in place a new analgesic, best of all those that are on the market, as would proceed?

The answer is obvious. Having a lot of money and a product in which they really believe, they would spend all he has available to buy as many as possible of advertising on TV and in the national press. This solution would not however without its problems. First of all we want people who want to buy an analgesic, and even if they are many and represent a huge market, they are not all.

After identifying the people who buy painkillers, you need to find those who intend to change. Many, in fact, prefer to remain faithful to the original, the product they know from childhood. Who found effective, reliable and practical a certain drug, probably you do not waste time in ricercarne a possible replacement. Finally, we need to identify people who are willing to hear about the new product. The vast majority of people are too busy and ignore the commercials, even though they are very numerous. Here, then, that our audience has been reduced by the entire population to its small percentage, established, moreover, by people who are difficult to find and very demanding. Be the first to launch the frozen pizza was a great idea, be the first to propose an analgesic was an even better idea, but someone has already exploited both.

Think for a moment to the books on yoga. The problematic aspect of this type of product is that it exists on the market a truly excessive. Some years ago, when there were few books on yoga, the publisher willing to succeed would have to simply propose a book on yoga. Anyone interested in yoga, he could enter the local bookstore, look at the three or four books available on the subject and buy one. Today in the US market, there are over 500 books devoted to yoga. No specific motivation driven by iron, lose time to examine them one by one before you make your purchase. If you happen to have written a book on yoga, you have no easy road had. In addition to be a huge competition, there is the fact that new yoga books are superfluous to those who already have one and it is satisfied. All those who were in the bookstore a few years ago and contributed to the spread of books on yoga, are no longer interested in purchasing a book on this subject. This is the sad truth about the marketing of any product or service it is intended for consumers or for enterprises: Most consumers can not buy the new product, or why not have the money, or does not have the time, or you do not need it. If there are people who have the money to buy what vendendete the price at which you have to sell it, you do not have a market. If there are people who have the time to listen and understand your proposal, you are like invisible. And if there are people who listen to you, but then they do not want what you propose … well then you can not go far.

The world has changed. The possibilities of choice are much more numerous, but the time available to examine them all is more and more scarce. Only twenty years ago the situation was different. Then consumers possessed much time and had to sift through a lot of options much more modest. They were much less likely to squander money, and if a company had then had to propose an innovative product (mobile phone) would find a way to buy it.

Years ago our economy, booming production, has figured out how to meet most of our needs. Then the game changed, and needs is passed to satisfy our desires. The marketing community has taught us (with an abundance of TV commercials) constantly new things to be desired, and we consumers have done our best to keep pace. Among all potential buyers of a product, most will never even know that this product exists. Today the alternatives offered are so numerous that the mass media are struggling to get the message across to the public. Consumers ignore unwanted messages because they do not have the time to take them into account, while competitors who already have a market share to defend are willing to spend great sums just to keep it.

If you intend to grow your market share or launch a new product or service, you have before you a very demanding challenge. In conclusion?

• All the more obvious targets have already been exceeded, and consumers have less problems easily solved.
• Consumers are difficult to reach because you are ignorant.
• Consumers satisfied are less likely than before to talk to friends of the products listed are pleased.

Old rules work less well than once.

Marketing is dead.

Long live to marketing!