Marketing and Buddhism
I was not a Buddhist when I started my marketing business. Would I have chosen a different path if I was? I don’t think so. I think the two can be compatible – whether or not my clients or their customers are Buddhist.
At first blush, the two don’t seem related at all. Marketers come in all shapes, sizes, and specialties. We aren’t all Mad Men, nor are we all Emily in Paris. Some of us only consult, some specialize in copywriting, branding, graphic design, web design, running ads, or any of dozens of other specialties.
Much like the multitudes of specialties, there are a multitude of styles and approaches to how one markets. Privacy and email spam laws vary from country to country too. The European Union’s GDPR regulations are far more strict than most of the US, for example.
Email Marketing gets such a bad wrap because so many associate it with the deluge of emails one gets after buying something, the very spammy completely unsolicited mass emails peddling some service, or worse – the outright fraud emails. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
My first marketing heroes was Seth Godin and his book Permission Marketing. Even nearing twenty five years old it is still relevant, perhaps even more than when first released. In a nutshell, permission marketing is the attitude that marketing to you is a privilege not a right. Treating potential clients with respect leads to more trust which leads to longer term relationships and increased sales. On the flip side, it also avoids marketing to those who really aren’t interested or your ideal client. Email lists may be smaller, but they are more engaged readers and your sales/subscriber are higher.
This aligns well with Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, and Right Effort of the Noble Eightfold Path, and I think a case could be made for the remaining elements too.
What do you think?
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