Is “Marketing” by “Wants” dead?

> I really don't understand this argument.

> If frozen pizza isn't selling, why do they
> stock the fridge at my local supermarket
> full of them?

The point about the "frozen pizzas" is not that they aren't selling it's that there are tons of companies selling them, which makes it an extremely difficult market to break into. As are most markets... again overcapacity and oversaturation have created a bonanza for the consumer and a huge road-block for new competitors in that market.

> If people have less time, then why has E-bay
> exploded in popularity? Seems kind of odd
> that-- if people have less time, they are
> somehow able to spend hours browsing and
> bidding on E-bay items. Especially
> nonsensical items like packing popcorn in
> the shape of Elvis.

That is exactly why people have less time. You and I may agree that searching for packing popcorn shaped like Elvis maybe a complete waste of time but to the people doing it, it is extremely important. You as a marketer now have the daunting task of trying to get this consumer to stop looking for Elvis long enough to pay attention to your marketing message.

> If people don't "need" anything
> anymore and don't have time to experiment
> with new products, then why are so many
> brick and mortal companies finding success
> on the internet? (Despite the .com bomb).

You see that is exactly why the brick & mortar and catalog companies are doing so well on the net--they bring years of relationship building to the table. People deal with Dell, LL Bean, Lands End, Blair and the others because they've dealt with them off-line. It was the companies that had no prior relationship that got killed. Amazon paid and continues to pay a steep price for doing things the "new" way and trying to forge a relationship where none existed before the Internet.

> And how would Godin explain the phenominal
> interest in the "IT" people mover
> invention?

I'm not familiar with this so I can't comment.

> I just don't buy Godin's argument. Maybe it
> seems this way to him because his last book
> sold so poorly. :)

Maybe it is.

> - Adam.