This Is Marketing by Seth Godin

CHAPTER TEN
Trust and Tension Create Forward Motion
Pattern match/pattern interrupt
You’re going to do one or the other.
The pattern match is business as usual. When the offering you bring matches the story
we tell ourselves, the way we tell it, the pace we’re used to, the expense and the risk . . .
it’s an easy choice to add you to the mix.
Consider the family with young kids that’s used to a never-ending parade of breakfast
cereals. Cocoa Krispies led to Lucky Charms led to Frosted Flakes—whichever one is on
sale or has a cool promo (that a kid yells about). When your new brand of cereal shows
up, buying it is a pattern match. Sure, why not?
Or it might be as simple as a sitcom on Thursday night at 9 p.m. Millions sit down
every week to watch TV . . . you’re not trying to change their pattern; you’re simply
putting your new offering into the mix that already exists.
A pattern interrupt, on the other hand, requires some sort of jolt. Tension is created,
and energy is diverted to consider this new input. Is it something worth considering?
Most of the time, for most of those you seek to reach, the answer is no. The answer is no
because the patterns are established, time is precious, and risk is something to be feared.
If you want someone who has never hired a gardener to hire you to be their gardener,
you’re asking for a pattern interrupt. If you are trying to secure a five thousand-dollar
donation from a wealthy person who habitually makes hundred-dollar donations to
charity, you face the same challenge. The pattern requires undoing before you can earn
forward motion.
When life interferes, new patterns are established. This is why it’s so profitable to
market to new dads, engaged women, and people who have recently moved. They don’t
have a pattern to match, so it’s all an interrupt. On the other hand, the purchasing
manager at a typical organization has been taught that matching the pattern is the best
way to keep a steady job with no surprises.
The best time to market a new app is when the platform is brand new.
When you market to someone who doesn’t have a pattern yet, you don’t have to
persuade them that their old choices were mistakes.