This Is Marketing by Seth Godin

Marketers create tension, and forward motion relieves that tension
The logic of the going-out-of-business sale is elusive. After all, if the store was any good, it
wouldn’t be going out of business. And if a customer is hoping for support, a warranty, or
a chance for a return, buying something from a store that’s about to disappear isn’t very
smart.
And yet, people can’t resist a bargain.
That’s because the scarcity of the going-out-of-business sale creates tension. The
tension of “What bargains did I miss?” The best way to relieve that tension is to go to the
store and check it out.
Of course, the fear of missing out on a bankruptcy isn’t the only tension that drives us
forward.
Here’s a new social app. If you get in early, you’ll find more friends and be more in sync
than the people who come later. Better not fall behind.
Here’s how we process the invoices here. I know you’re familiar with the original
system, but our organization uses the new one, and you’ll need to be good at it by
Thursday.
The last three houses that sold on our block went for less than anyone expected. If we
don’t sell soon, we’ll never be able to cover our mortgage.
Supreme is only making 250 of these sneakers. I’m getting a pair—are you coming?
If you want to find out how the series ends, you’ll need to tune in on Sunday.
We don’t want to feel left out, left behind, uninformed, or impotent. We want to get
ahead. We want to be in sync. We want to do what people like us are doing.
None of those feelings existed before a marketer showed up with something that
caused them—if there weren’t a new album, you wouldn’t feel left out if you hadn’t heard
it yet.
We intentionally create these gaps, these little canyons of tension that people find
themselves leaping over.
And the reason is status.
Where do we stand?
What does the tribe think of us?
Who’s up, and who’s down?
Are you ready to create tension?
It’s not a rhetorical question.
There are two ways to do your work.
You can be a cab driver. Show up and ask someone where they want to go. Charge them
based on the meter. Be a replaceable cog in the on-demand transport system. You might
be a harder-working cabbie, but it won’t change much.
Or you can be an agent of change, someone who creates tension and then relieves it.
When they started building fancy casinos in Las Vegas, it created tension for countless
travelers. Visitors who just a year earlier were happy in Reno or in downtown Las Vegas