In England, he might have been knighted. In Italy, a bronze statue in the piazza might have been thought to be fitting.  But in America, the highest accolade accorded to Seth Godin, “marketing guru,” is his own action figure.  Of course Accoutrements (a great source for truly bizarre products) affords that honor to some highly unlikely figures, including a crazy cat lady, a Skydiving Sigmund Freud and Casanova.

So who is Seth Godin, and why should you consider perching his action figure on the corner of your computer? According to the blurb from Accoutrements — and they are masters at the writing of product copy — “It’s rumored that if you want insight into what your customers want and how they’d like to be communicated with, you can rub Seth’s bald head and the answer will become clear.”

But if that fails, you can go to the man himself.  Seth Godin is an extremely prolific speaker, writer and blogger.  He is the author of several clever books about marketing, including The Big Moo and Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. (No, he’s not from the dairy state, despite a certain bovine slant to his book titles.) He promotes the idea of a business earning its marketing buzz by doing something unique, a refers to a business or product that is remarkable as a purple cow.

If you are looking for inspiration to make your business stand out, and for ideas as to how to tell your story so that it captures the attention of the public, turn to Seth Godin.  You could try the action figure, or you could read any of his books or his blog, which he refers to as “riffs on marketing, respect, and the ways ideas spread.” 

There are also a number of online videos with Seth Godin, including an excellent series of short video interviews on American Express OPEN forum’s site about social networking and other current marketing issues.  Seth Godin — or should that be Sir Seth — clearly knows a lot about how to market, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind. Whether you agree with his opinions or not, this issue is important to all of us trying to promote a business, so I think it’s worth listening to what he has to say.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder