BY JOSH CORMAN

SETH GODIN ’ S name is all but synonymous with marketing expertise , and the best-selling author , renowned speaker and Marketing Hall of Fame inductee shared his unique perspective with attendees of the 2021 ISPA Stronger Together Summit . In the Summit ’ s opening Power Session , Godin challenged the audience to redefine what they think of as successful marketing in the first place .

defining marketing differently

Seth Godin began his session with a deceptively complex question for the ISPA community : “ What is it that you make ?” The answer isn ’ t as simple as listing the product your business manufactures or naming the feelings you hope your spa generates in guests , according to Godin : “ My argument is that successful marketers make change happen . We are here , whatever it is we do , to change the state of somebody who has hired us , who has engaged with us , to cause a change to happen .”

It may not be found in Webster ’ s Dictionary , but this definition of marketing offers spa leaders the perfect opportunity to embrace a slightly ( or completely , as the case may be ) different lens through which to view their attempts to serve existing guests and reach new ones in the weeks , months and years ahead . After all , what industry is more focused on changing its customers ’ state of being

than the spa industry ? The challenge , however , is that many spa leaders have not clearly defined the specific change that they are seeking to make in their guests through their services . The solution ? Get specific . “ Everything you do in your spa ,” explained Godin , “ has to have a reason , and that reason is [ built ] around two things : Who is it for ? And what is it for ?”

The answers to these questions must be clear and precise . The answer to the question ,“ Who is it for ?” is no longer “ everyone .” The days of one brand of ketchup in every refrigerator or only three TV networks to choose from are over . This proliferation of choice among consumers may , at first , seem to make marketing more difficult , but according to Godin , there ’ s a real freedom in leaving “ everyone ” behind and instead embracing a target that easier to define : “ The internet makes it impossible to reach everyone , but you can reach someone . So our goal is not to say this is a compromise , but in fact , this is a tactic , a stepping stone on our way to making the change we seek to make for people who are like this . And we are being specific about it . We ’ re doing work that matters for people who care . We ignore the people who don ’ t care . That doesn ’ t matter .”

Though it may seem counterintuitive , shrinking your spa ’ s pool of potential guests to only those who need and are interested in the treatments and services the spa provides can actually make marketing more effective — and easier . As Godin put it , once a potential customer has voluntarily “ enrolled ,” or decided to make the choice to value what your spa offers ,“ suddenly , you don ’ t have to yell at them . You don ’ t have to go hunt them down . Suddenly , they are not prospects , they are students .” Viewing the

20 PULSE ^■ JULY 2021