Page 13 - Duct Tape Marketing

Introduction: A Solution to
THE Small Business Problem

Journey to the Center of the Marketing Universe

So, what’s changed since I first sat down to write Duct Tape Marketing,
and has it been sufficient to warrant an update of this text?

Actually, as anyone who’s been trying to build a business over the
last few years can attest, a startling amount of change has occurred—
and yet, much has remained the same. The updates in this version
of Duct Tape Marketing reflect many of the changes with regard to
tools, rules, and tactics, while retaining the fundamental message that
marketing is a system.

There was a time, just a few short years ago, really, when small
businesses finally concluded that they must use the Web to supple-
ment their marketing efforts and create another potential channel
for marketing messages. Today’s business must evolve that thinking
radically again or face extinction. The onslaught of social media use
didn’t simply create another set of marketing tactics; it signaled, to
those viewing it strategically, a shift in the marketing landscape that
has become preposterously evident as we race through the twenty-first
century.

The Web and digital interactivity now represent the center of the
marketing universe. Most marketing decisions must start and end
there. Today’s marketers must view their marketing strategies and tac-
tics with an eye on growing the online center and radiating beyond

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