Seth Godin writes a marketing blog that is surprisingly human. Seth’s points and insights are ethical, and apply to many areas of life we don’t usually think of as marketing.
In Lifetime value of a customer/cost per customer Seth points out:
Two things every business and non-profit needs to know:
How much does it cost you to get one new customer?
On average, what’s that customer worth over the relationship you have with her?
In relationship terms, I might re-phrase as, “How much time, effort, and preparation does it cost me to get a date?”, and “How long will I be satisfied with that date, and have that person in my life?”
Here is where Seth really ties this together.
On the other hand, legions of unsophisticated marketers are getting both sides of the equation wrong.
They invest a lot in hoopla, spin and hype to get strangers to notice them (once), making the cost of a connection high, and then, once they borrow a little attention, they put everything into a one shot transaction, which few people engage in, and those that do create little value, because the permission asset is then discarded.
Dates, not singles bars. Subscriptions, not vegomatics.
Don’t look for the brightest, hottest party animal. Look for the character, stability, and security of a prospective mate and co-parent. And treat them, and yourself, as if they were worth a lifetime of sharing.