Comments on: The Physics of Marketing – Newton’s Law of Gravitation http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm say something Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:03:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Isaac Newton and the Future of Marketing | davidebowman http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm/comment-page-1#comment-11368 Isaac Newton and the Future of Marketing | davidebowman Thu, 14 May 2009 18:34:10 +0000 http://www.davidebowman.com/?p=644#comment-11368 [...] year I wrote this post as part of my ongoing series The Physics of Markeitng.  The post discussed ways that [...] [...] year I wrote this post as part of my ongoing series The Physics of Markeitng.  The post discussed ways that [...]

]]> By: Seth Riffs on Proximity | davidebowman http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm/comment-page-1#comment-2052 Seth Riffs on Proximity | davidebowman Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:20:03 +0000 http://www.davidebowman.com/?p=644#comment-2052 [...] few weeks back I was discussing Newton’s Law of Gravitation and the importance of proximity in Marketing. This discussion revolved around the idea of getting [...] [...] few weeks back I was discussing Newton’s Law of Gravitation and the importance of proximity in Marketing. This discussion revolved around the idea of getting [...]

]]> By: Links - 31st April 2008 « Curiously Persistent http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm/comment-page-1#comment-816 Links - 31st April 2008 « Curiously Persistent Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:34:24 +0000 http://www.davidebowman.com/?p=644#comment-816 [...] How Newton’s law works with brands (David E Bowman) NB: I love this theory encapsulating mass and proximity - simple and beautiful [...] [...] How Newton’s law works with brands (David E Bowman) NB: I love this theory encapsulating mass and proximity – simple and beautiful [...]

]]> By: davidebowman http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm/comment-page-1#comment-811 davidebowman Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:17:22 +0000 http://www.davidebowman.com/?p=644#comment-811 If being close to your customers is truly more important than being big, do you wonder why it tends to be such an afterthought? Play to your strength. If the strength of a small firm is proximity to the customer, than intuitively the focus should be on getting closer, not bigger. This might be akin to what Seth Godin described as "share of wallet" as opposed to the typical focus on "share of market." Deeply understanding the needs of customers, identifying, anticipating, and solving their problems yields proximity. Advertising can deliver bigger, but understanding gets you closer. Gravity is pretty damn interesting. Thanks Isaac Newton. If being close to your customers is truly more important than being big, do you wonder why it tends to be such an afterthought? Play to your strength. If the strength of a small firm is proximity to the customer, than intuitively the focus should be on getting closer, not bigger. This might be akin to what Seth Godin described as “share of wallet” as opposed to the typical focus on “share of market.” Deeply understanding the needs of customers, identifying, anticipating, and solving their problems yields proximity. Advertising can deliver bigger, but understanding gets you closer. Gravity is pretty damn interesting. Thanks Isaac Newton.

]]> By: Chad http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm/comment-page-1#comment-810 Chad Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:11:02 +0000 http://www.davidebowman.com/?p=644#comment-810 I think mass and distance are both important. However, the law of gravitation states that distance has a greater influence than mass. The gravitational force between any two bodies can be described as follows: F = G*M1*M2/d^2 So the force (F) is linearly proportional to mass but the distance effect is squared. So if you double the distance (d), the force drops to 1/4th. Being close to your customers is more important than being big. I think a good analogy is my personal choice in operating systems. Microsoft is huge, it has an extremely large mass. However, their anti-competitive business practices and high cost software push me away from them. As a result, I have begun to gravitate towards Linux and open source software. Now Linux has only a mere fraction of the mass as Microsoft, however they are "closer" to me in terms of concept and in cost. Therefore, they have a greater pull even though the mass is considerably less. I think mass and distance are both important. However, the law of gravitation states that distance has a greater influence than mass. The gravitational force between any two bodies can be described as follows:

F = G*M1*M2/d^2

So the force (F) is linearly proportional to mass but the distance effect is squared. So if you double the distance (d), the force drops to 1/4th. Being close to your customers is more important than being big.

I think a good analogy is my personal choice in operating systems. Microsoft is huge, it has an extremely large mass. However, their anti-competitive business practices and high cost software push me away from them. As a result, I have begun to gravitate towards Linux and open source software. Now Linux has only a mere fraction of the mass as Microsoft, however they are “closer” to me in terms of concept and in cost. Therefore, they have a greater pull even though the mass is considerably less.

]]> By: Rohit Mishra http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm/comment-page-1#comment-808 Rohit Mishra Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:57:22 +0000 http://www.davidebowman.com/?p=644#comment-808 It is always about service David. Even for the big mass like "Coke" . When a food-research institute published reports about presence of harmful amount of pesticides in Coke and Pepsi a couple of years back in India, both brands took a big hit. It was only after a long-drawn advertising campaign where Pepsi used the tagline "Same Standard Worldwide" that consumer confidence grew back into these mega-brands. Rohit It is always about service David. Even for the big mass like “Coke” . When a food-research institute published reports about presence of harmful amount of pesticides in Coke and Pepsi a couple of years back in India, both brands took a big hit. It was only after a long-drawn advertising campaign where Pepsi used the tagline “Same Standard Worldwide” that consumer confidence grew back into these mega-brands.
Rohit

]]> By: Doug Dockery http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm/comment-page-1#comment-807 Doug Dockery Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:23:47 +0000 http://www.davidebowman.com/?p=644#comment-807 Dave: Great post - I've learned a great deal from your Physics of Marketing series of posts. I'm looking forward to the next one! Best - Doug Dave:

Great post – I’ve learned a great deal from your Physics of Marketing series of posts. I’m looking forward to the next one!

Best -

Doug

]]> By: Tim Bailey http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm/comment-page-1#comment-806 Tim Bailey Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:11:05 +0000 http://www.davidebowman.com/?p=644#comment-806 Very eloquently put David. A thought akin to your soda analogy: As you may know, I recently bought my first home with my family. I knew that there was going to be some maintenance work...but I have found that my gross underestimation has found me taking trips to home improvement stores weekly-plus. Here lies a perfect example of how Newton's Law of Gravitation seems to apply to marketing. It was the week before easter and I had been in my neighborhood Ace True Value picking up a gasket that I needed to make a minor plumbing repair. While I was in the store, I noticed that on that Saturday they were hosting their annual Easter Egg Hunt. Naturally, I decided that I was going to take my 5 year old girl to the hunt (gives me a chance to spend quality time with the little one and be in a hardware store at the same time). Now the egg hunt was very folksy. It was an honest effort to do something nice for their customers. It did not go off without a hitch (they ran out of eggs), but at the same time, it was a clear message of appreciation and giving something back. Anyway, the crux of the story is that this particular store, although it does not have nearly the mass of a Lowes or Home Depot, has a high gravity not only because it is close, but also because of things like Easter Egg hunts and other events that tell the customer base that 'we are close AND we care'. The interesting fact related to this wonderful hardware store is that I, unfortunately would not travel far out of my way to go there. Had I lived around the corner from one of the big box DIY stores, I would have bought my gasket and been on my way. Why? Because mass and distance affect our buying habits, no matter how hard we try to say they don't. It seems to just be the science behind business. Very eloquently put David.

A thought akin to your soda analogy:

As you may know, I recently bought my first home with my family. I knew that there was going to be some maintenance work…but I have found that my gross underestimation has found me taking trips to home improvement stores weekly-plus.

Here lies a perfect example of how Newton’s Law of Gravitation seems to apply to marketing. It was the week before easter and I had been in my neighborhood Ace True Value picking up a gasket that I needed to make a minor plumbing repair. While I was in the store, I noticed that on that Saturday they were hosting their annual Easter Egg Hunt. Naturally, I decided that I was going to take my 5 year old girl to the hunt (gives me a chance to spend quality time with the little one and be in a hardware store at the same time). Now the egg hunt was very folksy. It was an honest effort to do something nice for their customers. It did not go off without a hitch (they ran out of eggs), but at the same time, it was a clear message of appreciation and giving something back. Anyway, the crux of the story is that this particular store, although it does not have nearly the mass of a Lowes or Home Depot, has a high gravity not only because it is close, but also because of things like Easter Egg hunts and other events that tell the customer base that ‘we are close AND we care’.

The interesting fact related to this wonderful hardware store is that I, unfortunately would not travel far out of my way to go there. Had I lived around the corner from one of the big box DIY stores, I would have bought my gasket and been on my way. Why? Because mass and distance affect our buying habits, no matter how hard we try to say they don’t. It seems to just be the science behind business.

]]> By: Friday Favorites: April 21-25 « The Transfer http://www.davidebowman.com/the-physics-of-marketing-newtons-law-of-gravitation.htm/comment-page-1#comment-804 Friday Favorites: April 21-25 « The Transfer Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:53:15 +0000 http://www.davidebowman.com/?p=644#comment-804 [...] The Physics of Marketing - Newton’s Law of Gravitation- I just began subscribing to davidebowman this week because of this very post from the site’s namesake. Very logical and effective marketing analogy. Nice writing style too. Hat tip to John Moore at Brand Autopsy for mentioning it. [...] [...] The Physics of Marketing – Newton’s Law of Gravitation- I just began subscribing to davidebowman this week because of this very post from the site’s namesake. Very logical and effective marketing analogy. Nice writing style too. Hat tip to John Moore at Brand Autopsy for mentioning it. [...]

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