While I was away on vacation, David Meermen Scott sent me his latest book, Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead, which I finally had a chance to read now that I am back and you should read it, too. As familiar as I was with the Grateful Dead, I never thought about the fact that the way they sold themselves became a blueprint for so much of how businesses succeed online today. Obviously, if you’re my age and you know the story of the band, this book is a delight, but I think it has lessons to teach anyone in Internet marketing.
Younger Internet marketers might not know that the Grateful Dead did not make most of their money from records, which was highly unusual in that era. All of the angst that has gripped the music business in the downloadable (and piratable) iTunes era could have been avoided if bands did as the Dead did, emphasizing what works for fans rather than what works for the record label. Deadheads openly recorded concerts and passed around copies with the band’s approval. The Dead made most of its money on its tours, playing a tiring 100 dates annually for many years.
So, when we think about Internet companies (Google, Facebook, and others) starting businesses based on pleasing the user and expecting that a business model for making money will emerge, it seemed breathtakingly new, but it is clear that the Dead did it first.
Image via Wikipedia
When fans started selling T-shirts and other merchandise, most bands would shut that down, but the Dead decided to license the sellers and take a cut of their profits, which isn’t much different from how most Internet businesses work today. They take a cut of advertising, but they let others do all the work of creating the ads and targeting them.
In addition, those Internet businesses do not sell ads through advertising agencies, the way old media does. They go direct. The authors point out that the Grateful Dead sold concert tickets the same way, using database marketing to sell tickets for shows directly to fans, who got access to the good seats before Ticketmaster or other ticket agencies saw any of the tickets.
Lest you think the whole book is about the Grateful Dead, fear not. Authors Scott and Brian Halligan spend a lot of time showing how these Dead principles have been translated into action by many successful companies having nothing to do with the band. But the clever idea that illustrates these concepts makes this marketing book a page turner and the ideas might just stick with you a bit better than if they didn’t have this kind of memorable theme.
