I just finished Seth Godin’s latest book, “Meatball Sundae.” It’s good stuff – Seth speaks the truth. He explores the 14 foundations of new marketing and explains why they don’t apply to everyone. I suggest you check it out – but skip “Trend 13,” because it’s right here. I couldn’t resist: This could really change the way we market. Wait. It’s already changing it.

The New Bell Curve

The old curve looked like this:

The hump in the middle is the average consumer. It represents average products at good prices. Seth points to Sears, the corner hardware store and GE as examples.

Now check out the new bell curve:

At the cheap end stands Wal-Mart and at the other end are ski lodges in Telluride, Whole Foods and limited-edition Puma sneakers. Nobody wants to buy in the middle lately.

Seth sums it up like this: “Rich people used to live in similar neighborhoods, and read similar magazines. As a result, marketing to rich people was pretty easy. No longer. As the gulf between rich and poor continues to widen, and the number of people considered rich increases daily, the diversity of the rich increases as well.”