What I learned about marketing from the fish market

I was in the center of Athens for business reasons. I took the Metro, line 2, and got off at Omonia instead of Syntagma, to walk around the market for a bit. I walked along Athinas Street towards Monastiraki where I had my appointment with a businessman.

On the way, on Athinas Street, I was looking at this colorful and bustling bazaar of all kinds and the faces of the merchants and passersby. Passing by the central fish market, I thought, well, on the way back I will also get some fish since I was here.

Indeed, at some point the appointment was over. It went well, the mood was good. It was still early, the summer heat was starting to be pound. The traffic was relatively light, tourism was almost non-existent due to coronavirus. The center of Athens pretended to be busy, but in reality it had a strange sluggishness.

On the way back to Omonia, I make a stop at the fish market, as I had promised myself. I slowly start my walk through the stalls, looking at the goods and soaking up the atmosphere of the market. Passing by each stall, I saw the signs. Sargos, farmed sea breams, wild sea breams, groupers, anchovies, sardines, gopa. Little signs everywhere, with prices and qualities for all tastes. The fishmongers would not miss the opportunity to praise their stall. “The freshest”, “giving away today”, “I have something good sir”, “here is the freshest fish”, they shouted, claiming the customer and his penny.

I continued walking the entire way, almost reaching the end of the market. I still had not bought anything. Two stalls before the end, scanning the fish in front of me with my eyes, I see two signs that caught my attention. Nice fresh cod and the sign said “for children”, next to large fresh sole “for babies”. I unconsciously smiled and hesitated for a while. “For babies my friend, they are very fresh, now twenty a kilo, let’s go”, the fishmonger joins my thoughts. That was it. They are perfect for my boy. “Pick two good ones please”, I tell him.

I open my step to leave, satisfied with both the appointment and my shopping. And suddenly I am overcome with professional perversion. What made me buy from that stall after all? There were sole and cod at other stalls, equally fresh fish at similar prices.

Apparently, I was a “victim” of the most basic principle of marketing (and sales). At the counter where I shopped, the merchandise and the merchant talked to me about me and my needs. Not about the product, not how good, fresh, cheap the merchandise is. But to me about what I care for. “For babies”.

I realized that what he was actually telling me was “it concerns you, it is for you who want the best for your child”. “This is for you”, implying at the same time the “why” it is for me, that is because it's “fresh, high quality, boneless, everything that is good”. Even implying the fishmonger's personal values, that is “reliability, honesty, parental affection, love for children”.

Marketing fairy tales? Maybe. Obviously, I had decided that I would take the risk of confirming it later in the grilling, but for the time being he had me.

In marketing, which is ultimately both the science and the art of building relationships with customers/consumers, the “who” and the “why” are often more important than the “what” and the “how.”

In a world of abundance and high technology, with tremendous communication “noise,” people try to discern what concerns them and why, more than what and how will meet their needs and wants. There are “solutions” everywhere in abundance. But which ones concern us?

Brands and businesses that are clear and unambiguous about who they are addressing and why and are committed to serving them, have the best chance of developing a lasting relationship with their customers.

A prerequisite for this is that the brands have been organically set up like that, meaning they have a clear picture of their mission and the audience they aim to serve and that they consistently focus all their efforts to be the best (brands/businesses) in what they do, with consistency and precision.

The principle of good marketing and the creation of branded products and services that concern the audience is condensed into a question and its answer:

Which audience do we address and how are we “set up” to serve it best?

Based on the answer to this question, the product/service mix, features, specifications, etc., that will serve the above consistently are formed.

The fishmonger of the central market learned how this principle works in practice, through daily competition with dozens of competitors, being almost last in line, but ultimately first in the mind of the customer who he had decided to target.

The fish market has spoken. Even if it doesn't know the science of marketing, it does know the art of marketing.