I recently heard a terrific teleseminar involving Seth Godin (you can download it from the linked blog post). The discussion centered around the role of social media in the changing landscape of business.

At about 26 minutes in he asks the underlying question which every business owners needs to ask is "What business am I in?" We interact all the time with businesses that don't really understand what it is that we are buying from them. How many gyms believe that what you are buying is that little bar code to put on your key ring that lets you in at any time. Nope! You are buying a healthy, fit you. It behooves the gym to ensure that you are making good on your investment because, if not, they will lose you as a customer.

We once had a client who owned a carpet store. I got the sense that they thought that what they were selling was carpets and flooring. Uh-uh. That's not what people are buying. They are buying style, comfort and beauty for their home. It may come in the form of carpet, but you gotta know what it is that people want to advertise effectively to them.

Gourmet Lite Bake Shop (disclosure: they are a client) is a company that knows what they are selling. On the surface, they are a company that makes great tasting fat-free and sugar-free baked goods. In reality, they sell an authentic story, Matt Liebowitz's quest for a truly dietetic, great tasting snack which could back up it's claim of being  fat-free.

Most people don't know it, but Matt is in the health business.