Fortunately for the reader, Permission Marketing is a well-written primer on how to use the Internet as a marketing vehicle. Unlike other books in its genre, Permission Marketing isn't about getting rich quick. In fact, it preaches the exact opposite. Effective marketing, according to Godin, is about developing a long-term relationship with your customers, and as with all types of relationships, it requires a tremendous amount of work. Given this effort, however, the Internet offers tremendous opportunity as a medium for direct marketing.
Advertising is annoying, expensive, and amazingly ineffective.
Today's consumers are so oversaturated with information that ads often fail to leave a mark, even if seen or heard over and over again. Additionally, most ads are simply irrelevant to the majority of people who see them. However, because established companies have found advertising to be effective in the past, many of them insist on continuing the practice, rather than pursuing more innovative marketing techniques. This may explain the bad rap that many marketing people get. Rather than question their company's marketing heritage, they choose to safely practice the status quo.