references/canon/godin.md

# Godin

## Principle

Start with people worth serving, a specific change worth making, and a reason for that audience to care or talk about the offer.

## Use when

- A new offer needs an initial audience or community.
- The product is undifferentiated and the user wants promotion to compensate.
- The marketing task depends on relevance, permission, or word of mouth.

## Do not over-apply

- A smallest viable audience is an entry strategy, not evidence that broad reach is always wrong.
- Remarkability cannot substitute for distribution, product-market fit, or commercial viability.

## Decision questions

- Who would miss this if it disappeared?
- What change does this audience want?
- What makes the offer worth noticing or discussing?
- How does the business earn continued attention rather than rent it once?

## Counterweight

Use broader reach and penetration evidence when growth depends on category buyers beyond a narrow early audience.

## Sources

- `source:godin-purple-cow`
- `source:godin-this-is-marketing`