If all marketers are liars, and Seth Godin is a marketer, then....
Tags: Communication, Books, Marketing
Marketer Seth Godin has a new book out titled "All Marketers Are Liars". He has also established a Web site that solicits stories from readers that he can then use to promote the book. I'm not going to link to the book or the Web site because I don't think anyone should waste their money on them.
Blackfriars likes some of the concepts in the book. We also believe that story telling and creating new worldviews are powerful marketing tools (although not the only ones). But most people will never read that far, assuming that the primary point of the book is in the title. And they'll use that to reinforce their view that marketers lie to sell product. The only problem: objective data doesn't support that worldview.
In our April survey, we asked 300 senior business executives whether they thought marketing was the public face of corporate strategy. Nearly three quarters of executives agreed with that statement. So if all marketers are liars, and marketing is the public face of corporate strategy, then most corporate strategy must be to lie. Do you really believe that? Three quarters of executives also believed that marketing was important to their company, and two-thirds believed that marketing provides their company with significant competitive advantage. So lying is the way that you gain business and competitive advantage? Hmmm. I think the Securities And Exchange Commission might have some issues with that, particularly with Sarbanes/Oxley in effect. Also the Federal Trade Commission. And the majority of business executives, for that matter.
Seth wants to be controversial to generate buzz. We get that. But will you take out a bank account with a company that lies to you? How about have heart surgery with a doctor that lies to you? Companies will spend nearly $1.1 trillion on marketing this year. Do we really want to waste nearly 9% of the US gross domestic product on lying to customers who might want to buy our products?
The bottom line: Seth may have some good ideas in his book, but he has taken too much of his book's thesis to heart. He's lying about marketing and marketers to sell books. Clearly that's his worldview. But we don't have to buy it, and you shouldn't either.
Marketer Seth Godin has a new book out titled "All Marketers Are Liars". He has also established a Web site that solicits stories from readers that he can then use to promote the book. I'm not going to link to the book or the Web site because I don't think anyone should waste their money on them.
Blackfriars likes some of the concepts in the book. We also believe that story telling and creating new worldviews are powerful marketing tools (although not the only ones). But most people will never read that far, assuming that the primary point of the book is in the title. And they'll use that to reinforce their view that marketers lie to sell product. The only problem: objective data doesn't support that worldview.
In our April survey, we asked 300 senior business executives whether they thought marketing was the public face of corporate strategy. Nearly three quarters of executives agreed with that statement. So if all marketers are liars, and marketing is the public face of corporate strategy, then most corporate strategy must be to lie. Do you really believe that? Three quarters of executives also believed that marketing was important to their company, and two-thirds believed that marketing provides their company with significant competitive advantage. So lying is the way that you gain business and competitive advantage? Hmmm. I think the Securities And Exchange Commission might have some issues with that, particularly with Sarbanes/Oxley in effect. Also the Federal Trade Commission. And the majority of business executives, for that matter.
Seth wants to be controversial to generate buzz. We get that. But will you take out a bank account with a company that lies to you? How about have heart surgery with a doctor that lies to you? Companies will spend nearly $1.1 trillion on marketing this year. Do we really want to waste nearly 9% of the US gross domestic product on lying to customers who might want to buy our products?
The bottom line: Seth may have some good ideas in his book, but he has taken too much of his book's thesis to heart. He's lying about marketing and marketers to sell books. Clearly that's his worldview. But we don't have to buy it, and you shouldn't either.
posted by Carl Howe at
10:32 AM
| View blog reactions
| 
