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 Positioning and creating a story about your unique selling proposition
The ideas in this book are not new - they revolve around the core of successful marketing, around positioning and creating a story about your business that revolves what is at other times called a unique selling proposition, how is what you are selling different than the similar products by other sellers.
The book is ultimately about creating your story, not just verbally but through the whole experience a potential buyer has with you, your company and your products. In other for the story to work it has to be authentic.
We create stories all the time, both as buyers and as sellers and in every area of our lives - they are part of selling, advertising, seduction, court-room, healing, and any form of inter-personal relationships. In the TV series "Shark", the lawyers begins instruction of his assistants with the words "Truth is relative. Choose one that works." This is true in any area of our lives, including in marketing.
We meet someone and we begin to weave stories in our minds out of the information we have and the information we don't have we fill in with whatever seems appropriate to us. When we buy products we may buy stories offered by the company manufacturing the product or we may create our own, according to our own beliefs and experiences (or lack of experience with anything similar).
The seller may weave the story around selling a kefir that says Hunza people live healthy and long lives - over 100 years old - from eating kefir and the buyer may translate the story that if he were to eat kefit, he will also have a long life - never mind all the other differences in lifestyle of people who have long and healthy lives. Kefir may be part of the truth, part of the elements that contribute to healthier lifestyle, but not the whole story - still it is the truth that would work for the company selling kefir.
In this book there are examples of companies that have created stories around products that have injured people - like advising young mothers in poor countries to use powdered milk instead of to breast-feed their babies, which ultimately resulted in premature death of countless babies, partly due to the fact that the water which the mothers used to mix powdered milk was impure, partly because the babies were denied nutrients that support immune system and which are available only through the mothers' milk.
While this book and any other book related to marketing and selling would suggest that the seller focuses on the benefits and weaves the story around how his product can fulfill the needs and wants people have; the book also clearly points out to focus on genuine value for the customer and not to invent things that have nothing to do with the product or worse that can injure people because such stories can and will backfire.
On the other side of the coin are buyers, who should do their own research. Just as an example, there are all sorts of nutritional supplements many of which contribute to better health, none of which are likely 'cure-all" supplements even though they may contribute to general health and some of which may have serious side-effects. People in general seem to act as if they were hypnotized and they tend to go along with what someone says without finding out for themselves and whether it is a marketer or a seller or a friend who shares a story and the story may be valid from one point of view, it may still not be the whole truth and the more we know about things we are consuming, the more we may put those things in proper perspective, without expecting overnight miracles, and the more we may benefit from the products.
We live in a world where the word "instant" this or that is very popular element of many marketing stories, and people tend to get disappointed when they don't get instant results. On the other hand, people get so much bombarded with the promise of "instant" results that many actually seem to believe such stories before they buy the product - buyers will create their own stories based on what they want to believe, not necessarily upon what may be realistic to expect - and then they will get disappointed.
So, when weaving authentic stories about your product or service, it will help if you weave them in way that distinguishes your product or service, that is able to fulfill the needs and desires of customers and that will make your customers feel good for a long time to come. If you are passionate about your work and your work revolves around genuinely helping other people in some way, then the story you create would naturally be authentic and beneficial for your business and for your customers.
Wow, a fun read that teaches and educates in a marvelous way
I have a brand new product, in an otherwise unexplored area that I am designing and taking to market. Due to the economy, and job loss, this million dollar (or more) idea has to be started with no up front capital. I was instructed by my consultant to start reading Seth Godin, "All Marketers are Liars" is the first that I picked up. His ideas fit in so well with my personality, product, and direction that the ideas for marketing just started flowing. Since then I have purchased and am reading Permission Marketing, Idea Virus, Purple Cow, and Tribes. I am looking forward to many hours of pleasurable reading while I am creating my own college level education in marketing in the 21st century. Thank you Seth for presenting these ideas in an enjoyable and informative way.
Authentic Marketing
Conversations with Calliope- Authentic Marketing
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Did you finish Seth Godin's book, All Marketers Are Liars?
JOE: I finished it this morning.
CALLIOPE: So what did you think?
JOE: It was a wake up call and challenged what I thought I knew about marketing.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I want to convey to my readers encouragement to live authentic lives by using their talents for good purposes.
CALLIOPE: So what's the problem?
JOE: I have been concerned that there are many people who don't care about living their lives this way but just want to grab what they can.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: Godin encourages marketers and by extension writers to address people with a worldview consistent with their message rather than trying to change people with entrenched worldviews not open to their message.
CALLIOPE: How does this change your approach?
JOE: My goal will now be to speak effectively to those who are willing to listen rather than beating my head against a wall trying to interest those who think I'm crazy.
CALLIOPE: Sounds good to me.
JOE: Me too. I will get working on it today. Talk with you tomorrow.
Joe Langen, http://www.commonsense-wisdom.blogspot.com.
Not Liars...Storytellers
Seth Godin, author of such classics as Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, and Unleashing the Idea Virus (and founder of the social networking site Squidoo), continues to display his chops as one of the freshest and most visionary marketing minds in the English-speaking part of the planet.
In this book, he looks deeply at the power of story in marketing-with some insights I haven't seen elsewhere.
Why does wine actually taste better in a $20 glass than in a $1 glass? The wine is no different-but the story makes it feel different-and people buy the story (and the glass).
The trick, says Godin, is to tell a new story, often to a new audience. Look for a market segment that feels ignored, that its worldview isn't being heard-and tell a story that reaches them. Don't try to bang your head against the wall telling a modified familiar story to the same old familiar audience that's already been buying from someone else. While your story should not contradict facts, the facts are much less relevant to the marketing than the narrative you weave around it.
Specific examples?
The rock band Wilco rejected the classic record-industry story that illegal music downloads are a destructive force. The band released its repertoire for free download and watched CD and concert ticket sales shoot through the roof.
Cereal maker General Mills responded to the Atkins low-carb diet craze of several years ago with a rapid switch to 100% whole grain for all its cereals-and was able to tell a story about health in a world where healthy foods had become relevant. Godin doesn't mention this, but from a marketing/public perception point of view, that switch was relatively easy even for a giant conglomerate, because several of its most popular product lines (Cheerios, Wheaties, Total) had been telling a story about health for decades.
By contrast Interstate Bakeries, whose iconic brands like Wonder Bread and Hostess Twinkies were widely perceived as non-nutritive, was not able to be convincingly healthy in that market and went bankrupt. Which is especially interesting because Wonder has tried to tell a health story for over 50 years, with its "Helps build strong bodies 8 (later changed to 12) ways" tagline-but the product sure didn't feel healthy, despite its added vitamins.
Yet Wonder is still trying to tell a health story to a skeptical world that has discovered in the meantime what real bread looks, tastes, and feels like. This is on the company's website as of June 15, 2008:
Wonder has helped America build strong bodies for over 80 years. It provides essential vitamins and minerals, an important part of your family's healthy diet. And today Wonder is more nutritious than ever before. Every slice is an excellent source of calcium and a good source of folic acid.
Back to Godin, speaking of health:
Marketers have a new kind of responsibility...If you make a fortune but end up killing people and needlessly draining our shared resources, that's neither ethically nor commercially smart, is it? Nuclear weapons have killed a tiny fraction of the number of people that unethical marketing has...I refuse to accept that there's a difference between a factory manager dumping sludge in the Hudson River (poisoning everyone downstream) and a marketing manager making up a story that ends up causing similar side effects.
Among many other examples, he comes down hard on food giant Nestle for telling a story in the 1970s that got mothers in desperately poor nations to switch from breastfeeding to infant formula, under conditions that made failure-and thus, dead babies-inevitable. In his words, there's a difference between a harmless marketing fib that the consumer tells him/herself in order to believe the story, and an outright fraud with harmful consequences, and Nestle was guilty of the latter, until an international boycott made it hurt too much.
On a related note, Godin also points out the importance of making sure the customer experience delivers on the promise of your story. Cold Stone Creamery, the ice cream chain is one of many businesses he faults for breaking the promise:
Scoopers at Cold Stone Creamery occasionally break into song. They'll sing for tips and they'll sing about the joy of ice cream. At my neighborhood Cold Stone, though, they don't sing. They sort of whine a funeral dirge. It's obvious that someone ordered them to sing, and they don't understand why and they certainly don't care...They are in the business of telling a story. And the song and the smiles and the staff are a much bigger part of that than the ice cream...Soon the hordes will stop coming when they find that the experience leaves them hollow.
Final advice from Godin:
* Marketing must take responsibility to be authentic and have integrity (something I talk about at great length in my own book Principled Profit: Marketing that Puts People First)
* When people shift their pre-existing worldview, they're ready to hear a story that reinforces the change
* Powerful stories can often be found at the junctions of apparent oxymorons like "socially conscious investing," "adventure cruise line" or even "compassionate conservative"
 Authentic Stories and Experiences Help Attract and Retain Customers
All Marketers Are Liars is one of Seth Godin's better marketing books. If you have a choice between reading Purple Cow and All Marketers Are Liars, opt for this one.
The book is based on the observation that customers want to align with offerings and services that reinforce their positive self-images. I'm sure that idea isn't new to you. Otherwise, why would someone pay ten times as much for an item of frequently poor quality that has five cents worth of a brand image stitched into its front?
The book builds from these premises:
1. Don't waste your time trying to educate people about what their worldview should be or what your offerings are. Instead just slip into their preconceptions in a comfortable, authentic way.
2. You won't be noticed unless you fit into their worldview and seem to offer something new that they value.
3. An effective, authentic story can help you make a better and more lasting first impression.
4. Most of the future "experience" of your story will be assumed by customers who want to believe that you are what you say you are.
The book takes a little long to make those points. I found myself wishing this were a tightly edited article rather than a meandering book.
Part of Godin's "promise" to his fans is that he will "shake things up." As a result, the title is deliberately misleading to make people pick the book up . . . because ever customer has been lied to my a marketer or sales person. There's nothing new there. His "new" point for those who haven't studied marketing is that customers like a little sizzle with their steak.
If you know about the emotional value of a brand, this book is a waste of your time. If you think that people only care about product and service features, you need this book.
If you really want to learn about storytelling, I suggest you become acquainted with Stephen Denning's fine books on the subject. If you want to develop a sound foundation in marketing, see Phil Kotler's books.
If you want to be entertained without learning too much, stick with Mr. Godin.
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(based on 100 reviews)
