Seth Godin’s All Marketers are Liars came highly recommended as a must-read for anyone in sales and marketing. It was good but didn’t live up to the hype.
The title comes with a clever bit of irony from Godin, a master marketer himself. He goes on to explain that “All Marketers are Storytellers” would have been more accurate, but far less marketable.
The book shares some interesting examples of good and bad marketing. In politics, Godin argues that John Kerry lost the 2004 election because of his failure to tell a consistent story, despite running against a president with the lowest approval ratings of any winning incumbent. When a strong marketer (like Obama) should have won easily, Kerry failed.
He goes on to talk about the marketing success of SUVs in the 1990s and early 2000s. Car companies told a story about ruggedness, safety, and independence that struck a chord with millions of customers who suddenly found their minivans obsolete.
Here is Godin’s checklist for successful marketers:
- Your marketing must tell a consistent story. That means having product, price, placement, and promotion all aligned.
- Your marketing must resonate with a certain worldview of your customers.
- If your product or service is unique and the message powerful, customers will naturally tell others about it. Godin calls this idea a Purple Cow, which is the subject of another of his books.
I read the 2005 version, but would be interested in seeing what’s been added for the 2009 version. It’s pretty short (under 200 pages), and worthwhile if you’re in a marketing or sales role. But for everyone else, I don’t think you’ll get much out of it.
FTC Disclosure: If you buy All Marketers are Liars through the above link, Amazon will pay me 4% of the purchase price.
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