All Marketers Are Liars summary

You might assume that everyone wants the same things in life: success, security, good health, love, respect, happiness, etc. But it’s not that simple. We don’t all want the same things.

Each person has his own worldview, which is formed by his values, biases and assumptions. A person’s worldview is influenced by his parents, the schools he went to, the places he‘s lived and the other environments he’s been in. Their worldview determines which stories they’re going to believe.

So you’ve spent the time getting a good understanding of your customer base’s worldview. What’s next?

The next step is to create a story, or frame, that matches that worldview. The frame allows you to present your story to your customers in a way that’s meaningful.

A key part of telling great stories is understanding how the brain responds to new ideas and how we process information.

When people encounter something new, they compare it to what they already know. Humans are similar to frogs in that sense: we only react to changes and ignore anything that isn’t new.

We’ve all judged people based on their appearance before, even if we didn’t mean to. We make quick judgements about people and objects all the time, often without realizing it. As a marketer, it’s your job to make sure your customers make the right judgment when they’re first exposed to your product.

There’s a difference between your customer’s first contact with your brand and their first impression of it. People often confuse these two things. The customer’s first contact with the brand is simply that: their very first contact, which might not necessarily generate a reaction. Their first meaningful reaction is their first impression.

It would be unethical to market a speaker cable for $99 if it only worked as well as a $10 one, right? Marketers should be honest and consumers should be rational, right?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. People aren’t always rational when it comes to making purchases. Most of us would like to think we buy products because of their quality or function. We spend our hard-earned money on useful things that make our lives better; we don’t waste it on foolish trends.