All Marketers Are Liars Book Summary - All Marketers Are Liars Book explained in key points

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All Marketers Are Liars summary

Name: All Marketers Are Liars
Rating: 4.5 (124 reviews)
Author: Seth Godin

Seth Godin

The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works – and Why Authenticity Is The Best Marketing of All

4.5 (124 ratings)

13 mins

Topics

Neuromarketing Simplify Podcast

Table of Contents

All Marketers Are Liars
Summary of 6 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Get to know marketers.

You know how it goes: you see an AMAZING commercial advertising an AMAZING product. You rush to get it, you buy it, you bring it home. The next day it breaks, crashes – or just does not fulfill the promise made about it in the (no longer so amazing) commercial.

Marketing is about spreading ideas. It’s about telling stories and, in many cases, lies. It’s about tapping into the worlds and minds of consumers – something marketers can be pretty good at.

That’s exactly what these blinks are all about. In fact, in All Marketers Are Liars, the author has some great insights on the world of marketing, how marketers think and how they have created stories (and fibs and frauds) for decades, which have had an impact on the lives of many – both for better and for worse.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why spotting your consumers’ worldviews is so important (and how Dr. Atkins did it);
why people use similar strategies as frogs; and
where the important line is between fibs and frauds.

Marketing is all about telling a story people can believe in.

A long time ago, people noticed that the sun rose every morning, so they developed a story about Helios and his chariot. This occurred long before the concept of “marketing” existed, but it has something fundamental in common with it: a good story.

Effective marketing is all about telling people believable stories. George Riedel, a tenth-generation glass blower, understands this idea well. His company makes glass products and his wine glasses are particularly popular. He says that all wines have a unique “message” which is translated through the glass out of which a person drinks it.

Riedel’s story works amazingly well. Scientific tests have proved there’s no difference between his glasses and others, but wine experts and enthusiasts all around the world insist that wine tastes better out of a Riedel glass.

That’s the power of marketing. It can change the taste of a wine.

Marketing schemes like Riedel’s succeed because in today’s world, people buy what they want, not what they need. That’s how marketers earn their profits.

Think of it this way: imagine a young woman who buys a pair of Puma sneakers for $125 – which were produced for $3 in China. She doesn’t buy them because of their durability or the support they give her feet. She buys them because, once she puts them on, she feels cool. She imagines her life and image will improve slightly once she gets those shoes.

What the Puma marketers really sold the young woman is a story – a story that she’s special, hip and fashionable – and people spread stories. They rarely buy a product just for its particular features. So remember, if you can tell a good story, you’ll reach them.

Get a feeling for your customers’ worldview.

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.

Tailor your story to your customers’ worldview.

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.

People only pay attention to new information and they create stories to make sense of it.

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.

Only authentic stories have a resounding impact on people.

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.

Marketers shouldn’t cross the fine line between fibs and frauds.

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.

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What is All Marketers Are Liars about?

All Marketers Are Liars explains how telling your customers authentic, meaningful stories about your business helps you sell your products and build a strong, long-lasting relationship with them.

Who should read All Marketers Are Liars?

Marketers and marketing students
Anyone who wants to connect with their customers
Anyone who wants to know why wine tastes better in a Riedel glass

About the Author

Seth Godin is the bestselling author of Purple Cow, Linchpin and Poke the Box. He is considered one of the most influential business bloggers in the world.

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