The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low Trust World

The first thing about Seth Godin’s All Marketers Are Liars that you need to know is that marketers aren’t really liars. He explains that marketers are storytellers and it’s really the consumer that lies to themselves. We pick a story, latch on to it, and our loyalty is theirs. He even argues recycling is a myth; a lie we like to believe. We don’t recycle because it saves money – it’s actually more expensive. We recycle because it makes us feel better.

How about driving an SUV? Come on, we all know they are unsafe gas guzzlers but hell, they make us feel good. They’re certainly cooler than the more fuel efficient minivan. You’d think that with such an expensive decision we’d want to be logical, but we’re not. The problem is that minivans tell a story and as Godin argues, part of that story is that moms are taxi drivers shuttling their kids around to soccer games and dance classes. No mom wants that kind of image attached to her. They want to be cool in their SUV.

Think of the restaurants you like. Why do you like them? Restaurants aren’t about the food but rather, the atmosphere – the feeling we receive when we look around, admire the decor and interact with the friendly and charming staff.

Seth tells the reader of one of his friends, a successful real estate agent. What makes him successful is the way in which he sells a story. He explains how the agent takes a couple for a drive around the neighborhood and takes the opportunity to educate them about the detailed lives of their would-be neighbors.  By describing the people that live nearby the couple thinks far beyond the physical house and is sold on a complete story – the story of an active, friendly, and diverse community. The key is not that the agent lies to the couple, because although marketing involves telling a story, that doesn’t mean the story is false. In fact, Godin stresses that it is imperative that the story being told is authentic.

At one point he illustrates authenticity in his own book. He asks, what if this book was actually written by his assistant based on a 3 page outline? Would you be as interested in it? After all, it’s the same words. What does the author matter? The answer: everything. The author’s credibility, the name  and story of Seth Godin, is really what sold this book.

Telling a story isn’t an easy task. Godin lets us know that a good story should be subtle – if the slogan for Fox News wasn’t ‘Fair and Balanced’ but instead ‘News for Conservatives’ they probably wouldn’t receive the ratings they do. It should appeal to the senses and not logic (Martin Lindstrom argues this well using his idea of sensory branding in Buyology). This is why the stories told by news agencies are sensationalized and not factual – think of news as being marketed just like any other product. The story should cater to a niche audience and represent an existing worldview that has not yet been tapped into. Marketers don’t create worldviews, they pick one, frame it in such a way that appeals to those that share this worldview and most importantly, they must genuinely embrace it.

Think about these worldviews:

“I believe a home-cooked meal is better for my family.”

“I believe sushi tastes better if the chef is Japanese.”

“Organic food is better.”

A successful story is the Toyato Prius. The Prius endorses a worldview allowing consumers to believe that they are smart (whether they actually are or not) just like the smart features the car offers (the car offers intelligent parking assist, a smart key and other nifty tricks). The story was the foundation but the product was the reality. Essentially, the engineers made the story come true by actually making a smart car. What can we take from this? Transforming the story into an authentic product is the winning combination.

Another story that stuck with me was of a company selling glamorous wine glasses. The company brags that drinking wine in their type of glass actually enhances the taste and experience of wine drinking. Crazy? Apparently not. Placebo or not, people buy it.

Godin argues that people like things that are new and that first impressions are critical as consumers tend to make snap judgments when confronted with an overwhelming amount of choices (Malcolm Gladwell talks about this process in his book Blink).

It is important to understand that marketers aren’t the only storytellers but that consumers too join the fun – they take a major role in telling the story to their friends and help spread the word (again, this is something Gladwell talks about in his book The Tipping Point in reference to agents of change). This is what we can refer to as word of mouth marketing.

Back to big lies: “Who said granola bars are healthy?” asks Godin. Think about it: granola bars are often covered in honey, chocolate and other sugary treats. They’re far from being healthy but the story they sell is enough for us to believe otherwise (Quaker Dark chocolate and Raspberry Almond… mmm).

As my final note, I’ve come to the realization that I have actually lied to myself when reading this book. Why am I even blogging about it? Frankly, it’s not because the book was that informative or even that entertaining to read. The truth is I thought the book was, for the most part, glorified common sense and at times very redundant. All said and done, I bought the book because I had heard the buzz about Seth Godin. I mean, thank goodness it actually was written by him and not his assistant… kidding. Or am I? In all honesty, I had bought into the story that I was being told about him and I wanted to like the book before even reading the first sentence. I had been told he was a wise marketing guru and I wanted to hear more. I guess in some way though, confirming this very idea has taught me something and for that reason I am pleased to have read this book.

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