Marketing Lies and Coercion

Sometimes we put so much importance in what we do that it's difficult to see things through a lens that is not our own. This is partially why, in my essay in the collaborative book, The Age of Conversation, I encouraged readers to get out of their comfort zones and seek other perspectives. I cannot stress this enough: We are not our audience.

The short-sighted phenomenon can cause some difficulty in explaining what we do to others who are not in our respective industries. If we cannot quickly explain what we do, we cannot demonstrate our value. If we cannot demonstrate our value, we cannot expect to unload whatever it is we are selling.

It isn't as simple as to explain it, though, for we must overcome some natural and learned skepticism. As I'm learning more and more as I see more focus groups, people don't like being forced to watch ads. They appreciate it when they can skip them. As a rule, I'm convinced that people don't trust marketers. They expect to be misled.

This distrust is exacerbated as marketers try to force people to view what they so plainly don't want to see. They already don't trust us, yet there are many who spend many hours contemplating ways to force people to view what they don't trust.

Marketers try to justify this behavior by pointing out that:

1. They are providing content for "free," and
2. People expect it

Perhaps both of those things are true, but since we've established that people expect to be misled by marketers, does that justify misleading them?

I think not.

Occasionally you'll find the marketer who truly loves ads, and they will use that personal preference as justification to add to the above list, but as we've already established, we are not our audience. No slanted survey is going to make forcing people to do something they don't want to do justifiable, and it will do nothing to improve our credibility with our audiences.

To overcome this problem, you must gain the trust of your audience, which means you must establish as close a relationship as you can with them. Personalize. Be nimble. Be thorough. While you can petition for a seat at the consumer's table, for goodness sake, don't sit until you've been invited. - Cam Beck

Comments

[Dave Fleet]

Hi Cam,

I agree... I've found the same thing in the world of communications -- it can be hard to get people to remember that we're writing for the audience, not for ourselves. The moment we forget that, we lose our effectiveness along with any chance of getting our messages across.

Cheers,

Dave

[David Brazeal]

Good post, Cam. I wrote something similar yesterday, but you said it in a much less dorky way. Thanks!