I feel as though I’ve just finished a long and enlightening journey. How so, you ask. Well, I’ve just finished reading “Why We Need Great Marketing” by Alex Swanson. (By the way, Manta, which published his article, delivers great information for small businesses.)
Take time to read this article and look at the embedded videos from Domino’s Pizza, Dove, and Microsoft. The package is kind of like a crash course in marketing.
As Alex sees it, people associate marketing with “greed, dishonesty, and insincerity.” He cites companies like Airborne, Olay, and Listerine as purveyors of untruth. Airborne, for example, claimed that it could strengthen our immune systems and ended up paying out $30 million to settle lawsuits.
Great marketing is interested in solving customers’ problems, not lying. Great marketing is “truthful, transparent, engaging, conversational, educational, and helpful.” Quite a tall order, eh? But, as Alex says, great marketing is important, particularly for small businesses, who must deal with aftereffects of the skepticism engendered by larger companies. As he puts it, “ … great marketing is the only way to gain loyal followers and fans who will spread the word about your product or service.”
Actually, I finished reading and viewing videos with a warmer feeling about how some large companies are injecting truth into their marketing. I’m particularly moved by the Dove “Real Beauty” campaign, because it encourages women to see themselves as beautiful.
The real challenge for marketers is that they reflect the larger society. In the U.S., as a whole, we seem to harbor a genial disregard for others which translates into an ability to stretch the truth. Fortunately, claims that seem deceitful and manipulative are often easy to spot by semi-alert consumers. Still, it’s unfortunate that caveat emptor is still alive and kicking us too hard.
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