The Hindu Business Line : Marketing is all about spreading ideas

To survive in business, tell people the right stories, says Seth Godin. This simple guidance, which he offers in All Marketers are Liars from Penguin (www.penguin.com) , may seem unreliable and risky, especially in a `low-trust world' we live in. Also, as if to affirm our suspicions, the book begins ominously, with a blunt statement from the author that reads: "I have no intention of telling you the truth."

Let that not deter you, though, from holding on to the little volume; for, you'd soon learn how narrating the facts, features or even benefits won't help as much as stories. There's a caveat: Your stories need to be remarkable, consistent and authentic. "Tell your story to people who are inclined to believe it. Marketing is powerful. Use it wisely. Live the lie," goads Godin.

He offers `a whole new way of doing business' - that of focusing on what people believe in and telling them stories that add to their world view. Interestingly, "Stories make it easier to understand the world. Stories are the only way we know to spread an idea."

Marketing is all about spreading ideas, says Godin. "Spreading ideas is the single most important output of our civilisation ... If you've got an idea to spread, you're now a marketer." What an encouraging thought! But please remember that you are not in charge. Godin says "the biggest myth marketers believe in" is that they have control over the conversation, the airwaves, your attention and retailers.

Why so? Because options are too many; as a result, "everyone will not listen to everything." Also, contrary to common expectation, people are neither rational nor informed. How then do we do business? Follow the two instructions of Godin: "Invent stuff worth talking about. Tell stories about what you've invented."

To help you achieve success, he outlines five steps. The first is about world view, that is, "the rules, values, beliefs and biases that an individual consumer brings to a situation." It is the lens through which we see everything. Our lenses are not the same, which explains why "people can see the same data and make a totally different decision."

A golden rule of Godin is that you shouldn't try to change someone's world view. "Don't try to use facts to prove your case and insist that people change their biases ... Instead, identify a population with a certain world view, frame your story in terms of that world view and you win."

Frame, as Godin explains, is "a way you hang a story on to a consumer's existing world view." Frames use words, images and interactions that reinforce a world view. "If your message is framed in a way that conflicts with their world view, you're invisible." Frames get the attention, but they don't stop with just repeating what people already know. "The best marketing stories are told (and sold) with frames but ultimately spread to people who are open to being convinced of something brand new." Begin, therefore, by looking around for `a neglected world view'.

The second step in Godin gyan is that people only notice `new and different' stuff. Much like frogs, "we are constantly scanning the world around us for changes," says Godin. "No, we can't grab a fly, but we can tell at a glance if there's a new brand of beer at the market or if the mailman got a haircut." Immediately after seeing something new, we look for causation.

"Unlike virtually any other living being (or even most computers), humans insist on finding a theory to explain what happens to them." That way, we "refine our superstitions," explains the author. "We need to see explanations when there are none because our brains are too restless to live with randomness. In the face of random behaviour, people make up their own lies." But lies can't sustain a successful marketer; he has to be authentic.

The third step is to realise that first impressions start the story, because consumers keep making snap judgments "to survive the onslaught of choices." Isn't it, therefore, enough if a company works only to get the first impression right by, say, sprucing up the front office, or answering the telephone on the first ring? No, says Godin. "We have no idea at all when that first impression is going to occur. Not the first contact, but the first impression. That's why authenticity matters."

Incredibly unputdownable.

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D. Murali