Seth Godin has a book about the lies marketers tell, do you agree with the premise?

Yesterday, I had a refreshing conversation with a non-marketer friend about the perception of marketers and of marketing campaigns. With no knowledge of the book by Seth, she came to the same conclusion that all marketers are liars.

If you’re like me, you’ll probably disagree with this statement.

For us, every other marketer is a liar, seems to be more applicable here. Yet, the simple fact is, sometimes we get so entrenched in marketing speak, industry jargon and hype, that we forget the basic function of marketing is to engage, educate and enrich customers.

Going back to this basic function, you’ll do well to apply the “so what” test to your marketing.

Every line you write, every tagline you like, every campaign theme you design, apply the “so what” test and see if it is still relevant. Often you only have a few seconds to capture your audience, if it does not pass this simple go-no-go test, then scrap it.

Sometimes campaign data is like a clock that’s too fast or too slow. It gives you a good impression of what time it currently is, but without knowing how much faster or slower it is, you can’t be precise.
Sometimes data works in a similar way. The data you have of your customer may at times be [...]

Over the last few months Seth Godin has been busy enlisting the help of various authors, experts, business leaders and online mavens to figure out… What Matters Now.
Here are a few of my favorites…
Seth Godin:
Generosity - This year, you’ll certainly find that the more
you give the more you get.
Michael Hyatt:
Vision is the lifeblood of any [...]

For those of you who are looking for some inspiration for your next cross media/multi-touch/multi-channel campaign, here is a case study everyone can take something away from. PIP Printing and Marketing Services had recently initiated a multi-touch, cross media campaign that generated a phenomenal 27% response rate.
The mastermind behind the campaign is Zachary (Zach) Schwartz,  [...]

What are the key stats you track in a campaign?
Just people who responded and bought? Or do you also analyze the people who unsubscribed from your message?
While it is important to generate conversions with your campaigns, understanding who your marketing messages is not working for is just as important.
When you analyze a campaign, track who opted-out [...]

Imagine if the guy in the picture is knocking on your front door or is walking into your office with a briefcase. More than certain, your reaction would be, “annoying salesman is trying to sale me something I don’t need.” Half way through his pitch, you would probably tell him you are not interested and [...]

So, why are some of us still reluctant to use PURLs as an ingredient in our direct marketing mix. Does it not generate higher response rates than GURLs or CURLs ? Is it not cost efficient? Implementation is difficult and time consuming? If you nodded and/or answered “yes” to any of these questions, you probably [...]

What is the point of speaking to someone who has no way of speaking back to you? How would you know what their thoughts are on what you just told them? Did they even hear you at all? Might as well be talking to a wall!
Everyone, at least I assume, understands the concept of “communication” [...]