All Marketers are Liars by Seth Goddin

(Published by Portfolio Hardcover)

What sells a product these days? Is it price point? Is it the buyer's need? Are product features and benefits the deciding factors for customers to buy? Seth Godin says it is none of the above. Consumers buy products when they fall for a marketer's story. A successful marketer has to be able to come up with stories that consumers want to believe. The stories should fit a consumer's worldview and encourage people to talk to others about it. When a marketer's story is authentic and remarkable, the product will sell.
What makes a great story? Great stories should:

• be true.
  
• make a promise.
  
• be trusted.
  
• be subtle.
  
• happen fast.
  
• not appeal to logic, but often appeal to our senses.
  
• rarely be aimed at everyone.
  
• never contradict themselves.
  
• agree with our worldview.

He goes on to give the 5 steps needed for marketing in today's world beginning with step one, which is understanding peoples' worldview. He goes on to say that people only notice the new and the different and encourages us to start a story with first impressions. Great marketers tell stories we believe and concludes that marketers with authenticity thrive. He makes some excellent points and gives us a new slant on marketing.

Rated: 4/5
Reviewer: Frances Kazan