This is Marketing: A Review

I’m getting a lot more out of Seth Godin’s This is Marketing than I expected. This author has a knack for taking complex ideas and boiling them down to their essence. Less a to do list than other books in his genre, this book breaks down quite a bit of how the world works.

I’m fascinated by the motivations behind people’s actions. Godin explores very interesting insights about why we are moved by hidden forces. (Well, maybe not “hidden” but largely ignored. )

Status, affiliation, dominance, inertia.

Our motivations are a complex mixture but Godin breaks it down so people’s actions are more understandable. How we see ourselves determines how we act. Yes, there is free will and we can each take control of our destinies. What would be the point of any business book if we couldn’t change course, do the unexpected and be contrarian? However, after reading Godin’s book I understand how unlikely that most people will change course. We are constantly asking ourselves, “Am I the sort of person who does this or that?” and “Who is my tribe?” We conform to our self-image.

Godin’s observations of human behavior explain a lot about the divisions in society and the arguments people get into. How could anyone be a liberal? How could anyone be a Trump supporter? The why of human behavior is all there. I’d like to see this book become required high school reading alongside To Kill a Mockingbird.

We often operate on unreasonable expectations. In general, we expect others to act as we would react. That’s because of a critical flaw in our programming: We expect others to know what we know and to act rationally. People aren’t rational. If rational arguments worked, we’d all arrive at the same conclusions given the facts.

To paraphrase Godin: Sonder is the empathy that arises when we understand that others have the same noise in their heads going on all the time, each with their own interior lives.

Though, we know this on some level, we obviously don’t organize our thinking, our society or our politics that way.

This is elucidating but it’s also a bitter pill to swallow.

This is Marketing provides familiar revelations. For instance, the market is so fragmented, we’re all joining smaller and smaller clubs. I knew that but I had not considered all the implications and what it meant to my little publishing company. Godin’s many points are so well articulated that I often found myself saying, I get that but I never really thought it through that far.

Conspiracy theorists identify with the underdog. If you tell a conspiracy theorist that most people agree with him, he is very likely to reject the theory he previously espoused. If 80% of people believe Elvis is still alive, that’s a disappointment. If only 19% refuse to accept the king is dead, you’ve made your conspiracy theorist friend very happy. Truth was never the point. Identifying with a subgroup was the cause. Navy Seals are an exclusive club that’s hard to get into. However, affiliation is easy. Whether we carry official membership cards or not, we’re all in a club and eager to conform.

There’s much more to this quick read. Godin talks about marketing failures, the fear of missing out and the folly of trying to please everyone. For an author, his take on book reviews is particularly compelling. There are interesting distinctions between the kind of book reviewer who says, “I like this,” or “I don’t like that,” versus the book reviewer who declares, “Everyone should like this,” or “No one should like this.”

The challenge of the book is to see the world the way it is and adjust our behavior accordingly. As I said, it isn’t a checklist. Godin is clear that he’s asking his readers to take a fresh look at their marketing strategy. Specific tactics will emerge from that new understanding. (I especially enjoyed how Godin pointed out the uselessness of traditional business plans.)

This is Marketing is a book to ponder, reread and digest. I have been averse to marketing my novels. All I wanted to do was swill coffee, be loved, live forever, write books and be found organically. That doesn’t cut it. Godin’s insights make me realize I have to come out of my shell. I have to find my ideal readers instead of hoping they’ll find me.

Understanding the forces that act on others left me less angry at people with whom I disagree. If you’re up to the introspection and taking action on new insights, This is Marketing might improve your position in the market and help your business. Best of all, reading this book might improve your life.

Highly recommended.

This is Marketing by Seth Godin