Seth Godin Is A Liar. And By His Own Admission, A Very Good One.

I’m reading Seth Godin’s book All Marketers Are Liars. It’s the first book of his I’ve ever read. Now I see I may have to read more.

The guy isn’t telling me anything I don’t already know. That story-telling will sell a product or service far better than facts; something I have a very hard time explaining to my clients. Too often, they want their website filled with facts and data and a shopping list of all the things they do and sell.

Humans have been listening to, and fascinated by, stories a hell of a lot longer than we’ve been listening to dry facts. And the stories go a lot deeper into our psyche than dry information. And lastly, stories affect us more powerfully than knowledge does.

Which of the following do you think is more likely to entice a kid to put their life on the line for their country?

1. A laundry list of money and training they can get in the Air Force?
2. Or an episode of Stargate SG-1 in which the team of heroes save the planet?

Seth Godin makes a marvelous point early on in his book All Marketers Are Liars. He tells the story of Reidel glasses. If you’re a wine drinker, you’re probably familiar with Reidel glasses.

George Reidel says on his website: “The delivery of a wine’s ‘message,’ its bouquet and taste, depends on the form of the glass. It is the responsibility of a glass to convey the wine’s messages in the best manner to the human senses.”

Wine snobs and wine critics all over the world will swear that wine is better drunk from a Reidel glass. My wife even went out and spent a silly amount of money on Reidel wine glasses.

Yet scientific studies have proven that the shape of the glass has no effect whatsoever on the wine or the enjoyment of it.

The enjoyment of anything is subjective. If we believe that the glass will make the wine taste better, then it will. If your story convinces people that they will have a better experience with your product than with your competitor’s product, they will.

Not because you gave them a lot of features and benefits. But because you told a story that convinced them that your product will make their life or business experience better. That’s why well written case studies can be very effective. IF they are written like a convincing story and not like a dry scientific paper.

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