"Marketers are liars" is a catchy title. A more informing title would be "Products need to resonate with customers' (subjective) world view", but it wouldn't have sold as well... Godin is good at marketing to marketers.

A central theme is that consumers are not rational. They lie to themselves about the decisions they make and later rationalize those decisions. It's a good reminder, although this is psychology 101 and clearly not a "whole new way of doing business" as Godin claims.

I am writing this a couple of years after reading it. What I still remember and like from the book, is the reminder that stories should resonate with the world views ALREADY held by your customers. In my field, many people spend far too much time trying to "educate" the market which is a constant uphill battle. The examples in the book made me think of ways to change the offer and message to better tie into the world views of the buyer.

A design colleague I respect recommended this book as a way to answer some of the questions I had about the ethics about selling design services and business in general. It makes a good case for why certain services are more expensive than others, and how to justify your fees..

Let's start with the title of the book, "All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World". Hmmm. Something is already wrong here.

When I look up the word "authentic", I get the definition, "conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief". Doesn't it follow that if we tell "authentic" stories in our marketing we are by definition telling the truth and not lying?

Alas, Godin admits he was lying to us from the start because right on the back dust jacket of the book he states, "I was lying to you when I named this book. Marketers aren't liars. They are just storytellers. It's the consumers who are liars." He then goes on to state that marketers tell stories and because consumers choose to believe those stories that best fit into their own world view that they are, in essence, lying to themselves.

OK, I still have a problem with the whole premise of the book.

Not to be redundant, but if marketers are out there telling authentic stories, why would somebody who believes those stories that "conform to the facts" be lying to themselves? I'll forgive the inconsistency because Mr. Godin is trying to make a larger point, but I won't forgive the use of a bold, deceptive title in an attempt to sell books.

I'll grant that we humans all gravitate to brands that tell stories that are consistent with our own world views, but to take self-selective brand filtering and twist it to give the impression that something is wrong in the marketing profession is just plain usurious.

Godin uses some great supporting case studies in this book about how some very good marketers tell vivid stories about their brands and how those stories self-select their audiences. In my opinion, this is exactly what any good marketer and any powerful brand is supposed to do.

Godin goes one step further, however, and implies that often the story that gets told is the only differentiator between brands and that the story alone can be used to build a great brand.

He misses the point.

If the stories are authentic, then it is the whole brand behind the story that is different. The stories are not lies. The stories are describing why one brand is different and unique from others. The marketing "stories" are indeed brand promises or brand stories and it is our duty to tell our brands' unique stories as compellingly and as convincingly as we can.

Even if we accept for the moment that consumers turn off all logic and purely make emotional decisions based upon which story they choose to believe in the absence of real data (more on this in a few moments), we cannot believe that people will turn off their logic indefinitely so that any significant brand preference built in this way is sustainable over the long-term. Sooner or later the brand is going to have to live up to the story.

While Godin's theories are well presented with good examples, I couldn't help but read the book and feel that it was a good short article or opinion piece that got compromised when it was stretched into a book and given a provocative title.

His assertion that marketers should tell vivid stories that consumers want to believe is indeed solid advice. His underlying, unstated implication that marketers should tell the "right lies", however, does a disservice to the entire marketing profession.

Sure, he purposefully named the book in a misdirecting manner to get a reaction that would spur debate, generate buzz, and sell more books...and here I am responding. OK Seth, one for you.

However, not all buzz is good buzz and not all discussion will help build a strong brand. Not all stories are worth repeating.

In the case of "All Marketers Are Liars", I'd have to say the book did not live up to my expectations of the Seth Godin brand.

I've read Godin's previous works and expected more from this effort. Godin's previous works were much stronger and did not have to resort to tricks or gimmicks to sell the books. Nor did they contain as much filler material as this one seems to have. The problem is, he does not give a single example in the entire book where a marketer is shown to be genuinely lying and consumers are rewarding that brand. Now I find that I must approach any of his future works with some skepticism and ask myself, "Is he just trying to be provocative to sell books or is there real--and enough--meat here?"

Back to suspended logic.

One passage in the book (pages 93-94) reveals that Mr. Godin shops for certain products, in this case organic foods, not because he believes the marketing claims but because he lies to himself about the brands because he believes they make him feel better. This is a fair enough claim and a valid point for marketers and branders to remember. As I stated in my e-book, "How to Build and Maintain A Powerhouse Brand", an important part of building a strong brand is tapping emotion and building more than just product features and benefits into the brand's story. Brands must make logical and emotional appeals.

In this particular passage of the book, Godin explains that he shops for organic foods not because they taste or perform any better (he claims that he believes the data is not clear), not because they are less expensive (he claims that he believes the prices are inflated), not because they are any better for him (he claims that many items found at organic grocery stores are loaded with saturated fats and sugar-loaded juices) and not because they are a good way to support family farmers (he claims that most of the money goes to marketers and processors), but because it is a way for many (we can only assume he includes himself in this category) to assuage guilt about being Americans because Americans are the "world's least efficient consumers of just about everything". (Got that? Because he does not believe certain marketing claims, that must mean the the marketer is lying to him.)

That's when my brain started to twitch.

Mr. Godin puts all logic aside and admits that he makes purchases emotionally and, at least at times, suspends all logic. He is willing to accept the fact that he believes self-lies just to feel less guilty.

Therein is an indication of what the real title of this book should be: "Consumers Are Not Always Rational" or maybe, "I Lie to Myself".

Those would be great potential book titles. The book could be geared toward all the bottom line, ROI, analytical types out there who want all branding decisions to be based on numbers and hard facts. The book could then go on to describe why building emotion into brands is so important and that it cannot be underestimated because humans do not respond to logic alone. Often they make decisions based on emotion and rationalize those decisions later using logic. Sometimes they are just going for a certain feeling--even if their actions are self-proclaimed to be irrational.

You genuinely lying marketers out there, take note. Seth Godin has told us that he believes what he thinks are lies as long as they conform to his world view. Read this book to learn more about his purchasing habits and then set him up in your databases accordingly so you can sell him your wares.

For the rest of you marketers, this book is interesting and useful but not worth the purchase price unless you want more books with titles such as, "All Marketers Are Thieves", "All Marketers Are Sleazy", and "All Marketers Are Pond Scum". If Seth makes a lot of money at it this time I'm sure he'll keep going back to the same well. (If you recall, I covered his comments at the DMA conference back in October when he declared all marketers are spammers. Perhaps he was giving us a preview of his new writing strategy.)

I'll tell you what. Save your money and borrow my copy of the book. Just send it back when you're done reading it.

This book is about marketing through story telling, rather than boring prospects about product features. This is not really a ground-breaking idea. I recall an advertising professor saying twenty years ago, "You don't sell tires, you sell safety."

Godin says that consumers hold "worldviews" or beliefs. Marketers stand little chance of changing those views. So instead they should tell stories about their product which align with those views. Everyone doesn't share the same views, so stories should be targeted to receptive segments. Ideally, satisfied customers will then tell your story to others.

"I wasn't being completely truthful with you when I named the book," writes Godin. "Marketers aren't liars. They are storytellers. It's the consumers who are liars... Successful marketers are just the providers of the stories that consumers choose to believe."

Examples of lies would be:
Buying Air Jordans will enable me to play like a professional athlete.
I will lose weight if I drink diet soda. (Supersize, please)
Expensive wine glasses make the wine taste better.

The gimmicky title contradicts both the subtitle and the content; the importance of authenticity is emphasized in the book. Authentic lying is a confused message, but apparently as a book selling strategy, that matters less than controversy. The author says, "No one would hate a book called All Marketers Are Storytellers... No one would want to talk about it." Well, if that's his goal, then I suppose it worked -- here I am talking about it.

That silliness aside, the customer's perspective is reality. The marketer's message must align with that perspective if the customer is to be receptive.

...It's the "Starbuck's Experience", not the coffee. Seth's written a very engaging book filled with some insightful observations about human behavior and why we buy the things we do. All in all, I found the book:

*An easy read (I finished it in a few hours, and I'm not a super-fast reader)

*VERY relevant to the "branding" aspects of marketing.

*He points out that "their (your customers) frames and worldviews got there before you did", and so you'll get best results when you frame your marketing story in a way that fits with your customers existing view of the world.

*Contained lots of examples (the book is actually mostly examples, which some people might not prefer, but I think it really illustrates that there are lots of examples of marketing "stories" all around us, and I actually found myself seeing them everywhere after I read the book) of the "lies" that marketers tell their customers.

*I like his emphasis on "living the lie" and having everything about your company be authentic to the story you're telling your customers, as well as how marketing has applications beyond just selling widgets, such as politics and social causes.

All in all, an excellent book. Highly recommended for anyone interested in marketing, sales or just the thought processes that go on inside the heads of us wacky humans.

This book is about marketing through story telling, rather than boring prospects about product features. This is not really a ground-breaking idea. I recall an advertising professor saying twenty years ago, "You don't sell tires, you sell safety."

Godin says that consumers hold "worldviews" or beliefs. Marketers stand little chance of changing those views. So instead they should tell stories about their product which align with those views. Everyone doesn't share the same views, so stories should be targeted to receptive segments. Ideally, satisfied customers will then tell your story to others.

"I wasn't being completely truthful with you when I named the book," writes Godin. "Marketers aren't liars. They are storytellers. It's the consumers who are liars... Successful marketers are just the providers of the stories that consumers choose to believe."

Examples of lies would be:
Buying Air Jordans will enable me to play like a professional athlete.
I will lose weight if I drink diet soda. (Supersize, please)

The gimmicky title contradicts both the subtitle and the content; the importance of authenticity is emphasized in the book. Authentic lying is a confused message, but apparently as a book selling strategy, that matters less than controversy. The author says, "No one would hate a book called All Marketers Are Storytellers... No one would want to talk about it." Well, if that's his goal, then I suppose it worked -- here I am talking about it.

That silliness aside, books like this can provide a useful frame of reference to spark ideas. The customer's perspective is reality. The marketer's message must align with that perspective if the customer is to be receptive.

Traditional storytelling has a comeback. Today you need more than a product to sell. Customers are more demanding and want to buy concepts. This book will enhance your marketing skills by 100%.

This book brilliantly explains how you should succeed in marketing by telling authentic stories. I don't hire people who have not read Seth's books.

This was a gift but the person who received it said it was just what he wanted.

This book would have made a nice HBR article, if condensed into 15 pages. Alas, I had to force myself keep reading after the first chapter (which I read in the bookstore, and which made me buy the book in the first place)As many others have noted, the book is overly repetitive, poorly organized and generally has too much fluff in it, portraying a simple concept as a sacred marketing elixir... 4 points for the first chapter, minus 2 points for the rest of the book.

'All Marketers are Liars' is a provocatively entertaining book about marketing and human nature. Seth Godin has once again applied his reliable formula for publishing success:

1. Pick a traditional and well accepted marketing concept
2. Write about it from a totally new perspective
3. Make the book easy to read and include a lot of examples
4. Give the book an intriguing title
5. Sell a lot of books

In 'Purple Cow' the basic concept was differentiation (nothing new in itself, after all, people had been talking about positioning and unique selling propositions for decades). In 'All Marketers are Liars' Seth's premise is based on these two well established marketing concepts:

a) It is harder to make something and then try to sell it, than it is to first find out what people want and then give it to them.
b) It is very difficult (and expensive) to try to change people's perception once it is already formed.

The new 'angle' being explored, though, is that most of the time those perceptions are based on emotions that go against objective facts. The recipe for successful marketing, says Godin, is to find a large enough group of people with a particular world view, and offer them a product that caters and reinforces that world view.

Judging by some reader reviews, some people seem to have taken offense to Seth's thesis, implying that it encourages dishonesty in marketing. I don't subscribe to that point of view. Giving people exactly what they want, even though objective facts suggest that they should want something else is not being dishonest.

To illustrate Seth's thesis I'll give you an example: suppose that you have two identical watches, one of them is made in Switzerland and the other one is made in China. If you ask people which one is better, I bet that nine out of ten will answer `the Swiss watch'.

The objective of the Swiss watch maker is to sell watches. Are they supposed to go around telling everybody that the Chinese watch is as good as theirs? Of course not. The Swiss watch maker's advertising will most likely make extensive use of marketing signals that reinforce the world view of the nine people who picked the Swiss watch: their magazine ads will probably display pictures of their watch with a backdrop of a quaint Swiss village surrounded by the Alps and the Swiss cross prominently displayed somewhere on the page.

Now, if the Swiss watch maker decided to relocate their manufacturing plant to China and continued to use the same marketing signals in their advertising their customers would cry foul. If they also intentionally and openly lied about the country of origin of the watch they would be committing fraud. Seth Godin voices a strong opinion against these two scenarios, the first one because it would be "unauthentic" and the second one because it would be outright illegal and unethical.

'All Marketers are Liars' is a quick and entertaining read (you can probably breeze through it from cover to cover on your average plane ride) and it will leave you with a valuable takeaway on which to base your marketing strategy.

Such fun to read and all about story. This is a great read if you are marketing any product.

Great insight on consumer world views. Godin discusses how marketers can leverage those views to better align their intended audience with their product/service. He focuses on the psychosocial aspect of buying without being overly scientific. He gives good examples to support his points throughout the book - those that have succeeded and those that have not.

This is the second book I've read by Godin. He does a good job keeping a consistent theme and appropriate cross referencing between the two books (there are many others). Coming from a background other than marketing, I feel like these books are helping me (my business) grow as opposed to filling me with trivial information. It's more than just "closing the deal", or "getting the sale" type stuff. His theme is more in tune with developing a mindset based on successful product development and getting those products in the hands of the right people (sneezers, as he calls them). I will continue reading his material.

I do have one question. What are the opaque letters on Godin's head on the cover of this book?

The title is a little bit deceptive, it seems bitter and cynical at first. It's actually good sales advice. The basic premise is that people can better relate to a story than marketing hype. So, if you can describe the benefits of your offering in the way of an anecdote, personal experience or third party reference, then you will be able to enable your prospective clients to mentally 'try on' or visualize what you are trying to sell. Seth is a prolific writer who has great vision and foresight, he has been quoted in many other books and generously quotes other authors and great writings as well.

I'm a fan! I found Seth's arguement easy to follow and insightful. I normally would never rave about a marketing book. They are all to full of hip statements that really never ring true - just clever. Seth's words do ring true. The truth I found most true is it relates to how the only thing that matters in the current marketing scene is the "story". Once a good story is told the audience takes that story and makes of it what they need to be - this is the place where the lies get told.

My take away from this easy to read, straight up good book as someone developing a start up is - to be authentic is not to race to the middle but instead tell the story even if it pushes on the border. Tell the story loud and proud - but whatever - tell it to be heard.

I read this book in one day over a Christmas vacation. Most of the ideas in it seem intuitive to me, but they are explained in a way that is not necessarily the way I had thought of them before.

If you have a business or are in sales, this book gives you insight into the psychology of marketing, in that your target audience already has a story in their head of how your product is going to work for them.
Whether it actually does what they think it does, doesn't really matter, but if it does - then you will sell more to them.

This books explains how to find who it is that is best suited to your product/service, and then how to best market to them (allow them to best view your product in their "story").

I read this book in one day over a Christmas vacation. Most of the ideas in it seem intuitive to me, but they are explained in a way that is not necessarily the way I had thought of them before.

If you have a business or are in sales, this book gives you insight into the psychology of marketing, in that your target audience already has a story in their head of how your product is going to work for them.
Whether it actually does what they think it does, doesn't really matter, but if it does - then you will sell more to them.

This books explains how to find who it is that is best suited to your product/service, and then how to best market to them (allow them to best view your product in their "story").

I'm happy about the book. The story it's telling adheres perfectly to the "new rules" people are setting up for the marketing of the new millenium: lovemarks by kevin roberts for example or the whole web 2.0 philosophy.
The book is clearly written even if it uses a lot of examples from the US World, not always known to people outside US (e.g. products, presidents, ...). I would have liked a little introduction to non-elected presidents I dont't know anything about. Except from this the book is great and worth the money.

First let me admit to a prejudice. I like Seth and have met him and worked with him for a day during one of his "meet and work with Seth Godin" workshops. I also read a lot of marketing books because that is my chosen profession, the business I've chosen (to quote the Godfather). That prejudice doesn't change the fact that this is a must read for any marketing person or anyone selling anything in today's world. I called my review all marketers are storytellers because that is the real title of Seth's book, but I suspect that title would have sold fewer copies so Seth spiced it up. That single caveat aside, this is a great book with a lot of insight into what marketing is NOW. Marketing is the process of telling an engaging and exciting story. That may have always been the case, but now is different because now everyone sees marketers coming a mile away such are the skepticisms of the new consumer. This book, as Seth's books do, provides valuable insight into the zeitgeist of just how to tell those effective stories, those lies, in this time.

Marketing is all about winning trust and involves a piece of make believe. It's in the eye of the beholder. Seth boils marketing down to simple steps (in all of his books), and making it simple is needed in this complex world. Stories have been around for ages and they have a great impact as it allows for complex problem being told in simple terms. Seth gives many great examples in this book and is put some meat around the what and how, and keeps impressing with his easy readable books. Helpes to take difficult messaging and transform it into easy understandable stories. Its a look in the kitchen of the modern day Hans Christian Anderson, whom stories have been around for ages, but his messages still hold strong. Marketer are not liar (his title is his first lye:-), but definitely a catching title and worthwhile reading.

I have read several titles by Seth Godin including Permission Marketing and Purple Cow. I think he is a great thinker ahead of his time. Unlike many business thinkers, he has always proved to come up with fresh ideas and a great narrative that turns his books into a great experience.

I especially loved his anology about the similarities he has identified between religion and brands. I am a firm believer that storytelling is the essence of great marketing and advertising. Brands without a strong foundation and an interesting, compelling story are doomed to die. I also think that the author gives a sense of purpose to us marketers and advertising people.

I would recommend this title to all marketing and advertising leaders who are interested in building strong brands of the future.

You will learn priceless counter intuitive tactics to effectively market your idea or business if you buy and follow the guidance in this book. And if you do that you'll become a far more formidable competitor. Don't buy this book and whatever you do, don't tell anyone else that this book exists.

I liked the book, plenty of interesting information, definitely worth a read. Mr. Godin is quite a storyteller himself. My only concern is his take on the benefits of organic food, which he quickly denies in the book. Somebody needs to do his research.

I am a big Seth Godin fan, back from the days when "Permission Marketing" wrote the rules for email/web-based marketing.

Using that as a benchmark, very few match up, but this is still an interesting read. It's not in any way a waste of time as some reviewers seem to think. A step below "Purple Cow" and "Free Prize Inside," and a couple steps below "Permission Marketing."

In baseball terms, it would be a double.

He sets the bar high, and nobody can live up to that mark on every offering. Give it a chance before you judge it on the bad reviews you read here.

Go Seth!

3.5 stars

I've seen Seth's name around on the blogs i visit, and finally decided to pick up a copy of his controversial title, All Marketers are Liars.

How dare he label marketers as liars? How could i not have seen this from such a clear perspective as he has illustrated?

Such truth in his work, and this pretty much breaks most of the marketing principles i had spent a fortune on. But it's true. An unregretable read, and gives food for thought on the next 'ideavirus', whereever it may lie...

As the adage goes- "There are no truths, only stories", this book explains how great marketers are more than just salespeople but Storytellers. The basic idea that French wine taste better than Californian wine or that sushi taste better when it is made by a Japanese chef is not about taste but the stories they tell.

I didn't buy this book, but looking at the cover, it doesn't look so good.

There's a reason why Seth is so wildly popular. That's because he gets it. He sees the truth of a situation -- even if that truth is that marketers are liars or, better yet, audiences WANT to be lied to. He sees it in a way that has not been seen before and he explores it fully. For some this may seem "light" to discuss one topic with such singularity. But, I say it is an ability to focus on one idea so that when you are finished reading, you too get it. And, oh yeah, that he does it so entertainly doesn't hurt either. I always enjoy Seth's books and this is no exception.

All Marketers Are Liars shows the power of telling authentic stories. He doesn't argue that marketers are liars, but that they are story tellers who tell stories that consumers choose to believe. Something Nike has been doing for some time. Seth Godin has a blog sepecifcally linked to the book at [...]. A must read for all in marketing.

You can't change the facts but you can change the story. A jury consultant's dead on advice to me, and it's a fundamental and universal truth(there are not that many). Godin gives us the whys in 172 pages: he explains frames(how we are pre-wired to believe certain stories); how our minds make sense of what they see by creating a story; how once are minds are made up("the mind is never wrong" is another jury consultant gem) they kick into confirmation bias, accepting what fits, rejecting what doesn't. Godin clues us in in how to use these truths to persuade others, build a brand, create the buzz. Everyone who persuades needs to read his lucid and brief book.

The first half of the book was excellent - packed with insights. However, towards the end, the author was looking for "stories" to beef up the book. These tended to be uncordinated!

Overall however, it was an interesting read.

I find Seth Godin's books incredibly lightweight. There is really nothing of any substance here. The usual series of marketing anecdotes, normally about quite niche products. I think the whole thing can be summed up in the old advertising cliche: sell the sizzle, not the steak. He's just given it a new word - essentially he's dressing up well-worn concepts in new clothes. The book is poorly organised and repetitive, and I think he succeeds simply because his books are so lightweight - they're easily digestible on a bus ride or plane trip, don't rely on any support for his theories so they're not easily challenged, and essentially say very little. The marketing equivalent of the airport novel.

Do you believe that there is a conspiracy all around you? That your thoughts are not your own? That you are made to think a certain way? Have you ever thought about the color of mouth wash? Who decided that it would be green? What about names of cars and drugs? The new Allero! The new Paxil! Is that a drug or a car?

Seth Godin discusses a topic that not many normal (non marketing) people would normally talk about. As usual, he is controversial, straight to the point and never sugar coated. He raises interesting points about how we as a society tell ourselves stories in order to feel that we got a good deal, or made a sound investment. The fact is, we choose to believe what marketers tell us because we want to. He cites many examples in the book that provoke you to think about why we choose to drive fancy cars, or drink designer water.

If nothing else, this is a good conversation starter, and makes for good chatter at a party! Read it. Then choose to believe or not believe the marketing hype all around you. At least now you have a choice. You will feel good that you are smarter than the person sitting next to you!

Great title Seth. The real name of the book would be "All Marketers Are Storytellers", but it would be a bit boring.

I found this book to be unique in it's content. There was that main idea that consumers buy the story, not the product and this theory applies to many products and services. Just look at the cars people buy. Why do people get SUVs instead of mini vans? SUV tells a different story about the driver.

Even though this book should be read by every marketer, I have to say that the most important content you'll find is going to be in the first 60% of the book. I guess this is the name of the game for book writing.

I just graduated from a small, private, AACSB Acredited Business School, and everything in this book says, makes me strongly consider what I learned about marketing in 4 years. Seth puts things into a new context, and has truly changed my world view on how to market products, services and most importantly, ideas. This book is a must buy for anyone in sales and marketing.

The book is interesting to the extent that it does present some new perspectives about marketing, especially about telling good stories as opposed to being focused on product features and the greater influence of word-of-mouth over traditional mass media channels. However, the book is very verbose and keeps ranting about a small set of ideas over and over again beating the dead horse hollow.

Some ideas are not represented accurately. Take the case of fulfillment of emotional wants as opposed to real needs. This is a very basic idea that exists in traditional consumer behavior and qualitative market research literature and has been applied by marketers for over half a century now. I would want to ask Mr. Godin what need does Coca Cola and Pepsi satisfy and how have they ever sold themselves by touting their features. Haven't these been around for a couple of generations now?

I agree that dissemination by users and the emphasis on word-of-mouth especially in the Internet age has important consequences on the success of a brand. However, concluding that this implies the end of mass marketing and advertisement is a little naive. Most of us still hear about new products and services through TV advertisements, Radio jingles and the large billboards that are just about everywhere. We often go back to the Internet, our office coolers or friends to search more about these products and hear what others have to say about it but remember that in many cases, we would never know about it if we didn't see those advertisements in the first place.

To conclude this book would have got 5 stars, if it manifested in a more concise form and did not try to pretend that most old marketing ideas are passé. Despite these reservations, I would encourage people to read this book. Remember, Seth Godin is a good thought provoker.

Godin is very preceptive in explaining the changing consumer's drivers. We have gradually moved from a "need based" society to a "want based" society of consumers. Because we no longer buy based on need, our buying triggers have changed. If you do not accept this change, your marketing efforts will be doomed to fail.

We are constantly bombarded with messages and as a result have become very effecient at filtering out those messages that do not conform with our views of things. Goodin makes a very compelling case that your marketing effort must tell a story that fits with your targeted market's view of how things should be.

The title was choosen as an example of framing a story. It is not really about false advertising. It is about telling an authentic story that your consumer will believe.

The book is well written, easy to read and humorous.

If you are serious about developing an effective marketing strategy, you would do well to understand the concepts in this book.

Seth Godin tells a very good story. Even if you disagree with some of his case studies, you will enjoy reading the book.

His basic premise is right on the mark -- as consumers, as people, we believe what we want to believe. Does that mean all unethical marketers are off the hook for supplying misleading information? No, absolutely not. As this book indicates, bad, unethical marketing is still bad and unethical.

Godin simply points out that if you want a good marketing plan; tell a convincing, clever, and sincere story to the people that want to hear it.

A series of ex post rationalizations and ham handed observations on the difference between a honest marketing fib and a deceiving lie, do not make a book.

Godin uses a series of "success stories" to support the contention that marketing which deceives, but matches unmet emotional needs of a consumer, is the key to success. Thankfully holes in this dangerous logic are well exposed by his case studies - products which currently enjoy success as a result of a "good story", and products which deceived consumers and hence failed. Their selection is as arbitrary as ephemeral. Wonderbread is cast as a failure as the general public saw through its lie that bread, for centuries a staple source of carbohydrates, has carbohydrates. Fiji water, on the other hand, is a success since it taps into the mystique of Fiji. One wonders what a reader in 2016 will say about this selection of case studies! For over 80 years, Wonderbread was one of the most profitable and powerful brands in America. Sure - it's failure to innovate into other categories in the last 5 years, along with the Atkins fat diet fad, sent it to brand heaven. But that is after 80 years of success!

Thus, what should have been an exercise in explaining that finding, developing and then marketing products to meet unmet needs of a section of consumers, is made into apocryphal tale of the story teller marketer and his genius in captivating a rapt audience.

Before buying this book, carefully parse through the review by the Publishers Weekly. The phrase "dubious marketing primer" strikes me as the most succinct, accurate summary of this book.

I adopted a title for this review, from Port Authority, NY.(where the ad banner reads: figures don't lye). I am also reminded of a Mark Twain's quotation, "Figures don't lie, but liars figure." And the last quote: "Liars Beware Lie Detectors Start" (anonymous). All these words very well apply to current worldview of marketing.

To begin with, this book is a good reading for everyone - that is for all those simpletons who are earnest, and loaded with a dream to become a millionaire (not with a click of the mouse, any ways).

All Marketers Are Liars makes, at least one thing obvious, i.e., about the B.S. And, obvious because we are in an era where it is easy to tell a lie thousand times, but hard to find one single truth about where this customer-exploitation-culture is leading us to.

Looking for telemarketing (probably, a major source and inspiration for fraud, cheating, and deception to sell products, services, and ideas), and cousins of telemarketing, such as, direct-marketing, retail business, etc., I found the book has none of this stuff. You have to go elsewhere for all of the above.

Interestingly, the book is full of stories. It has funny ways of presenting the art and craft of how and where deception gets polished. And, the reader will be forced to think that the real liers are the customers -- lying low and resting at ease, despite the havoc in the supply side economics! In this age of pull and push advertising, market research has proved that customers get carried away by what they see - and presume what they see is what they are sure to get. But these very customers forget to read, view, and visualize the fine print, which says, some conditions, restrictions, etc., may apply.

If you read All Marketers Are Liars to the end, a question that repeatedly comes to mind is, who is the culprit: the seller (or marketer, who pushes the product) or the buyer (who pulls the products)?

The book directly hints at the fact that Customers like to be fooled, with finished, polished and superficial words, nice catch-phrases, etc. I am forced to think in these lines for more than one reason. Read the text under the following headlines: Their worldview and frames got there before you did; People only notice the new and then make a guess; First impressions start the story; Great marketers tell stories we believe; and Marketers with authenticity thrive.

The question remains: So who is the liar and who is the opposite? The marketers are waiting for you to purchase and vote on this subject. The higher the sales ranking of this book, at least at the Amazon store, the greater the validity of this theory and greater will be the debate.

Are you ready to buy this book now, and vote now on this debate: Do you agree or Disagree that Marketers are liars?

The ball is in your court, please.

I consider all of Seth Godin's book to be essential reading, but of all of them this is the best. Not only is it the most well written, but the ideas are the most useful and can be applied in powerful ways to every day situations. This book tells of the power of telling authentic stories to customers that demonstrate your values, ideals, and aspirations. Seth explains how making your costomers feel like they are a part of the cause can go much further than even the best ad campaigns ever can. After reading this book you will never be able to view business-as-usual in the same way.

This book can be summed up by the last few paragraphs at the end of the book. In particular, "You must have a consistent, authentic story that is framed in terms of the worldview of the person you're telling the story to."

Marketers in just about every industry need to pay attention to this wisdom, and start telling stories that their target audiences want to hear. Coming from high-tech, I have seen over and over again the pitch of product features and functionality where, instead, they should be talking about the business need, and how the product will satisfy that need.

Seth Godin has again come up with a masterful book that picks apart accepted business norms, pointing out where most businesses need to make a change.

This book goes hand in hand with Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink.

As the the author anticipated in the book, this book has created for me a new worldview on marketing.

As the the author anticipated in the book, this book has created for me a new worldview on marketing, by framed the proper descriptions and examples.

You're going to like today's review not because of the review but because of the book I'm going to tell you about. Are you looking for a book that tells it like it is, reveals amazing insight and at the same time re-Educates you on what the real objective of marketing is about? Have you under valued or under estimated the power of authentic story telling?...then you've found your break through as I did in Seth Godin's "All Marketers Are Liars".

SETH COMMUNICATES FOR ALL TO HEAR...
The ease of Seth's communication style is so down to earth that I've been doing very indepth presentations to 8th grade Glenwood students on the book. Guess what? They Love it! That's right 8th graders digging Seth Godin's book on marketing is quite impressive.

HIS IDEAS ARE CLEAR & TO THE POINT
I believe this points to the simple power of Seth's ability to communicate clear ideas and paradigms concerning how small businesses and corporations need to approach the marketing of their ideas. Learning how to really become a master story teller is important and revealed in this book.

DO YOU NEED TO COMMUNICATE A STRONG MARKETING STORY WITH AUTHENTICITY?
If you do then understanding the depth of your consumers Worldview and how to frame that story to appeal to your clients is crucial to your success in the business world. Seth shows you how to understand people's worldviews and how to respect that consumers do not have a generic point of view. He goes into the details of how to understand what a Worldview is. Presents to us how to recoginze how to accept the conclusion that we all have a different worldview. This seems to be a problem that most people fail to consider when they are marketing to consumers. Eventually by studying the entire book you will learn how to bring your product or service into the market place in clear and meaningful ways that will make your customer want what you've got. I'm using the ideas from this book and it's making a tremendous difference in how I approach the advertising and marketing plan.

SIMPLE ENOUGH FOR 8TH GRADERS TO GRASP
Futhermore if it's simple enough for 8th graders to grasp in a 40 minute presentation then you'll have fun learning to use these concepts on your next stratgic marketing endeavour. I've been spending 2 hours and 40 minutes a week sharing the concepts in this book and these kids are begging for more. They hate for me to put the book down and I've assured them that mastering the ideas in this book will guarantee that none of them would be left behind.

As I've always said please don't take my word for what I'm sharing here today. My reputation and the endorsements I've gained are far more important for me to maintain then telling you some crazy lie about a book by a man whose reptuation in the industry is well respected. Get the book, read it for yourself and watch your product/service launch take on a whole new perspective. Hope you enjoyed this review because I love the book. Is there anything else I can do for you?

Your Servant,

Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)

For some unknown reason my copy of Liars had been gathering dust on the shelf for quite some time and I decided to read it on a train ride to Stockholm yesterday. The book is about how (and why) to use stories to further your company's/organization's/your own objectives. The main thesis' of the books are:

1. Competitive advantages are becoming too complex too formulate in a one sentence positioning statement and people need stories to make sense of what a company is all about.
2. Stories are what makes people (irrationally) believe that some products are superior to other products. This is why people sincerely believe that a 80 000 dollar Porsche Cayenne is superior to the 36 000 dollar Volkswagen Touareg, despite the fact that they are basically the same part. We buy stories, not products.
3. Stories are what we tell other people and stories are thus what a savvy WOM enlighted marketer should aim for to maximize marketing (mainly WOM) efficiency.
4. To be effective, stories must fit the existing worldview of the target group. If it doesn't, don't try to change their worldview (because people can't be changed), change target group.
5. To break through the info clutter, one must "frame" the story in a way that makes sense to people.

The first point I buy completely. It is obviously very inspired by Malcolm Gladwell's Blink, but still worth pointing out in a marketing context (to be fair, Godin does give Gladwell some credit). The second point is nothing new at all. The use of stories is just basic branding, slightly adjusted. Regarding stories increasing the efficiency of WOM I think it's absolutely true. However, it's not like it hasn't been said before, only using different terminology (even Godin himself in "Ideavirus"). Number four and five are quite obvious if you've read some consumer behaviour, however I don't agree. The thing that I remember best from Blink was the case study of Herman Millers Aeron chair. It took a couple of years for it to become the best selling office chair of all time. It didn't do this by meeting people's existing worldview on what an office chair was all about. People hated it at first sight. But Herman Miller believed in Aeron and when people got used to the ground breaking design, it redefined how an office chair should be evaluated. The main point about Blink (for me) wasn't that people make snap judgements and use intution. That's hardly news to anyone. The most interesting part is that you can actually change what people believe. And that's good news, now isn't it?

I understand why Godin writes what he does; a lot of neomarketing lit. is critized for not being practical enough. People want books like "Ten things that guarantee you instant success within (enter industry here)". And it is a realistic goal for most companies to get their story straight, find a group that might believe it and tell it ("frame" it) in a way that they'll understand. But to be honest, it's just a slight improvement over the classic approach: build a decent product, select a target market with a high likelyhood of adoption and communicate in terms that they'll understand. Boring. And actually kind of ironic (or a big conspiracy maybe?) since what he does is finding a new frame (WOM is all the rage now and books about that will break though the clutter) to an existing worldview and communicating the idea to a partially new target. I like the fact that he points out how product development WOM and sales are all interrelated but to give him credit for this is kind of like saying that Newton for "invented" gravity.

From a marketing stand point that Godin wants to buy books it's all very clever, indeed (and hardly a coincidence no?). But I don't like it. I think that the winners of tomorrow are those standing out by making a really, really, really awesome product. The crazy ones. The misfits. The round pegs in the square holes. Those who see a work of art when other people see a blank canvas. Think different. Go for broke. Revolutionize. Re-define. Re-imagine. Remarkabalize. Think it. Test it. Try it. Do it. Impossible is nothing.

The title is just messing with your head - but what really messes with your head is the premise of the book. Godin states that the real "liars" are the consumers. They are liars because of the stories that they tell themselves when making a purchase. The marketer is responsible for making sure his story matches the story of his target audience. The marketer is only a liar if he tells a false story to trick the audience.

What's funny is that the book is not really about lying. It is about being transparent and authentic and not trying to trick your prospects into buying from you.

This is a must read for not just marketing communication people, but also professional salespeople.

Quick Review: One of the best I have read in a long time! The title tells us that people are not really concerned about he facts of the product they are concerned about the story of the product. When you market you must craft your story to fit the consumer's worldview. Seth does a great job in laying out the story behind his book in an easily readable way!

I recommend it highly!

Check out my outline of the book at www.themoralbusiness.com in the book lists area and then you can read a summary of the book with underlines on the important parts, then ORDER IT!

Quick Review: One of the best I have read in a long time! The title tells us that people are not really concerned about he facts of the product they are concerned about the story of the product. When you market you must craft your story to fit the consumer's worldview. Seth does a great job in laying out the story behind his book in an easily readable way!

I recommend it highly!

You can bypass reading it by downloading my complete summary of the book in only 4 pages, along with underlined quotes of what I think are the important ideas so you can use it to sound reall smart! www.themoralbusiness.com/blogs/

From Purple Cow to Permission Marketing, Seth Godin hits the bullseye once again with ALL MARKETERS ARE LIARS. This is arguably one of the most engaging marketing books out there today. Rather than make a point only to regurgitate it over and over again, Seth keeps you engaged throughout the entire book with a sleu of powerful examples and stories. Once you finish reading this book, you will feel empowered to start something with your new found knowledge. At least I did.

Besides his great lineup of books, you may also want to check out his online blog as well. Probably the best advice you will ever recieve on the subject. And its completely FREE. It's like growing up playing basketball and your dad being Michael Jordan. You get nothing but the best coaching and advice everyday of your life, for free. Check it out.