Reader Response: We're All Marketers

Chris wrote me awhile back regarding my post We're all Marketers .

He writes: "I have a problem that marketers exploit the fact that people will buy ANYTHING. They buy things that are good for them occasionally, but mostly buy into a bunch of products or spend energy on ideas that don't really do anything or are straight bad for them. There's so much crap out there based on pure marketing. Is it necessary? Or am I just increasing people's propensity to consume everything in their path? Sometimes I feel guilty about being a marketer, not because I am marketing bad things, just because it is necessary to be one."

I agree. It's necessary to be a marketer, we are all marketers. The difference is some of us know it, and others are oblivious.

Sometimes we, as consumers, are mislead or told half truths about products or services. Far more often, though, we are to blame. We don't think about the total cost of what we buy, only the immediate satisfaction . We are sold on the feeling, but that feeling isn't reality.

When we know this, we have power and the actions are no longer subconscious.

The saving grace is that we have a choice. We can choose which products to buy, what services to recommend, or how spend our free time . We can start discussions, ask questions and spread ideas. When you know you're a marketer, you know you have power and responsibility. You know you can influence the storyline.

-Jess

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