The reason why is most eloquently illustrated by the 19th century philosopher and author, Henry David Thoreau:

We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers (railroad ties) are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. They are sound sleepers, I assure you. And every few years a new lot is laid down and run over; so that, if some have the pleasure of riding on a rail, others have the misfortune to be ridden upon. And when they run over a man that is walking in his sleep, a supernumerary sleeper in the wrong position, and wake him up, they suddenly stop the cars, and make a hue and cry about it, as if this were an exception. I am glad to know that it takes a gang of men for every five miles to keep the sleepers down and level in their beds as it is, for this is a sign that they may sometime get up again.

We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. We do not drive our cars; they drive us.  We do not direct the traffic of our own lives; it directs us.

Such is the case for 99% of people today.  People purchase a certain Cola over another (Coke vs. Pepsi) because it tastes better.  People purchase the more expensive milk because of the trusted label.  Some people even refuse to purchase the generic store brands (Western Family, Krogers, Safeway) because they don’t taste as good.

All of this is made possible by marketing.  When you buy the Nike shoes you are paying for the advertising and sometimes a slightly superior product quality.  Is it worth the extra money?  Usually, no.

• Double blind tests PROVE that people decide the “superior” cola based upon advertising.
• National Milk brands are often bottled in the SAME plants as the generic store brands.  No link on this one, just check it out for yourself next time you are in the dairy section.  Usually by the expiration date their will also be a “plant number”…often the same as the “plant number” on all the competitors bottles too.
• Double blind tests PROVE that people actually prefer generic store brands over national brands.

So, why do I need to know marketing?

Because if you don’t know marketing then it is riding you!  Marketing is everywhere.  Conservative sources estimate that you are inundated by marketing messages several hundred times a day.

As much as I enjoy the writings of Thoreau, I feel like he was a little bit radical in his approach to marketing.  He, like many other philosophers of our day, taught that marketing was unethical because you were teaching people to differentiate items by leading them to believe one item had more value than another, when they were often the same.  While a lot of current philosophers hold stock in this idea, I don’t.  I’m not a philosopher, I’m a marketer.

I’ve been inundated with all the same marketing messages you have, but I’ve made it appoint over the years to make marketing work for me.  I know how to ride the train…and I’m quite enjoying the smooth ride (air cushioned seats).  With the economic downturn it is important that you know how to ride the train too.

Here are a few ways you can make marketing work for you:

• Watch, read and view advertisements sceptically.  When you buy Jello brand gelatin you are buying the advertising.  The powder inside the box of the store brand is the exact same… I promise.
• Reduce your trips to the grocery store.  Make a weekly list of “to buy” items and stick to it.
• When a car leaves the lot it is worth a lot less.  So it is with almost everything.  Don’t be afraid to buy used.  Unless the item has a non-transferable warranty then it is usually worth just as much as it was new… only the price tag has changed.
• Try your own hand at marketing.  Next time your computer needs upgrading sell the old one on Craigslist or another free local classifieds website.  It’s fun, profitable and it helps save the environment.
• Don’t stay late at work.  Don’t work weekends.  If you have to work 60 hour weeks to keep up with the bills then you aren’t leaving time to enjoy the items creating the bills.  If a large house, boat, new car or cell phone is cutting into your rump (through your pocket book) then you need to downsize or eliminate.  Enjoy life.  There are a ton of jobs out there that don’t expect your heart and soul.  Get one of those.

Here are a few ways you can make marketing work for your business:

• Keep up on technology.  The only group of businesses that don’t need to worry about this are those offering services to the dead or nearly dead.  Every business (except old folk or funeral homes) sell products to people that are keeping up on technology. This is not saying you need to splurge and buy a ton of new computers or higher computer programmers.  This is saying that you need to analyze your business and market segment.  If you are relatively savvy with technology then you can self analyze your situation.  If you don’t own a computer, don’t feel comfortable managing your computer and making changes to it or if you haven’t heard of Facebook then you probably need to enlist some help in analyzing your situation.  Ask a neighbor, friend or one of your children to sit down with you and tell you how they use technology every day.  Is there some way you can key in on this to increase your business traffic?
• Get a website. If your business does not have a website then you are losing sales to your competitors who have one.  Today when people want a phone number they often turn to Google or an internet directory.  Phonebooks are dying.  If you need a website you should check out these guys.
• Read this blog.  This blog is dedicated to following and reporting on technological advances in marketing.
• Contact Projective Marketing. I’ve been working with Projective Marketing for the past six months in developing some fresh and very effective ways to market products and ideas Guerrilla style.