Marketing Comes into its Own
A humble defense for the field that everyone hates
Posted Jul 9, 11:56 am in business, marketing
Let’s not pretend. Marketing is a disreputable field. When many people think of marketers they think of slick used car salesmen and people whose jobs rely on tricking or intimidating people into buying stuff they don’t need. Comedian Bill Hicks once had a routine on his album Arizona Bay in which he implored audience members who were in marketing or advertising to “kill [themselves].” He went on to say that there was no justification for their existences and that they were “Satan’s little helpers.” Strong words.
When I heard this growing up (and looking up to Bill Hicks), I dutifully agreed. After all, weren’t these marketers just greasy slimebags who attempted to make people feel insecure, and leveraged that insecurity to get into their wallets? Weren’t these jerks responsible for this vapid, meaningless consumer culture that has now become equated with the Western worldview?
Yet, as I’ve learned more about marketing, I’ve found that there’s a lot more to it than that simplistic reactionary viewpoint. The field is evolving rapidly, and marketers now play a very important role that I think most consumers would actually have a very favorable opinion about if they understood it.
Yes, it’s true that nothing would make a marketer happier than you buying their product, and yes, they will do everything in their power to make that happen. But the flip side of the equation is that a good marketer (sadly, not all of them are good) is focused on being an advocate of the consumer. After all, companies rely on consumers to buy their products, and would be nowhere without them.
That’s where marketers come in. Marketers will push R&D to develop products that people want. Of course, they do it in the interest of the company, but it doesn’t mean they don’t love to give people something they really want or need. Marketers push the company to add features, reduce weight, make products more convenient, healthier, more versatile. Marketers try to understand what it is that people are looking for, and they try to give it to them. That’s their job. Yeah, you could say that they’re just trying to sell you stuff, but ultimately, the power to buy or not is in your hands. Marketing is a field that seeks to give you a product that you feel good about paying for, and in the end, doesn’t that make everyone happy?
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