I was recently reminded of Seth Godin’s book with the same title when I was looking at new cars the other day (the original title was: “All Marketers Are Liars”).  The salesman was very polite and talkative, which isn’t bad.  He started telling all kinds of stories, and when I asked him for further information and where I can find it, based on his story, he couldn’t give me the information.  

Seth says in his book, “When you find a story that works, live that story, make sure it is a true story, authentic, and subject to scrutiny”. 

This particular salesman had stories, but they were not authentic.  They were designed to get a sale only.  They weren’t the result of a story the company was committed to wholeheartedly and as a reason for being.

If a story can’t stand up to scrutiny, as in my experience, you lose a customer and a sale. Eventually it catches up to you. 
Seth gives an example in his book about a glass maker.

According to Georg Riedel’s message on the glass maker web site, “The delivery of a wine’s message, its bouquet and taste, depends on the form of the glass…”

Robert Parker, Jr, the king of wine reviewers, said, “The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel.  The effect of these glasses on fine wine is profound.  I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they make.”

Perhaps thousands of others are now believers.  “Millions of wine drinkers around the world have been persuaded that a $200 bottle of wine (or a cheap bottle of Two-Buck Chuck) tastes better when served in the proper Rieidel glass.”

But when the proper scientific tests were done that eliminated “any chance that the subject would know the shape of the glass, there is absolutely zero detectible difference between glasses.  A $1 glass and a $20 glass deliver exactly the same impact on the wine: none.”

The idea that the form of a glass makes a difference is the story.  They sell millions of dollars’ worth of glasses every year.  The resulting perception is that the glasses help you to enjoy your wine more than you did before drinking it in a Reidel Glass.

“Marketing apparently makes wine taste better.”  It seems that “an expensive glass and the story that goes with it, has more of an impact on the taste of wine than the oak casks it’s brewed in.  Georg Riedel makes your wine taste better by telling you a story.”

Very interesting lesson!

What story can you tell about your product or service?

But before you answer and rush off to create a story, you may want to get a copy of Seth’s book and read it.  There is much more to the story of creating a story…the most important being that it must be authentic.  But when you get this right, it is one of the most powerful things you can do for your business.

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