Get your mind out of the gutter, that’s not at all what this post is about. No, really.
There are two kinds of marketers: people-squeezers and people-pleasers. I know, I know. The whole “there are two kinds of” trope is way overdone. You’re right. But I really want to make this point anyway so please bear with me and forgive my hackneyed prose.
People-squeezers are, in short, all about squeezing every last dollar out of people’s wallets. (Except that they don’t call them “people.” People-squeezers call them “consumers.”) People-squeezers are intimately aware of the tiny details. Not because they are trying to create the most wonderful experience for you, but because they know how to manipulate you. They know what package colors will make you buy more. They know what shelf their widget should be on in order to grab your attention. They know whether to describe their product as “Extra Strength” or “Triple Action.” They thrive on being able to grow their business an extra 2% through clever shuffling of what already exists. They don’t tend to produce anything truly new to the world. Instead, they spend their time on packaging – literal and figurative. They tweak but they don’t make your life much better. This kind of marketing is extremely cynical. It does not respect the dignity of the human soul. Instead, it treats people as nothing more than wallets to be drained with guile.
People-pleasers are all about, well, pleasing. They spend their time coming up with radically new products and services that improve people’s lives in very noticeable ways. They took society from horse and buggy to automobile. They gave us the GPS. And so on. People-pleasers may also pay close attention to detail but they do so because they genuinely care about the experiences that people will have with their products.
Now I’m no fool folks. I understand that marketing is about making money. And I’m fine with that. I also know that even people-pleasers want to maximize the amount of money they make by using the most persuasive language and graphics, etc. The difference between these two types of marketers is not that people-squeezers spend time on clever language and graphics and people-pleasers don’t. The difference is that that’s pretty much all people-squeezers do. When you look at the products they launch, you don’t tend to see much that really adds to the world. Is your headache medicine 5 times better than it was 10 years ago? I don’t think so. Maybe the pill is a bit easier to swallow. Maybe the packaging is a bit more convenient. But has it changed your life? What about your ability to connect with friends? To collaborate on work projects with far-flung colleagues? To take and share photos? To get from point A to point B? To enjoy entertainment at home? Are these experiences 5 times better than they were 10 years ago? They are for me.
I think this is a fundamental orientation of the marketer. One enjoys his or her own cleverness first and foremost. The other enjoys creating positive change first and foremost.
Which type are you?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Ah… I would say the people squeezers are marketers and the people pleasers are visionaries. The visionaries see what “can be” and go out and create it. People squeezers take what already exists and start the squeeeezing. I want to be one of these guys/gals some day.
Of course I have tremendous respect for NYCmattman. And this perspective is legitimate. But I do think this is a somewhat dated and limited perspective on marketing. The marketing profession typically has been about squeezing. I think that is partly because organizations split R&D which was responsible for product development and Marketing which was responsible for demand creation. But the P&G-invented brand management model really turns marketers into general managers. Or, at least it was supposed to. Still, many marketers were far more enamored with the sexy stuff and with their power to manipulate than they were with truly satisfying consumers. But satisfying consumers is really central to marketing in my perspective.
Anyway, thank you for your comment. I consider you both a pleaser and a squeezer 🙂
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