Meaningful or Sleazy: An Honest Look at Market Research
There’s an interesting thing that happens when I try to talk to some of my clients about marketing.
They’re fine with the idea of making a video or sending out a newsletter. They have no problem with talking about their work, spreading awareness, getting their message out there. But when I bring up the idea of conducting research and focusing their messaging, they grow uncomfortable.
“I don’t want to bother people,” I’ve been told countless times. Or, “Why do we need research? Can’t we just say what we feel?”
Why does using the word marketing trigger such visible unease?
I believe it’s due to a misunderstanding of what I mean when I use that word—a misunderstanding that’s important for me to clear up so my clients can benefit from this valuable tool, which in fact lies at the heart of my profession.
The Salesman Stereotype
Nobody likes a pushy salesman.
We’ve all encountered this kind of figure somewhere or another: the slick, charming telemarketer, or the fast-talking used-car dealer. These professionals don’t really believe in what they’re selling.
Their job is to either spin the truth so you let down your guard for long enough to sign on the dotted line, or to be so irritatingly persistent that you give in just to make them leave you alone.
Even if they succeed, you certainly aren’t left feeling good about what just transpired. Even more than that, you probably make sure to avoid this person in the future so you don’t get taken for a ride again.
I just know that this is what my clients are thinking of when they hear me start talking about messaging and strategy. They think that I’m trying to build them a spin machine, and—to their credit—they want no part of it. They don’t want to fool or badger their donors into opening their wallets. They don’t want to become that ugly, odious stereotype.
Marketing for the win-win
Here’s the thing about the pushy salesman: He has to resort to low tactics because he doesn’t have anything else to rely on. All he knows how to do is coerce and manufacture an audience; his pitch would be the same whether the product he’s selling is good or bad, because the quality is irrelevant to the job of making sales no matter what.
An organization that cares not about sales, but about a valuable, meaningful cause, is in another boat entirely.
When I recommend research, I’m not advising you to learn how to trick and manipulate people who aren’t interested. I’m advising you to go and find out who is interested so you can talk directly to them.
When I talk about crafting your message, I’m not saying you should lie and spin; I’m saying that explaining your organization to outsiders is different than talking about it inside your bubble, and it may take a little planning to convey your truths effectively.
Marketing, for me, is just effective communication. It connects you with people who want to hear about your mission and issues a warm invitation to get involved in the good you do. If they choose to make that commitment, they’re the winners in that situation just as much as you are.
If you believe in the work you do, there’s no reason to be scared of marketing it effectively.
