I’ve just finished reading an article on transparent marketing and earning the trust of skeptical consumers written by Dr. Flint McGlaughlin. Aside from being an excellent read; there was a poem for marketers at the end of it I’m going to try and commit to memory.

Here’s the poem..

A lion met a tiger
As they drank beside a pool
Said the tiger, “tell me why…
You’re roaring like a fool.”

“That’s not foolish;” said the lion,
With a twinkle in his eyes,
“They call me king of all the beasts
Because I advertise!”

A rabbit heard them talking,
And ran home like a streak.
He thought he’d try the lion’s plan,
But his roar was just a squeak.

A fox, who happened on the scene,
Had a fine lunch in the woods.
The Moral? When you advertise,
Just be sure you’ve got the goods.

Very cute :).

If you have ten minutes to spare, take a trip out to Marketing Experiments and read the full article. There’s an example of a snake oil spiel from the 1880′s which made the owners a small fortune – but when ME’s team tried to place a similar ad as an experiment; the papers wouldn’t even accept it.

The article provides examples of how to turn empty marketing spin into believable and quantifiable statements that will still generate excitement – a must for grabbing the attention and capturing the dollars of hype-weary consumers.

It’s unfortunate, but there are two groups I have noticed who still tend to fall for unsubstantiated spin – young people (through lack of experience) and somewhat ironically, new and struggling small online business owners looking to boost sales quickly through the use of so-called “silver bullet” marketing solutions. Snake oil services and products are very much alive and well in the b2b (business to business) marketplace.

Read Transparent Marketing