The Problem with “Marketing is Evil”

“I hate marketing.“ “Marketing is evil.“ “Marketing doesn’t work.“ “Marketing doesn’t work on me.“ “I’ll never buy from a company that markets to me.“

My best argument against those kinds of reflexive, anti-marketing takes is this: people create wonderful things to help one another, to entertain, to make art, and yes, to make money, too. But just because something is wonderful doesn’t mean anyone will find it. To earn customers you need awareness. To earn awareness, you need marketing.

Marketing isn’t inherently good or evil, effective or ineffective. It is, like so many things in this world, what we make of it. Bad marketing, either the evil, manipulative kind or the well-intentioned, but poor-performing kind, tends to leave a more memorable impression than the good, effective varieties.

Great marketing rarely feels like marketing at all. It feels like someone has a compelling solution to your problem and is kindly telling you about it. Bored? Watch this TV show that’s right up your alley. Want something light, with a bit of heat for dinner? Try this spicy pork and soba recipe. Looking for a great microphone to complete your work-from-home video call setup? We tested 11 mics and recommend this one most.

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