All Marketers Are Liars book club questions

1. 1.

   Godin argues that all marketing is storytelling, not information delivery. Can you think of a product you bought recently where the story, rather than the specs, drove your decision?

2. 2.

   What is the worldview of your target customer? Have you written it down anywhere, or is it an assumption you've never made explicit?

3. 3.

   Godin distinguishes fibs (embellishments the product eventually justifies) from lies (claims the product never lives up to). Where is that line in your category, and who decides?

4. 4.

   The book argues that trying to change a worldview is nearly always a losing strategy. Has your organization ever tried to market to people whose worldview didn't fit your story? What happened?

5. 5.

   What story does your current marketing tell, and what worldview does it assume the customer holds? Are those assumptions accurate?

6. 6.

   Godin says the story must survive contact with the product. Think of a product or service whose marketing story was inconsistent with the actual experience. What happened to that brand?

7. 7.

   The retellability of a story is central to word-of-mouth. Can you summarize your product's story in one sentence that someone else could repeat accurately to a friend?

8. 8.

   The book was published in 2005. What examples would Godin use if he wrote it today, and how has social media changed the mechanics of story-spreading?

9. 9.

   Godin argues that authenticity is commercially valuable, not just ethically required. Do you believe brands are actually punished for inauthentic stories, or do short-term results make deception tempting?

10. 10.

    What is your own worldview as a consumer in a category you know well? Which brands have told you stories that fit that worldview, and which have failed?

11. 11.

    If you had to redesign one piece of your current marketing to better fit the worldview of your target audience, what would you change?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.