Many consumers today continue to have a negative opinion of marketing and sales.  We see them as manipulative tactics driven by self-interest.  If we think someone is trying to “sell us”, we get suspicious.  We don’t want to be influenced just because someone needs to make a commission.

But in our commerce-driven world, a business must market.  And marketing is all about strategic influence.  The goal is to change people’s thinking in a way that favors the marketer’s position.  Actually, when you think about it, you realize that practically everyone is a marketer in a certain way.  Teachers, doctors, politicians, celebrities – even ministers – all use content and actions to influence the thinking of their audiences.

In fact, David Shearer, writing in the Theology of Business, makes the argument that Jesus himself was the greatest marketing genius of all time.  He points out that Jesus came with a message, and used the art of strategic influence to advance his purpose:

“Not only was Jesus interested in marketing this invitation to humanity, it was his entire purpose for coming to earth. According to the Bible, he descended from heaven to earth to bring a message, a message of love, hope, and freedom. He was the “word” that “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The entire purpose for his life was to deliver a message, the message about himself, to humanity. He was the message that he came to broadcast to the world. He came to influence in a laser-specific, strategic way. He came as a marketer. As such, he demanded a response from the world.”

In this context, we must re-examine whether people really hate marketers.  The problem, it seems, is not the marketing, but the self-interest.  What we don’t like is people who try to influence our behavior in a way that favors their needs at the expense of our own.

So in our modern day world of commerce and technology, how do we approach marketing in a way that’s ethical and fair?

Useful instruction comes from Pope Frances in his 2017 New Year’s Eve Homily, in which he describes the powerful influence of ordinary people acting with kindness and consideration in everyday, public life.

The Pope uses the elegant phrase artisans of the common good to describe these folks.  In the past year, he says he’s felt “sympathy and gratitude for all those persons who, every day, contribute with small but precious gestures to the common good, who seek to do their duty as well as possible.”

His analogy talks about the everyday act of driving in the bustle of modern Rome as he praises people “who move through traffic with good sense and prudence” (David Brooks expands on this idea in a New York Times article entitled How Would Jesus Drive?).

These sentiments are also found in literature, art, music, and movies.  For instance, this idea is beautifully expressed by Gandalf in The Hobbit as he explains how he finds strength in the humble lives of Hobbits:

Simple acts of kindness and love from everyday folks is what keeps evil at bay.  It’s also what’s taking marketing to a new ethical level in the digital age.

Like driving, marketing is a social situation where we must “co-construct a shared culture of civility”.  Some marketers and salespeople cheat others, sell products they don’t believe in and look only for personal profit.  Others look for mutually beneficial solutions, believe passionately that their products are useful to the people who use them and favor social good along with their own success.

And here’s the most important part for us all.  With today’s technology, it’s easier than ever to market in this positive, socially responsible way.  Internet technology is removing manipulation and interruption from marketing, replacing them with edification and connection.  Instead of salespeople elbowing their way into position and shouting at people until they listen, consumers today find products in real-time when they need a solution to an active problem.  The marketer’s job is to be there when their customers need them.

The way we approach marketing and treat customers also translates into a bonafide reputation.  Today, consumers hold businesses accountable like a swarm of traffic cops.  If you mistreat people for your own gain, your gains are likely to be short.  Every business needs sterling reviews that prove they care as much about their customers as themselves, even putting the customer’s needs ahead of their own when necessary.  Truly the Golden Rule of business.

David Brooks points out how today we seem to be suffering through a period in which “total sleazoids” get the most attention and capture positions of power.  From politics to celebrities to business leaders, the daily news is awash with tales of dishonesty, selfishness, and depravity.

But behind this are millions of small business owners, entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, and workers of every sort who are making an honest living providing products and services that enrich people’s lives.  They use marketing to connect with people who will benefit from what they do, and they sell them these services in a spirit of positivity, hope, and growth for everyone involved.  They are also artisans for the common good.

At Marketing 360® when we say we believe in marketing, this is the type of marketing we’re talking about.  When we salute entrepreneurs, these are the people we hold in the greatest respect.

You may be a devout Christian.  Perhaps you admire fictional heroes like Hobbits and Jedi Knights.  Or you salute the philanthropy of Bono and Bill Gates.

No matter what, take their lessons to heart.  In business marketing today, individual success is inseparable from making the world a better place for everyone.

Be a marketer for the common good.