Marketing

I am an artist/photographer/writer which means I have products/services to sell. Of course, I love what I do or I wouldn’t do it, however, the marketing side has me tied in knots. I read all a lot of the ways to market art, but when I look at the bigger picture of marketing in America, I am totally discouraged and wonder where the ethics are in marketing. 

The subject has been on my mind for a long time, but every once in awhile, something really jumps out at me. I received a letter recently from Dish Network thanking me for being a loyal customer and “rewarding” me with a free month of premium movie channels. 

What a joke! This is not a reward. It’s an insult… but how many people will buy into this? And that’s it exactly. It’s getting more people to buy more product. They use words to entice and make you feel good. They make it sound like they really care about you – after all, don’t they have your best interest at heart? Aren’t they always working to make things better for their customers?

If they really cared about the customer, they’d create smaller, more affordable packages. But no, everything is all geared to getting the consumer to buy more. So, in this case, because my favorite stations: cooking, travel, history, Nat. G., HGTV, along with local networks… are mixed in with the bigger packages, I am paying for 250 plus channels when I watch less than 20. Why do I need 20 sports channels, 10 Spanish or French, a dozen kids’ channels, movie channels, music stations, etc. I’ve had enough! I’m about ready to give up watching TV altogether. 

And I’m really not just talking about Dish Network, of course, I’m talking about all big corporations. Oh, yes, they’ll always tell you they are doing things for you, the customer… and people continue to believe: new and improved; high quality (which now-a-days means it might last a year or two); works faster; and a myriad of other words to make the consumer think they are getting a better product. Don’t believe it! 

It’s all about marketing; how to convince the public to buy… and people will believe what they are told over how the products really perform. Health care is the biggest. Talk about an amazing marketing ploy! Convince everyone that they HAVE to have yearly or more check-ups, that doctors are gods and know what’s best for you, that you have to have insurance to protect you from the doctors’ exorbitant costs (but who protects you from the insurance companies)? Then they ply you with drugs to “keep you happy,” to make you think they are doing something for you… How many health products have been promoted by those in the profession and then years later it’s found to cause more health issues. (Thalidomide is one that always comes to mind.)

Think about it. Think about what we have been told for generations. Think about how the big corporations can pretty much do anything they want because they have the money and power backing them. And the fact that people keep buying their products! Think about how the corporations have bought out any good company to keep products (and consumers) in their control. Think about CEOs and board members with their humongous salaries who are so high up on the chain that they are not even aware, or really care, about the poor consumers who have to put up with poorly made products. And don’t even talk to me about customer service – just another two words to make you think the company cares about you. (If they really cared, there would be a real person to talk to every time you called.) 

Think, too, that the bigger the corporation, the more employees needed which means prices need to be pushed up to pay more salaries… and bigger salaries to the top hierarchy. (And the majority of the needed extra employees are lucky to make minimum wage.) 

Think about it, and think about what we are told as consumers versus what is the truth in the products even with something as simple as so-called juice only having 10 percent real juice and it still is allowed to be called juice (and just what is the other 90 percent, what kind of chemicals used to preserve…). If you really start thinking about it, you won’t like it. Products we bought years ago lasted, and if there was a problem, we got immediate attention and help.  

Oh, I could go on and on. People are waking up, though, and speaking up. I don’t know if can ever make a difference. This whole issue is so huge, it’s almost unfathomable. What have we done, America? We have been lied to and deceived for so long. We believed.  

What words do you hear in marketing that are not telling the truth? 

So now, here I am with products to sell. I find it hard to buy into marketing rules when so much of what I’ve seen is so ethically wrong… or is it morals? I hear things like, “If you don’t have a high price on your item, buyers won’t think it’s quality.” So, that means I should raise the price and make three times (or more) what it cost me to make? Pricing is a struggle, for sure. I want a fair price. I want people to like what they buy. Maybe this means I will never be good at marketing because I cannot lie to people… or what feels to me like telling an untruth. I dunno.

 

Maybe I shouldn't be mixing up the selling of art with corporate America marketing. But corporate America has me so disillusioned that it's hard to even consider my own marketing strategies. Ugh, even using the word strategy sounds like I'm trying to pull something over on somebody.