Snake-oil Salesman Professor Thaddeus Schmidlap at Enchanted Springs Ranch, Born, TX, USA , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Long ago, before the 19th century, very few businesses needed to market their wares. Business was kept local. If you needed shoes, you went to the shoemaker. If you were sick, you went to the village healer. Businesses were usually named after their owners, and their name was their brand. Everyone knew who the village blacksmith was, for instance.
The Industrial Revolution (Production Era)
Fast forward to the Industrial Revolution between the 1860s and 1920s when goods were produced in an unprecedented way. New technologies made mass production possible for the first time. Factories began generating greater quantities of goods, more efficiently and effectively than ever before.
This new technology made it possible for businesses to be able to reach many, many more people. Mass production also made it possible to reduce prices, making goods more affordable. Many were able to either boost their overall profit or increase their value by passing on reduced production costs to consumers. This resulted in the Industrial Revolution being a pivotal time for the evolution of marketing, laying the groundwork for what we know now as mass-marketing techniques. The main idea of this era was “A good product will sell itself.”
The Rattlesnake King
One of the most infamous salesmen of this time was Clark Stanley, the so-called “Rattlesnake King.” Before the 1906 Pure Drug and Food Act was passed, Stanley patented his snake oil liniment that would ultimately make him rich. According to Erica Furgiuele in her May 31, 2022 article entitled The story of Clark Stanley, the original snake oil salesman, the bottle read:
Good for man and beast. The most remarkable curative discovery ever made in any age or country. A liniment that penetrates muscle, membrane, and tissue to the very bone itself, and banishes pain with a power that has astonished and convinced two generations of intelligent people.
When his product was seized and scrutinized in 1917 by federal regulators, it was found to be a mixture of mineral oil, animal fat believed to come from cows, red pepper, and turpentine. Turpentine??? By the time this happened, his product had already been sold to hundreds, if not thousands, for 24 years.
It’s no wonder the snake-oil salesman comes to mind when we think of sleazy marketing.
The Sales Era
We move onto the Sales Era (the 1920s – 1940s) when more and more companies were competing in the marketplace for visibility. The main goal was simply to sell, sell, sell. Sell as much as possible. Customer experience and product or service quality became a last thought. Companies used eye-catching promotions, radio commercials, and door-to-door sales.
Advertising executives hired leading psychologists to recommend ways of using emotional manipulation to get consumers to buy, such as John Watson’s directions to “…tell him [sic] something that will tie him up with fear, something that will stir up a mild rage, that will call out an affectionate or love response, or strike a deep psychological or habit need.”
This, dear friends, is called manipulation and is one of the big reasons marketing is distrusted and hated so much.
Lies, lies, lies
The Truth in Advertising Act would not be passed until 2014. (Truth be told, the passage of this law has not stopped the manufacturing of lies.) Lies were told about the effectiveness or safety of products. People died, and continue to die, from these lies. We all watched as the tobacco industry used its own “fake science” to try and prove that cigarette smoking was not causing cancer. The oil industry continues to do the same, railing against overwhelming scientific evidence that carbon emissions are linked to climate change.
Even though the Truth in Advertising Act was passed, the deception continues.
It’s no wonder people like you and I are beyond skeptical and even fearful about marketing. It really has become a matter of life and death.
As purposeful, mission-centered business owners you understand that marketing is a must.
Otherwise, how will those who need your product or service ever find you? The problem is, the last thing you want to do is instill fear or loathing in your marketing to get attention. It’s a real conundrum: either promote your goods and grapple with ethics, or refrain and risk experiencing periods of feast-or-famine.
Some would say that folks who avoid marketing show a lack of maturity. I wholeheartedly disagree. I believe it is quite the opposite. Instead, I believe it is their spiritual maturity that keeps them from acting manipulatively. They experience marketing as manipulation and pledge never to be that way. Unfortunately, many times that means they fail to market, which many times results in business failure.
What if there were another way?
There is another way. A better way. Yes, we must all still show up. It’s critical to face this fact, but it can be done in ways that feel good, that resonate with who you are and your core values, and most importantly, DO NO HARM.
There are heart-centered marketing approaches of integrity, that will allow you to come from a strong center with confidence.
Human-Centered Business Practices
The approach I use to branding, marketing and design is called “Human-Centered” and I base my business philosophy on the Buddhist teachings of empathy and compassion (i.e. connecting with consumers as people, not just as buyers presented with products and prices). Coming from this place requires me to tune in, recognize the suffering and desires in others, and then actively work to help provide a caring solution that causes no harm.
I also practice Human-Centered design techniques in my client work where I apply three of the eight tenets of the Buddhist Eightfold Path to my dealings with clients, vendors, and contractors. These three are Right Intention (or Right Thought), Right Action, and Right Mindfulness. I’ll talk more on that later, in another post.
Psychology teaches that when people feel understood, valued and seen, they are more likely to feel a sense of safety. These signals are referred to as “social safety cues.” Individuals attuned to these cues are more inclined to interact with your business, ultimately transforming into loyal customers and advocates. Stephen Borges (author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation) says, “Insofar as we can give ourselves and others social safety cues, we can become more attuned to our internal state, ‘more authentic.’ When we feel more authentic, we can become more safely vulnerable and connect with others.” Robin Stern, associate director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, once told The Washington Post: “When someone feels seen and heard by you, they begin to trust you.”
In a nutshell, human-centered marketing empowers brands to understand their ideal customers on a profound emotional level, communicate with them empathetically, and customize their products and interactions to align with their needs and expectations.
Influence is not the same as manipulation
It is empowering, and some of my clients have said, “healing”, to put yourself out there in the marketplace authentically and transparently. In this way, you can ultimately influence others without resorting to manipulation. If done with sincerity those who resonate with you will respond and, after all, those are the people you want to work with, anyway.
Would you like to learn to market in this way?
I guide clients through this in my Human-Centered Brand Strategy workshops . If you are a mission-centered business owner or entrepreneur and this kind of thinking resonates, reach out to me with questions and to have a conversation. Discover how to create influence in a genuine, transparent way. Nothing feels better than knowing your products/services can help others and sharing that without feeling the need to apologize.
Concluding Thoughts
I believe that the act of coming from a Human-Centered place can help us all ethically face the challenges and choices we encounter in marketing and the corporate world. By doing so, we stand firmly in integrity and peace, knowing we have made decisions that do no harm to ourselves or others. We can relax knowing we’ve come with honesty, openness, and kindness to help those we think will gain the most from using our product or service achieve the best results. Because, in the end, that is the best for everyone concerned.
Header image: Snake-oil Salesman Professor Thaddeus Schmidlap at Enchanted Springs Ranch, Born, TX, USA
Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons