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Number
53: May 19, 2004
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This week in Katydid:
Civility
in Marketing
What does civility have to do with marketing? Well, in Civility,
Stephen L. Carter says that it is a tool for interacting with others,
and what is marketing if not interacting with others? It's so important
that in a book that is essentially about society, he devotes several
sections specifically to marketing.
Civility is the second in a series of books by Carter that
describe "pre-political" concepts. That is elements of
character that we can all agree on whether we come from the left or the
right politically. Integrity
is the first book in the series and I wrote
about it last year.
Carter is the William
Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale, but these books are not
exhaustive legal treatments. Rather, they are deep explorations of how
the subjects interact with nearly every aspect of society.
Finding a common definition of civility, it turns out, is a taller
order than defining incivility because examples are all around us: the
person who cuts us off in traffic, the person who ignores the line and
walks up to the ticket counter without waiting, or the person who fails
to hold the elevator door as you scramble through the lobby. But it's
more than mere rudeness.
"Some people, when they think of civility, think of manners.
Others think of proper standards of moral conduct, or a set of
standards for conducting public argument. Still others think of
willing participation in the institutions that enable our democracy to
thrive, what has come to be known as the movement for civic renewal.
Some long for a golden past. Others imagine a platinum future. And all
of these views are partly correct: like the blind men and the
elephant, the many observers of civility are talking about different
parts of the same animal." (p.11)
He goes on to say, "Civility, I shall argue is the sum of the
many sacrifices we are called to make for the sake of living
together."
Civility, he argues, goes in and out of fashion to the degree with
which we interact with one another. When we had to travel in groups by
boat or train, or when we traveled together with strangers over
unfamiliar trails, civility was a code of conduct where we all looked
out for one another. Today, civility is out of fashion because we rarely
need to interact with anyone.
We drive from point to point, alone in our cars, with our stereos on,
and our air conditioned for our comfort. We walk from point to point
with our mirrored sunglasses and our fixed expressions. Most of our
interactions with others are when they are engaged in fulfilling our
desires. They are the cashiers, the receptionists, and the salespeople
who serve us.
Only in the office do we need to interact with others, and for that,
we remedy the situation with cubicles designed to shield us from direct
eye contact and conversation. Is it any wonder we don't know how to be
civil?
According to Carter, to be civil, we must accept that we are all on
this journey together. While we are independent creatures, there might
be a moment when we are called upon to sacrifice our desires for the
needs of others. Being civil means sharing the road, lending a hand, or
welcoming strangers even if it costs us something to do so.
Some people today argue (boy do they argue) that civility is a
throwback to a halcyon age and no longer necessary. In the age of media
spinning such as you find on political "talk" shows such as
CNN's "Crossfire,"
where decorum means simply, "Smile when you say that,"
civility is an invitation to be walked all over.
In the spirit of the first "Survivor" winner, Richard
Hatch, nice guys finish last and if you're willing to abandon all
morality, you have an edge over your competition.
But no one feels this way when they're broken
down on the side of the freeway halfway to Las
Vegas in 120-degree heat in the middle of the Mojave
Desert desperately raising their cell phones in the air trying to
find coverage.
We all think we are on our own, until we find ourselves truly on our
own. Then, you watch each car go by knowing what they're thinking
because you've had the same thoughts: "Poor sap." "What a
bummer." "Oh, he's got his cell phone." "I'm sure a
cop will be along any minute." All these are versions of what we
used to say on the playground, "It sucks to be you!"
On the side of the road, you sing a different tune: "I hope
someone calls the highway patrol." "Maybe they'll stop."
"Surely, someone will give me a lift to the next town." And
especially, "What the heck is wrong with you people!"
Carter is a little more thoughtful and artful exploring the subject,
but you get the point. So if civility is important to society, why is it
important to marketers? It is important, Carter argues because the
market is essentially amoral. You get out what you put in, and if you
believe you should do anything that is profitable, then you also believe
you should sell any thing in any way you want as long as
it makes money.
Most of us, good readers, want to draw a moral line somewhere and
Carter makes a good case for guiding ourselves with integrity and
civility. However, the incivility is deeply engrained in our culture and
we scarcely stop to consider our own words:
"One automobile manufacturer advertises its products with the
slogan On the Road of Life, There Are Passengers and There Are
Drivers, adding the tantalizing invitation: "Drivers
Wanted." These words appeal, of course, to our American tradition
of independence, especially in our cars. But what is the moral content
of this slogan? Just this: it is better to be a driver than a
passenger. The idea must be that drivers are in charge, whereas
passengers are not—and everybody who is anybody should want to be in
charge. If everybody tries to be a driver, we turn out to be traveling
through life alone. And if I am not a passenger, I can have no fellow
passengers, and thus I need not worry about the others I may
encounter." (p. 168)
Civility means doing what is right even if it costs us something. In
the case of markets, we might have to sacrifice some profit to do what's
right. To do that, organizations must examine their own moral limits.
For example, many people enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages, and we
all have our own degrees of temperance. However, when our commercials
for alcohol show young men and women losing all inhibitions, going wild,
and generally behaving with delicious irresponsibility, is it okay to
dismiss all that with a declaimer, "Please
drink responsibly?"
If I didn't know that the disclaimer was required by the legal staff
to provide plausible deniability in the event of a lawsuit, I might
think that the disclaimer demonstrated guilty feelings on the part of
advertisers.
Try an experiment, for the next day scan all advertisements for
disclaimers. When you spot one, read it instead as, "Everything we
just told you is a bald-faced lie."
So, let me just dismount my high
horse for a moment because you probably all want civility in the
marketplace. Perhaps someone out there is hoping that it will become
civil so you'll have an edge on all those suckers. No matter, civility
in the marketplace will be more profitable in the end.
You see, although Carter has probably not read Seth
Godin (see last
week's Katydid), they share a foundation; because, what Godin
argues for is essentially a civil marketplace. Godin makes the case that
rudely wasting your target markets' time and resources is a good way to
make them hate you. Trying to cover up ordinary products with
increasingly implausible exaggerated claims is not going to generate
positive ROI.
Carter expands on this, "Nobody pretends that markets are
friendly or even particularly civil places. Buyer and Seller,
cooperating on the surface, are in a sense adversaries: they do not
trust each other and rarely have any concern for each other's
welfare." (p. 169)
Instead, Godin argues you should strive to create remarkable products
that deliver what your customer desires in remarkable ways. That, I
think, would make for a more civil marketplace. That would form the
foundation for marketing based on earned trust. And you'd just have to
deal with the guilt of making money for essentially doing what was
right.
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