A few weeks ago, we celebrated Remembrance Day. This was originally begun to mark the end of the Great War, but now it also remembers all the wars since — and there have been plenty of them. In fact, the “war to end all wars” has been followed by very few years of peace, and people are still suffering in brutal wars from Ukraine to Ethiopia.
Communication Is Everything
At root, most conflict (whether between nations or individuals) is caused by failure to understand one another — failure to communicate effectively. Even in situations where things have deteriorated to the extent that no amount of communication would be good enough, this is likely to be down to a missed opportunity to communicate earlier.
It’s probably true, for example, that once Hitler got going with his ambitions, no amount of talking would have helped. In fact, attempting to do just that led to the disastrous Munich Agreement.
The fact is, though, that this situation almost certainly wouldn’t have arisen if there had been proper communication after the first World War. Instead, the victorious Allies imposed their will on Germany without listening to any counter-arguments — driving the country into the grasp of ultra-nationalism.
This is often true, as well, when relationships between individuals break down. There are exceptions, of course, but the vast majority of dysfunctional relationships could have been solved (at some point, if not now) by honest, effective communication.
What’s this Got to Do with Marketing?
My role in the business world is marketing, which is all about communication. But does any of what I’ve written really apply to marketing? After all, isn’t it just about trying to persuade (or even trick) prospects into doing what you want?
Well, it can be. Words can be used deceitfully by all kinds of people — marketeers, politicians, lovers, manipulative relatives, to name a few. The power of words is that, when used by someone whose purpose is to deceive, they can be as powerful a tool for evil as for good.
But that shouldn’t be what marketing is about. For one thing, it’s a very short-term success. Yes, you might make the sale but, in most cases, you’ll be found out quickly enough. You’ll need to be constantly finding new marks.
Real marketing, on the other hand, is a two-way communication, where you find out who you can help and show what it will mean for them. No tricks, no fast ones — just genuine communication that leads to a lasting business relationship, and sometimes even a personal one. Just by talking, whether with the voice or in writing.
Just Keep Talking
In a famous advertisement in the 1990s (later immortalised on a track by Pink Floyd), the great scientist Stephen Hawking told us that “All you have to do is just keep talking.” A particularly poignant observation from someone for whom talking was so difficult — but absolutely true.
As someone whose whole business is about clear and effective communication, I can only try, in a very small way, to help people keep talking and replace failure to communicate with understanding.
Because both peace and ethical business begin with two people communicating and learning to understand one another.