untold stories

In marketing, we try to tell people what they want to hear so that they will buy our products. This is an effective strategy because most people do not have the time or energy to research a product before buying it. The things that make us happy and healthy are also those that make money for companies: sugar, fat, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. However if you dig deeper into these 'unreal' truths of human nature you find something much more disturbing: Fear - Fear is one of the main reasons why humans need to believe in a God (see Pascal's Wager). Humans fear death; they fear being alone; they fear failure; they fear their own desires; but above all else, humans fear uncertainty - Uncertainty means change - Change means loss of control over their lives - Loss of control leads to pain - Pain makes them feel weak - Weakness makes them feel vulnerable So there is no way around it... If we want our species to survive as long as possible then we must keep humans from thinking too deeply about how unnatural life really is.

In marketing the untold stories are usually the real stories. If you want to know what people really think, and not just how they say they feel, then you need to look at all of their actions. You can't trust what a person says if it is based on something that he or she does not believe in himself/herself. In order for marketing to be effective there must be some level of trust between those involved in the transaction - this means that everyone has an interest in seeing things go well for both parties. The buyer wants to get value from his purchase; the seller wants a good reputation and also hopes that he will make money from selling his product (if only because bad news travels fast).This leads us into one of my favourite topics: ethics and morality. Morality is about how we should behave towards each other; ethics is about why we should behave like this, as opposed to behaving differently (for example 'because I said so'). When I talk about morality I am talking about the idea that human beings have rights over themselves which others must respect; when I talk about ethics I am talking more generally, with reference to society as a whole rather than individuals alone: "We ought" do such-and-such rather than "I might". This is important because our behaviour changes according to who we are dealing with - my wife would never tolerate me going around without pants but if someone else's wife saw me doing it she wouldn't care much either way...The basis for any moral system comes down ultimately to whether or not it allows freedom of choice - ie does it allow free will? Human beings seem fundamentally different from animals (although many philosophers would disagree) precisely because humans have free will whereas animals don't: while animals respond instinctively and automatically whenever given certain stimuli, humans choose their own responses freely and therefore morally responsible for them too. It follows logically then that whatever affects our choices affects our behaviour ethically too! And if there was no ethical basis behind anything we did then nothing could ever change us; after all changing your mind once doesn't mean you've changed your mind forever unless there's something compelling enough driving your decision making process beforehand ("why did you decide x instead of y?"). So now let's consider market research specifically:There seems little doubt nowadays that market research companies conduct surveys primarily out of self-interest rather than genuine concern for their clients' needs or desires (this isn't necessarily true though - even today some survey companies try very hard indeed!). Market researchers often use qualitative methods when quantitative ones would suffice but simply refuse outright when these become available simply because they'd prefer large samples sizes so as better cover statistical bases etc.; this can lead survey respondents into feeling less valued by them despite being asked questions which may reveal valuable information nonetheless. Even more serious however is where questionnaires include irrelevant questions designed solely so as force respondents into answering yeses where maybe no answer was required at all; further still where key words are deliberately chosen by researchers leading unsuspecting interviewees down cul de sacs away from relevant answers altogether! Furthermore many polls were conducted prior correct knowledge through conducting experiments under controlled conditions before taking results back out into reality again without actually understanding why anyone thought differently during experiments anyway... How come people always tell pollsters exactly what they think they want them thinking? Wouldn't people naturally vote against governments wanting higher taxes every time?! Surely people aren't supposed react against proposed government policies in such ways!! Well yes sometimes yes definitely but most times no perhaps! We're imperfect creatures after all... What sorta truth lies within polling data anyway? Who knows!? Are surveys reliable sources?? Noooo!!! Not even close!! Why?? Because businesses manipulate figures so lying becomes easy! But wait.. Can marketers control consumers?? Nope!! Only up until sales start dropping off thanks largely due partly perhaps almost certainly mainly totally entirely entirely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To sum up here are two quotes respectively written by Socrates ('the wisest man who ever lived') & Benjamin Franklin ('the smartest man who ever lived') relating respectively directly & indirectly regarding market research itself: "A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion.""Marketing is a great way of finding out what people want and giving it to them. "