Who Cares About Facts?

I do!

Apparently, a lot of people don't.

Earlier today, I wrote about Marketing Magazine's Survey that drew conclusions that inflated the popularity of mobile banking apps.

Seth Godin says it best in his blog:

The facts

A statement of fact is insufficient and often not even necessary to persuade someone of your point of view.

[I was going to end the post just like that, but then I realized that I was merely telling you a fact, one that might not resonate. Here's the riff:

Politicians, non-profits and most of all, amateur marketers believe that all they need to do to win the day is to recite a fact. You're playing Monopoly and you say, "I'll trade you Illinois for Connecticut." The other person refuses, which is absurd. I mean, Illinois costs WAY more than Connecticut. It's a fact. There's no room for discussion here. You are right and they are wrong.

But they still have the property you want, and you lose. Because all you had was a fact.

On the other hand, the story wins the day every time. When the youngest son, losing the game, offers to trade his mom Baltic for Boardwalk, she says yes in a heartbeat. Because it feels right, not because it is right.

Your position on just about everything, including, yes, your salary, your stock options, your credit card debt and your mortgage are almost certainly based on the story you tell yourself, not some universal fact from the universal fact database.

Not just you, everyone.

Work with that.]

 According to our local media in Toronto, disputes over facts are also coloring  [City Councillor] Doug & [Mayor] Rob Ford's controversial waterfront shopping mall, monorail, and ferris wheel plans.

          Spacing Toronto:  It ain't about the monorail or Ferris Wheel
     
As for me, I'll stick with the facts.  As a marketer, have always believed that within the truth lie sufficiently compelling facts to effectively communicate a marketing message.