Bringing philosophy into the corporate world may seem strange to you, but while this concept is not common in France, it is widespread in English-speaking countries, where philosophers are present in the professional world, particularly in Silicon Valley in the US. Philosophy can be an excellent tool for business, helping to gain perspective on one’s practices and taking a fresh look at one’s consumer relations. This was the topic addressed at a webinar a few months ago, when the EDHEC Alumni Marketing club invited Mathilde Chevalier-Pruvo to speak. Mathilde is a philosopher and consultant who works with businesses and private clients, and she showed us how philosophy can once again serve its primary function: to be useful in daily life and help us make the right decisions.  

Philosophy as a tangible concept!

Philosophy for you might be no more than a distant memory from secondary school, but it is possible to see it in a different light – as a tool to bring a business back to its roots and help run it with greater meaning. For philosophy, more than anything, is a way to take a step to one side, gain fresh perspective and question one’s beliefs. Times of crisis accentuate such questioning processes, and the current pandemic is a perfect example of this: it has enabled us to step back from well-rooted practices. Philosophy can therefore become a very tangible concept: it is about getting into the habit of questioning established thought patterns.

How can philosophy be connected to marketing?

Philosophy can help you understand how to showcase your products or services, and above all help to improve the way you communicate to your users about your activities. How? By establishing proper dialogue within the company, because sticking to set ideas blocks innovation. Dialogue can help you leave behind that bias by eliminating any prejudice there might be between departments. In short, it’s about making sure that everyone speaks the same language. Philosophy can help get rid of those perspectives that are specific to each role within a company and can deform the way we see things. “Political” philosophy – which has nothing to do with the politics of politicians – is particularly useful for marketing, as it looks at people’s relationships both within the company and on the outside with customers. 

How philosophy can help a company to question itself 

Mathilde recommends organising sessions in which participants will be asked to reflect on whether that which defines the company and its vision remains unchanged or evolves over time. The idea is to take the time to think about what we do and the way we do it. She uses the example of data, a sensitive topic that can be met with mistrust, even though it is no more than a tool: there can be no product design or scientific progress without data! It is worth asking why companies are often perceived as having bad intentions, even though they could tackle this topic positively rather than being on the defensive, explaining how collecting data makes it possible to offer sound advice or propose relevant services. 

Phenomenology ... whatology?

Mathilde draws on phenomenology (science of phenomena), a branch of philosophy that helps us understand things by studying their representation and lived experience. To take a concrete example: the same object can produce very different reactions from one individual to the next depending on how that individual is linked to the object (memories, people, etc.). For marketers, understanding how a whole network of meaning can become crystallised around a product or service is essential. The objective is therefore to “unpack” that network of emotions and sensations in an effort to understand what needs to be developed or what the focus of communication should be in order to resonate positively with the consumer. 

Use philosophy to understand your customers properly

1.         Give users their rightful place

The place given to the user is all the more important nowadays, in these times of GDPR and targeted advertising: we are seeing a loss of trust and increasingly defiant attitudes towards companies. Taking clients into consideration has become of the utmost importance. Explaining to them that they play a key role and giving them real status is a challenge. In this respect, Mathilde explains that it is essential not only to think in terms of the “product” but to situate it in the user’s life as a whole. Podcasts or interviews with consumers are ways to achieve this. 

2.         Adopt a suitable narrative approach

Philosophy tells us that humans have an emotional and bodily relationship with the world. In influence marketing, it is therefore important to put users at the forefront through a narrative approach that takes an interest in aspects of their daily lives. Indeed, we are seeing changes in storytelling methods: portraying a company’s narrative from its founders’ perspective and promoting idealised consumers are approaches that no longer work. What interests users nowadays is how a product or service will address their own aspirations. And so, stories with a purely product-oriented argument presented by influencers in some sublimated reality are no longer a smart choice because they don’t reflect our reality or who we are with all of our specificities.

3.         Humanise business and bring back authenticity

What’s the principle? It’s about showing that a company is a group of human beings working for their users, and accepting their imperfections, which actually have value added since they are authentic. Mathilde says they are like “minor gaps” that help reveal things we may not have thought of. She also recommends not over focusing on content re-worked to perfection, but instead simply showing what the company does and including the human faces behind the work. She cites small brands whose founders talk humorously to audiences about their products, but with a discourse that is rooted in real-life experience, an approach met with favourable responses. It is worth taking inspiration from such initiatives and not leaving them by the wayside as a company grows. Identifying user groups who don’t have preconceived notions and fragmenting the company’s communication accordingly is also a good way to retain authenticity, essential for successful marketing.

We hope this little philosophy lesson has given you food for thought about the way you approach marketing and communication with your clients. Don’t hesitate to chat about this topic with others from the alumni community. And if you want to know more about the topics in future webinars, be sure to check the calendar of events.