A total of 89% of small-business owners interviewed said that they felt “skeptical” when they hear the word “guru.” That leaves only 11% who felt “excited.” This according to the 2011 Unguru.me Report which was conducted in December 2010. Furthermore, when asked to describe what they thought about gurus in their own words, things like “slimy” and “shameless self-promotion” and “liars!!!” were thrown about.
Evidence enough that the majority of people hate gurus?
Take a look at the info graphic below for more data that suggests the same. Then read more below for analysis and commentary.
Why The Guru Backlash?
I think it’s pretty obvious. Most people reject the premise that you can “get rich beyond your dreams with the click of a button,” no? Everyone wants to believe that though, and perhaps that’s why guru-tactics of “selling the dream” continue to proliferate the Web and continue to rack up millions and millions in sales.
But what happens after you figure out that getting rich without work is a pipe-dream? That’s right, you lose trust. And without trust, you’re just a flash in the pan.
Are You in This for the Long Term or Just for the Cash?
Are you building a business or are you just trying to make as much money as possible, as fast as possible? Because doing it the “guru” way can earn you a lot of money fast, but will it really build you a long-term business? No! Because real businesses are build on relationships. And you can’t have a real relationship with someone when you’re tricking them into opening your emails.
So what’s your opinion? Are you a “guru”? Or are you a real business?
Tags: guru
In my own view having reviewed some of these so call get rich schemes first hand. I can’t find the substance behind a lot of these MLM businesses. They appear void of any real potential for great income and wealth. You are a guru because you know something someone else needs to know. Otherwise Guru status is a joke. I am always open to learn about business opportunities where there is some real chance of earning money. In the end, a business proposition has to be win win. In reality, I have found that a lot of these opportunities are totally misleading and therefore have no real premise behind them, except to gain a following of gullible people who wish to waste their time.
I guess I’m part of the 11%. The word ‘guru’ doesn’t turn me off…it makes me want to check out what this “guru” has to say and then I’ll be judge. Since our company has been looking to switch web conferencing providers, there’s a guru I’ve been following, called ‘The Connect Guru.’ He offers up interesting information around Adobe Connect through short videos on YouTube. I find his videos to be entertaining and not a hard sell.
I think the guru trend plays on in the social media world simply because it’s a topic many people don’t know but wish they did. If I’m a company that has no social media presence but I recognize its importance, I might be looking for a quick fix. I see someone who calls him- or herself a guru and think, “Wow, they probably know a lot. And they have 453,985 Twitter followers, so that has to mean something.” What I don’t realize is that automating followers isn’t all the difficult.
This is just one example. I think the phenomenon as a whole really just goes back to our desire for authority. We want knowledgable people to tell us what’s right. But one great thing about social media is that these types of people are discredited very quickly, as the results show.
There may be something to this, but I would question any data about perception of gurus taken exclusively from a site called “unguru.com”. If that isn’t a clear evidence of bias I don’t know what is. To base a whole conclusion from this one study is irresponsible.
Kenton – the data was collected before unguru.me was launched – the survey was posted at http://jimkukral.com/gurusurvey.html and was simply prefaced with:
“What Do You Think of Gurus?
Please take a moment to give your feedback about Internet marketing gurus.”
Thanks for posting this. The word “guru” is and of itself isn’t problematic, it’s when everything they do is accompanied by a blatant sale’s pitch.
The word “guru” is over-used. It used to mean someone who gave personal or spiritual guidance. Now, someone who has set up a Twitter feed and has a Facebook page feels comfortable calling themselves a “social media guru”. It would be like a High School teacher calling themselves a guru because they know more than their class.
Let’s drop it and just on providing value.
Tim (a non-guru)
[...] Gurus: Do You Love Them or Hate Them? – If you have read this blog before, you know that the word guru makes me cringe. So you know where I stand, but who would have known that small business owners think the same way. [...]