The Marketing Lessons of Stone Soup

It was a childhood classic. And one that might leave you considering Marcia Brown to be a marketing genius.

You may not remember her name. But I’m pretty sure most of you remember her children’s book – “Stone Soup”.

It’s a must-have for your kids AND your office.

It’s the story of three soldiers who are on their way home from war. They are tired and hungry. They come upon a village and are told by the villagers that there’s no food and nowhere to sleep.

The soldiers end up making “stone soup” in the center of town…and the villagers all decide they want to be a part of it. Suddenly the town with no food is contributing carrots, meat and more. By the end of the story, everyone is feasting together and the soldiers are offered the finest sleeping arrangements.

The next morning, the entire village gathers for a proper send-off.

Many thanks for what you have taught us,” the peasants said to the soldiers. “We shall never go hungry, now that we know how to make soup from stones.”

Oh, it’s all in knowing how,” said the soldiers, and off they went down the road.

Now let’s explore the three biggest lessons in marketing in the story.

There are plenty of resources – you just need to know where to look.

The soldiers in the story realized that they only had their creativity and some stones. How many organizations are out there with the same problem? Whether your challenge is funding, limitations of your own skills and abilities or time – every business faces struggles. The key to success isn’t in having all of the ingredients for the soup…it’s in knowing where to find them.

When we get others to buy into our vision, everybody wins.

There wasn’t a single villager in the story who wanted to step up and help feed the soldiers. But once the soldiers sold them on the bigger picture, all of a sudden everyone wanted to be a part of it. You’ve dealt with the exact same issue. Many people refer to it as “drinking the juice” (which of course has much more of a morbid history than the story of the stone soup). Regardless of what you call it, the magic remains the same. Get others to buy into your philosophy and make it their own…your business will never go hungry again.

People will be guarded until they see that there’s value for them.

Not only did the villagers not offer up their food and beds at first, but they went so far as to hide them. We live in a society where “it’s all about me”. It’s time you reviewed your marketing strategy. Whether it’s your Facebook posts, your review solicitation process or the very way in which you are framing the messaging of your marketing – ask yourself one question. Does the marketing convey value for your consumers?

We’ll always be able to accomplish more by pooling our resources and offering value to others. The only question that remains… is there magic in the stones, or is the magic in the marketing?

Here's the original text to the book my Marcia Brown that you can buy on Amazon here:

Three soldiers trudged down a road in a strange country. They were on their way home from the wars. Besides being tired, they were hungry. In fact, they had eaten nothing for two days.

"How I would like a good dinner tonight,” said the first.

“And a bed to sleep in,” said the second.

“But all that is impossible,” said the third. “We must march on.”

On they marched. Suddenly, ahead of them they saw the lights of a village.

“Maybe we’ll find a bite to eat there,” said the first.

“And a loft to sleep in,” said the second.

“No harm in asking,” said the third.

Now the peasants of that place feared strangers. When they heard that three soldiers were coming down the road, they talked among themselves.

“Here come three soldiers. Soldiers are always hungry. But we have little enough for ourselves.” And they hurried to hide their food.

They pushed the sacks of barley under the hay in the lofts. They lowered buckets of milk down the wells.

They spread old quilts over the carrot bins. They hid their cabbages and potatoes under the beds. They hung their meat in the cellars.

They hid all they had to eat. Then – they waited.

The soldiers stopped first at the house of Paul and Francoise.

“Good evening to you,” they said. “Could you spare a bit of food for three hungry soldiers?”

“We have had no food for ourselves for three days,” said Paul. Francoise made a sad face. “It has been a poor harvest.”

The three soldiers went on the house of Albert and Louise.

“Could you spare a bit of food? And have you some corner where we could sleep for the night?”

“Oh no,” said Albert. “We gave all we could spare to soldiers who came before you.”

“Our beds are full,” said Louise.

At Vincent and Marie’s the answer was the same. It had been a poor harvest and all the grain must be kept for seed.

So it went all through the village. Not a peasant had any food to give away. They all had good reasons. One family had use the grain for feed. Another had an old sick father to care for. All had too many mouths to fill.

The villagers stood in the street and sighed. The looked as hungry as they could.

The three soldiers talked together.

Then the first soldier called out, “Good people!” The peasants drew near.

“We are three hungry soldiers in a strange land. We have asked you for food and you have no food. Well then, we’ll have to make stone soup.”

The peasants stared.

Stone soup? That would be something to know about.

“First, we’ll need a large iron pot,” the soldiers said.

The peasants brought the largest pot they could find. How else to cook enough?

“That's none too large,” said the soldiers. “But it will do. And now, water to fill it and a fire to heat it.”

It took many buckets of water to fill the pot. A fire was built on the village square and the pot was set to boil.

“And now, if you please, three round, smooth stones.”

Those were easy enough to find.

The peasants’ eyes grew round as they watched the soldiers drop the stones into the pot.

“Any soup needs salt and pepper,” said the soldiers, as they began to stir.

Children ran to fetch salt and pepper.

“Stones like these generally make good soup. But oh, if there were carrots, it would be much better.”

“Why, I think I have a carrot or two,” said Francoise, and off she ran.

She came back with her apron fill of carrots from the bin beneath the red quilt.

“A good stone soup should have cabbage,” said the soldiers as they sliced the carrots into the pot. “But no use asking for what you don't have.”

“I think I could find a cabbage somewhere,” said Marie and she hurried home. Back she came with three cabbages from the cupboard under the bed.

“If we only had a bit of beef and a few potatoes, this soup would be good enough for a rich man's table”

The peasants thought that over. They remembered their potatoes and the sides of beef hanging in the cellars. They ran to fetch them.

A rich man's soup – and all from a few stones. It seemed like magic!

“Ah,” sighed the soldiers as they stirred in the beef and potatoes, “if we only had a little barley and a cup of milk! This would would be fit for the king himself. Indeed he asked for just such a soup when last he dined with us.”

The peasants looked at each other. The soldiers had entertained the king! Well!

“But – no use asking for what you don’t have,” the soldiers signed.

The peasants brought their barley from the lofts, they brought their milk from the wells. The soldiers stirred the barley and milk into the steaming broth while the peasants stared.

At last the soup was ready.

“All of you shall taste,” the soldiers said. “But first a table must be set.”

Great tables were placed in the square. And all around were lighted torches.

Such a soup! How good it smelled! Truly fit for a king.

But then the peasants asked themselves, “Would not such a soup require bread – and a roast – and cider?” Soon a banquet was spread and everyone sat down to eat.

Never had there been such a feast. Never had the peasants tasted such soup. And fancy, made from stones!

They ate and drank and ate and drank. And after that they danced.

They danced and sang far into the night.

At last they were tired. Then the three soldiers asked, “Is there not a loft where we could sleep?”

“Let three such wise and splendid gentlemen sleep in a loft? Indeed! They must have the best beds in the village.”

So the first soldier slept in the priest’s house.

The second soldier slept in the baker’s house.

And the third soldier slept in the mayor’s house.

In the morning, the whole village gathered in the square to give them a send-off.

“Many thanks for what you have taught us,” the peasants said to the soldiers. “We shall never go hungry, now that we know how to make soup from stones.”

“Oh, it’s all in knowing how,” said the soldiers, and off they went down the road.

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Kyle Reyes is the President and Creative Director of The Silent Partner Marketing, New England's #1 Marketing Agency. We're a boutique marketing firm focused on helping businesses grow in an age of exploding technology. You can find him on Google+, Facebook and Twitter. He's the Chuck Norris of marketing. It's outrageous - we know. That's kind of the point. Outrageous marketing - extraordinary results. And yes - he wants to connect with you on LinkedIn, so send him a request!