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>In “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” Kiyosaki recounted Kroc’s >wisdom, “He knew that the real estate & its location >was the most significant factor in the success of each >franchise.” The accuracy of this statement can be >debated, but even if it’s only 70% accurate, it >doesn’t leave much value or importance for the Mcfood >(including the Big Mac special sauce), service, >cleanliness or the (somewhat unique) McDonald’s >experience. It’s a commodity in the sense if blind >taste tests were done; I think consumers wouldn’t >consistently know which sources supplied the fast >food. Many probably wouldn’t care, as long as it >wouldn’t instantly hurt them or taste raunchy. (It’s >not much of a buying criterion.) > >Beyond traditional blind taste tests, if we served >Burger King food in a McDonald’s restaurant to >McDonald’s regular customers, how many McDonald’s >regulars would notice the difference? > >Blind Taste Tests & Blind Luck >According to blind taste tests, people preferred Pepsi >more than Coke. But Coke drinkers rebelled when the >formula was changed to be like Pepsi. They wanted Coke >to taste like what they (seemingly) preferred. > >I realize recipes are easy to copy, so it’s imperative >to have things others can’t or won’t copy. If a >business might flunk a blind taste test, it’s >succeeding because of blind luck or very skillful >marketing. There are other senses to involve & >stimulate. Each sense can be used to create unique >experiences. > >Rational or Irrational, It’s Real >Tim “The Tool Man” Allen joked about the scent of a >Vise Grip. Hardware odors/ fragrances don’t seem to be >desirable, but they can set a mood. > >Dr. Phil McGraw wrote about the effect of smelling >cigar smoke. When he smells a particular cigar odor, >it’s almost like his father is next to him. > >Smoking & chewing tobacco kills people, but some are >concerned about how it tastes. Would they care enough >about the lead content or brand of bullets if they >were to shot tomorrow by a firing squad? > >So, the current concern at McD’s of finding the right >oil is valid. (more on it later.) > >Same Ol’ Same Ol’ >Why do incumbent office holders usually get reelected? >Sure, people don’t like to make waves. Yes, we prefer >the devil we know, instead of the devil we don’t know. >But when something hasn’t hurt us badly, we tend to >stay with it. > >People complain about negative political campaigns, >but the negativity tends to work because it dwells on >pain—real or potential. Promising to do/continue good >things—the real issues—sounds good. It’s what people >elect officials to do, but yet…all that negative stuff >is hard to ignore. People will do more to avoid pain & >avoid losing what they have, than they’ll do gain more >of what they want. > >Unseating incumbents is hard, unless people think a >situation will become much worse very soon. > >This mild joke has a strong point: Devils were >concerned about religious revivals. They talked about >how to recruit more people to their side or at least >keep them from salvation. Devil 1: “With all this >preaching going on, telling people ‘God doesn’t exist’ >isn’t working. How have you been so successful in >keeping people from being saved?” >Devil 2: “I’ve been telling them, there’s no hurry, >they have plenty of time to change their ways.” > >This is why many evangelists talk about the >“imminence” of the judgment day. Even not knowing when >it’ll happen, but thinking it’ll definitely happen can >be a motivator. > >But in business marketing & political campaigns, there >are more issues than people want to study about. >Leaders get reelected so they can get laws passed & >stop bad things from happening (if they can really do >any of it is questionable). This is why people want to >know qualified authorities are handling things for >them. > >Another religious joke is: A new arrival in Hell kept >looking closely at everybody he met there. He >definitely seemed to be searching. Somebody asked him >about it. He replied, “I’m looking for that preacher >who told me everything would be OK.” > >To successfully link your profession with your >business, be sure you know enough to be a true >professional in your field. Be sure people who buy >from you are as protected as possible. > >“You Say It, But You Won’t Do It!” >Campaigning on promises is part emotional (warm >fuzzies) & logical (what we need is__). Negative >campaigning is also part emotional (fear, disgust, >etc.) & logical (what will/won’t happen if __ is >elected). But the negative stuff stays in our >imaginations longer & grows. But as in business >marketing, if the negative is too strong (even if it’s >real), people will block it out of their minds &/or >not believe it. > >We can examine these issues all we want, but the big >thing to remember is: People buy things for emotional >reasons, but they try to convince themselves & others >they have logical reasons. If I have a choice, I’ll >still pick Pepsi instead of Coke. Though the formulas >of each have been changed so much, they taste almost >the same. I like how Pepsi tasted in the 1970s. I hope >it’ll taste like that again, but I know it probably >never will. > >As Clayton Christensen reported in “The Innovator’s >Dilemma,” the basis of product choice often evolves >from functionality to reliability, then to convenience >& ultimately, to price. There are exceptions & he >didn’t include irrational reasons; probably because >they’re hard to predict. Or are they? > >What about habit? Part of habit is convenience. After >many of us make decisions, we don’t want to think >about the issues anymore. (Fred Wiersema wrote about >this in “The New Market Leaders.”) This is especially >true in parity/commodity or near-parity categories. If >there’s little or no perceived difference in the >options, why go through the hassle of rehashing the >facts? > >When price is the main consideration, consumers are >choosing commodities. The vendors may dispute this, >but unless vendors make a strong case for >differentiation (change consumers’ perceptions), >consumers perceive products/services as commodities. >Making a strong case for differentiation is a constant >battle, not just against alternative >products/services, but also against the desire/felt >need for people to generalize. > >Everybody has internal conflicts. A big conflict is: >People need & WANT unique solutions (proprietary >products/services) to solve their unique problems. But >remembering distinctions requires extra effort to >think about & retain those differences. So, they’d >prefer to think everything is the same. It’s also a >way to avoid some buyers’ remorse. If each option is >essentially the same, fretting over “Did I buy the >right one?” isn’t an issue. Then the issue is: Should >I have really bought it? > >Strong differentiation overcomes some buyers’ remorse >too. A definable quality can warrant a price >difference & choosing 1 option instead of another. > >There are too many things to focus on everyday. But >your profits depend on linking (in consumers’ minds) >your profession with definite, definable differences. > >Dennis S. Vogel >thrivingbusiness@email.com >If people are buying the same things you offer but >from a competitor, something may be wrong. You >shouldn't have to wait long for sales, if competitors >don’t have to wait. You shouldn’t wait to get the >information you need. You can get it by using these >URLs. >http://www.voy.com/31049/ >http://www.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/

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