Wednesday evening my family and I sat down for a nice family dinner and the conversation transitioned to a recent movie release which everyone at the table had already viewed except for me. The conversation started with each declaring the movie one of the best they had ever seen and informing me that I should take the time to view it in the movies.
Without going into a lot of detail, not to spoil it for me, they started to compare different scenes of the movie which had the most impact on them. The longer they discussed the movie the conversation strangely transitioned what what they loved about the movie to what they did not like. At the same time the movie went from great to good. One commented to another that a scene was rather odd to them and another said they kept thinking the movie was going to end but then would continue on.
By the end of the conversation they found that they shared opinions and then one came up with the conclusion that there was so much hype surrounding the movie before it was released they already had the pre-conceived opinion that this was going to be the best movie of the year, maybe of all time. After seeing the movie and comparing opinions with each other they felt differently which brought the actual movie down a couple of notches on their best ever scale.
While each had things about the movie they did not like they fell back on the hype which was this was one of the greatest movies of all time. Even though they shared opinions like the movie could have been shorter, they kept them quiet not to go against what they felt was popular opinion.
We see this in business all the time. We wonder why a vehicle, with a lower safety rating and fewer features sells better. Why people eat at a restaurant which serves lower quality food but advertises everywhere, or spends twice as much for a caffeinated confection at the "in" coffee place.
It is all about the buzz. It is all about the perception that what they are offering is better, in style, popular.
How can you make your company and product fit this bill?
2 comments:
I couldn't agree more. I really enjoyed The Dark Knight, but I often see many people going to the "buzz" places and doing the "buzz" things. When I stop and evaluate, I realize that I have fallen into the same trap on occasion.
Sly,
Was definitely not putting down the movie. The three said they did enjoy it but seemed a little disappointed that they did get caught up in the buzz.
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