We like to view ourselves as high-level thinking, rational, reasonable beings, but the reality is that we make emotional decisions and then backfill them with logic, always! Psychology is the soft science that explains these systems In operation and how they can be tapped to influence (or manipulate) our behavior and choices. Marketing is the application of this psychology. Consumer brands have mastered marketing to harness these emotions to buy their products, we often do not consciously know why. Technology companies seldom utilize this kind of marketing. Great marketing is great psychology.
The product with the best technology, the most features, and the cheapest price always wins: Not Always!
The corollary to this is that technology decisions are made with logic based on two justifications (ROI), either cost savings or revenue generation.
So why do major installed vendors continue to win and expand business with more expensive, technically inferior products? Usually, it is because they represent the least risk. Making a decision that could result in being thrown out of the tribe (fired) is a consideration that is always running in the background. Being expelled from the tribe was a death sentence, survival was doubtful outside the protection of the tribe. Surely decisions are not made based on these emotions today! They absolutely are, and stop calling me Shirley.
A colleague was selling a product/service that was 10 times as efficient as the existing system. He was marketing based on cost savings that could result from requiring fewer people to do the same job. Again, the notion of tribe is at work here, asking a manager (decision maker) to fire the people that they have hired, trained, and worked with for years is like asking them to banish them from their tribe. Not likely. The logical decision would be simple, the emotional decision is nearly impossible.
The product is the only thing that matters, make a great product and it will sell itself: Important but not the only thing!
A famous consumer marketing story is about the laundry detergent manufacturer that packaged the same detergent in boxes in different colors. One was very bright, one was medium-toned and the other one was dull colored. Consumers complained that the bright-colored package detergent was too strong and damaged their clothing, the dull color did not clean their clothes, and the medium was just right. Logical, no, but systems like this are always at work below the surface.
Psychology must be applied to branding, packaging, pricing, and selecting the target market for the product. Who we wish to sell to has an enormous impact on how we package and message the product. A simple example: long-term employees of very large companies (think mid-level managers who are likely to be tasked with evaluating our products) are not rewarded for taking huge risks on bleeding edge technologies, they are rewarded for protecting the company from risks. Our packaging and messaging are about a safe choice. Compare this to the same level manager in a fast-growing startup Unicorn. People who chose to work in these organizations are looking for a challenge and the opportunity to stand out. Taking risks is the way to get ahead and prove one’s mettle.
Our product is the same product, but the marketing (psychology) is radically different are we going to put it in a bright, medium, or dull package?
Now What?
We can take our chances that our cool technology will win in the market once our audience recognizes the elegance of our solution… or we can take the time to understand our ICP(blog) and position ourselves to match our audience. Which one do you think will succeed?
If you do not have these skills in your network, please feel free to reach out with any questions and check out our blogs. Remember: in simplest terms, marketing defines the process and sales executes the process as defined by marketing.
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