Oftentimes when looking into products or services we will seek out the opinions of those that we know and trust. Their feedback into whether or not we ourselves should buy something is held with great esteem.
This directly counters the claims set out by mainstream advertising. There is an extensive amount of time and money invested into putting together a great advertisement. Advertisements that present products or services that are considered ‘high end’ are often times perceived as being of better quality than its competitors. They are also more expensive when put into this ‘high end’ category.
Yet we still would prefer a familiar person’s feedback over an ad. And that would seem to make sense; being the case that an advertisement is presenting the viewpoint of the company. Whereas feedback from people we know tends to be less biased.
This doesn’t stop marketers from rolling out advertisements that accentuate this idea of high-end. Why is that? Well the short answer is that sometimes we as consumers buy into it!
A great example of this is a story told by Seth Godin tells of the amazing wine glasses of George Riedel. A tenth-generation glassblower, Riedel’s glasses are said to enhance the bouquet and taste of wine. Experts and renowned reviewers of wine state that Riedel’s glasses excel “for both technical and hedonistic purposes”. Oenophiles swear by them. Science testing has shown that it not the case.
When tests were done scientifically there were zero detectable differences between Riedel’s glasses and others. Do you think owners of Riedel’s glasses believe that? Not for a second. AND, they will swear there is a difference in taste.
What really makes Riedel’s glasses so prestigious? It seems the most determining factor seems to be the story that is associated with the product or company. In very little time, Riedel’s glasses gained esteem. This happened by the simple mention of him being a tenth-generation glassblower. A story began to form in the heads of readers, and with advertising Riedel’s glasses gained prestige.
So, what is important for us as Change leaders to considers when it comes to branding and marketing? It seems the story; “our story” holds a great amount of power. In telling our stories word-of-mouth momentum can be gained. It is the undertaking of Landers and Marks OD consulting to practice this idea of story sharing.
What value does this give to you? Well there are two main objectives in sharing this information. First being to have you take an introspective look at your story and how you would like to market yourself. Secondly, to create our own word-of-mouth support by putting this concept of storytelling into action!