Kingdom Keys Bookmarking Blog

Not everyone likes to be confronted with the truth. As the famous saying goes: "I've made up my mind, don't confuse me with the facts..."

Obviously people don't go outright to find some falsehood to stick with. Nevertheless we often like to hang on to a convenient story when it suits our purpose. Marketing is one of those areas where the problem is endemic. If you are a competitor to a market leader and their brand image is well entrenched you will find it next to impossible to wake up consumers to the spell they are under.

People will go out of their way to buy such and such a brand simple because it makes them feel good, it allows them to join an elite group of trendsetters (when in fact they are really trend followers) and paying a double or foursome premium is no objection for the benefits derived.

Value is indeed in the eyes of the beholder. This phenomenon is not confined to the consumer market but is also found in the corporate world. In the past people used to claim; "Nobody has been fired for buying IBM." Later on we heard: "Nobody has been fired for buying Microsoft."

This is an interesting twist to the herd mentality. The appeal of implied benefits in being seen as a member of an eclectic group is overwhelming. All you have to do is buy a certain item in demand despite logical reasons not to.

It is clear by now that people do not buy an item because of its features but because of the benefits to them. This explains why the same car can be sold under one brand at a certain price but more than double the price when sold under a more prestigious label (Volkswagen Touareng versus Porsche Cayenne).

Is our self-esteem so low that we have to buy ourselves toys (for men) or clothes (for women) to gain some kudos? Are we so vain and self-centred that everything turns out to be a popularity contest?

Be as it may the main reason people like to hang on to a lie is that it is humbling to admit you were wrong. The longer you persist in towing the party line the more difficult it is to let go of it. This is especially so if you have nothing to replace the identity boost you derived from believing the lie.

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