Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

Lots of marketing hoo-ha and blah-blah, yadda yadda about creating value, value propositions, etc. etc. Bottom line is value is always a matter of perception. If another woman thinks the little black knit top at DKNY is worth $95.00 - it is. (I, on the other hand, buy basically the same top at Target for $9.99.) The DKNY shopper isn’t just buying a top, she’s building/validating her self-image and place in the world. Ralph Lauren, a Jew from the Bronx, is a genius. He successfully sells himself as both a rugged cowboy and an old school Mainline Wasp…he doesn’t sell products, he sells idealized life styles, tells stories (in soft focus). People will always pay premium for things that makes them feel a certain way.

Another example - Reidel wine glasses. Smart, savvy wine experts rave about how the (very pricey) glasses make wines taste infinitely better. Yet, in double-blind tests, where people couldn’t tell the shape of the glass, there was absolutely no perceived difference in wine tastes. So, why do people buy the glasses? Because perception is reality. If you think it tastes better, it does.

I’m not above it all. Shopping at Target reinforces my self-image as a savvy, “cool” shopper with too much common sense to blow money on clothing basics. I wouldn’t be caught dead buying the same stuff at K-Mart. And, all my common sense disappears when I look (lust) at a Porsche Boxster. Do I really know that sports cars are “just transportation” and ridiculously overpriced for such? Sure, but… oh baby, Come to Mama! (The only reason I didn’t buy one years ago? My super ego kicked in.)

For more on perception is reality, check out Seth Godin’s All Marketers are Liars. It’s all about the stories we tell, to each other and ourselves.