Two excellent posts from Hugh Macleod that talk about the impact that smarter markets are having when it comes to making purchasing decisons:
"Many of us make our living simply because other people are willing to pay a premium for something.
INFORMATION: Too busy to find out about the latest movies. That's OK, I'll gladly pay a premium to hear what the jounalist in The New Yorker thinks.FOOD: Too busy to figure out an interesting place for my date. That's OK, I'll pay a premium and take her to a really expensive restuarant. Even if she doesn't like the food, she'll be so impressed by the decor it won't matter.
RENT: Too busy to find out where the hot real estate deals are. That's OK, I'll just pay a premium and move into an already-gentrified neighborhood.
CLOTHING: Too busy to find out what goes into the making of a really nice suit. That's OK, I'll just buy a well-known label whose schtick I'm in tune with. Good enough for the guys at GQ, good enough for me etc.
So, the less information you have, the greater the premium you are prepared to pay, and vice- versa:
Know diddly-squat about tailoring? Then you're more likely to pay that extra $300 for that Armani, less likely to save $600 from going with the old man in Chinatown.
But then EnglishCut comes along... suddenly the conversation available to most people gets much smarter.
Know diddly-squat about tech? Then you're more likely to go with the $400 iPod, less likely to go with the $250 Microsoft-powered alternative.
But then Robert Scoble comes along.... and suddenly the conversation about personal stereos gets much smarter.
Suddenly the Ignorance Premium is devalued. Exactly.
It's about the MICRO Smarter Conversations absolutely wiping the floor with the MACRO Brand Metaphor/Ignorance Premium.
It's typically great, thoughtful, but so obvious stuff from Hugh.
Comments