There is a famous saying that most marketers are familiar with.
Customer does not want 0.25 inch drill,
You want a 0.25 inch hole.
– Theodore Levitt –
Thinking from one’s own point of view is the defect of human beings. So, if you don’t pay close attention, you will only think from your own point of view, which is the same for marketers. Theodor Levitt makes it easy to use the example of a drill and a hole to pay attention to this. Despite the fact that consumers don’t want a “drill” but a “hole” they want to get through a drill, if you think only from the supplier’s point of view, the “0.25-inch drill” is the main character.
There is a case that clearly shows what kind of results a company understands and a company that doesn’t. Apple and iRiver.
While it may not be familiar to Generation Z, iRiver was once a powerful brand that reached No. To exaggerate a bit, it was iriver’s MP3 player that had as global status as Sony’s Walkman.
At the time, many MP3 player companies, including iRiver, competitively emphasized the technological prowess of their products. However, the method was largely vendor-centric. For example, it focuses on numbers that consumers can’t immediately grasp, such as “The launch of an ultra-small 256MB MP3 player!” The aforementioned “0.25-inch drill” has been sold.
Unlike other companies, Apple sold a “0.25-inch hole”. With a great introduction by Steve Jobs. At a small press event in 2001, Jobs pulled a small device out of his pocket and said, “You can have 1,000 songs in your pocket.” It was the beginning of the iPod legend.
This once revolutionary consumer-centric approach has now become common sense for all marketers. So, those who dream of better marketing and better marketers need to take a step forward at this point. I was wondering if a “0.25 inch hole” would be enough. More specifically, ask questions like “Why would a customer want a 0.25 hole”?
For some, the 0.25-inch hole is a way to hang your artwork on the wall, and through this hole, you can become the “artist” of your dreams. He wants the identity of an ‘artist’, not a 0.25-inch drill or a 0.25-inch hole. So, let’s update Theodore Levitt’s words my way.
Customers don’t want a 0.25 “drill, they want a 0.25” hole.
And what he wants most is his identity, which he can see through the 0.25-inch hole.
– Teacher’s hat –
It is probably the same way that many companies talk about branding rather than marketing. Ultimately, it must achieve the identity of the consumer.
Hat teacher brunchAfter modifying the article published on, Mobi Inside introduces it once again.
