Kenna's Dilemma

Oh how consumers really have no idea what or why they truly want what they want. Confusing?! Yes! The chapter titled Kenna's Dilemma from Gladwell’s book, Blink, revolves around lessons that bring insights about a customer's decision making process and how a judgment might be made. Gladwell uses many different examples of companies who didn’t get to take advantage of these learning curves.

One of the first lessons that I think is most helpful for a marketer trying to gain insight from customers is that context is everything. Companies have to be so careful in how they design their research. Coke made a huge mistake with the “sip challenge” put on by Pepsi. Coke got nervous that they were loosing market share and that Pepsi was winning the head- to head challenges, so they redesigned their secret formula to come up with New Coke. Coca-Cola executives were so excited because it beat Pepsi in head-to-head blind taste tests; however, it failed miserably. Lab coats don’t always know best. The sip test really had nothing to do with real life. Who normally just takes one slip of a soda and drinks it while being blind folded? Hopefully the answer is no one! Coke forgot that there is a link between mind and body. For example, the psychological impact relates to Coke’s red label and the associations that the brand conveys while the physiological impact is how the flavor taste, etc. I love the initial taste of those red and white peppermints, but I can never finish it because it starts to taste weird to me after a while.

Researches say that a CLT (central location test) can produce totally different results than a home- use test. I feel results get distorted when they are taken out of context. For example, people act differently when they know that they are being observed compared to if they had no idea they were being watched. It’s always best to observe people in a natural environment. Market research isn’t always a great indicator of what might actually happen when the product is launched. It bothers me when companies ask potential customer’s hypothetical questions about if they would buy a certain new product. When XM Satellite Radio was trying to launch its commercial free radio they called people and asked them 80 questions. When people are being asked to use hypothetical money to buy a new product, they are typically going to just say yes; however, this is totally different than actually going out and buying it. Snapple doesn’t do research groups on new flavors- they just make up a new formula and put it on the shelves- if it sells- they keep it, if not- they just try a new one.

Another lesson that I found that could be instructive to help gain insight on customers is the fact that it is difficult for consumers to really articulate or to understand their own needs and feelings. In the TED talk podcast, Malcom Gladwell talked about how Howard Moskowitz finally realized that there is just not one prefect product. Now thanks to him there are 36 types of Ragu spaghetti sauce. In surveys no one really ever stated that they wanted chunky spaghetti sauce until they just tasted it. Customers only know what they know, not necessarily what to ask for. In the case of the Aeron chair it was seen as ugly and looked fragile. In all reality, it was just different and people try to go with the safest choice and the norm. People associate not liking things that are not familiar to them. When I was in New York over the break, my husband made me try baby octopus. He loved them, but I said I hated them because it was so different for me. If I probably just got over the fact that it was different I probably would have liked them; however, I was quick to judge and labeled it as something I would not get again. Revolutionary products need to be treated differently and put in their own marketing category. People need to get over the newness factor before they can accurately form opinions about it. Marketers have to sort out if a consumer really doesn’t like a product because of the product itself or because it is something different.