One stone cold secret to every strategy I write
This shouldn't work, but it does.
I once read a marketing analysis of the best way to position ice baths back when they were new.
It reasoned, very logically, that to sell an ice bath to the uninitiated, you should compare its benefits to other sensible wellness solutions - to frame it as a rational choice. Basically so ice baths wouldn't sound weird.
Logical, but misguided.
The reason ice baths took off is because dunking yourself in freezing water, on purpose, is completely insane.
That kind of crazy gets people's attention. It makes people want to know more.
When you're launching a new category, you've got to have the courage to be wrong - relative to what already exists.
And in the case of ice baths, you better have proof that it works too.
It's a powerful recipe for success: Wrong first. Proof second.
"Our new product takes the way it's supposed to be done, and flips it on it's head. And it turns out it's amazing. Let me show you..."
Wrong first. Proof second.
Warning: if you go this route, it won't be easy. Because the world pushes us to be rational at all costs. To always get an A+ on the test.
Which is fine if you want to be like everyone else.
But if you strive to be different, wrong is where it's at.
Wrong gets attention.
Wrong gets remembered.
Wrong makes people want to know more.
Wrong makes them try it.
And sometimes, wrong makes the whole thing go viral.
And that's how wrong can change the world.
But how do you actually do this? What if the thing you're selling isn't crazy? Like what if it’s a new kind of actuarial table for insurance companies?
In my experience, every product has the potential have a contrarian point-of-view.
No matter how logical the product may seem, wrongness is there if you look hard enough.
I’ll give you an example from one of our clients:
Here's the strategy I wrote for them in a single sentence: IGC is the first Reverse VC Fund.
If I’m an investor in VC funds, that sentence makes me want to know more. It's an itch that needs to be scratched.
Most investors will give this new fund their attention until they find out whether a "Reverse VC Fund" is for them or not.
And getting customers to that place is everything.
FROM
I don't know or care
TO
I will pay attention until I find out if I should buy
Getting customers to that blessed second state is the basis for every successful product launch.
So please. Never start the conversation by telling me your new thing is the logical choice.
If you want people to buy, you better be wrong.