Purple cow — Summary

Learn how make your products stand out

The high amount of advertising makes it less effective

There was a time where just a few companies advertised. Ads were such a rare thing that they were very effective. People’s attention was captured by the products, and businesses had a great return on investment from advertisements.

But that changed quickly. Nowadays ads are everywhere. Whether TV, radio or the internet, people get flooded with advertisements which make them indifferent to them. We tend just to ignore ads unless they contain something specific for which we were lucking for. Ads no longer are something unusual, they are the norm, which is why they have become inefficient.

Remarkable marketing

In this period of marketing, the only way to stand out from the rest is to offer a purple cow. A purple cow represents something unusual, imagine you saw a herd of cows on a farm. Probably most of them would be black and white or brown. Nothing unusual, but if you saw a purple cow, your attention would probably be captured.

The same goes for today’s advertising. It is no longer efficient to rely on mass advertising. To get people’s attention, one has to offer an outstanding product, which then will lead people to spread the message by word-of-mouth. This is remarkable marketing.

Don’t imitate, take risks

Most companies fear taking risks. They avoid doing something different because they fear criticism and ridicule. Instead, they opt to mimic other successful companies and leaders. By following the established path and other leaders, you will stay invisible in the crowded marketplace.

To stand out, you have to take risks, take unconventional paths, take the lead and create something unique.

Focus on earlier adopters and people who are looking for solutions

Once you designed your product, you have to tell the world about it. There are four groups of people when it comes to the adoption of products. First, there are the people who are eager to try new things, the innovators. Then there are the early adopters, people who think that new products may give them an advantage. The early and late majorities are constituting the biggest group of all four, they are the ones who adopt a product because everyone else is using them. Lastly, the laggards are those who only adopt something when they have to.

You should focus on the earlier adopters. They are the ones who are disposed to try new products, and they will spread the word and convince other people to try your products. You should make it easy for them to recommend your product and encourage them to do so, which leads us to the next point.

Targeting people who are looking for solutions is another very good way to focus your ads. People who are searching for solutions will be more likely to listen to you if you offer them a solution. This is how most internet ads like Google Ads work. Once people search for something, related ads which offer something related are displayed.

Design the product so that people talk about it

The CEO of airline JetBlue asked the head of Marketing to be involved with the product design and employee training from the start. This has an excellent reason. Marketing is not about advertising. Marketing is about inventing the product. The product has to designed in such a way that people’s attention get drawn to it, and they talk about it.

A simple slogan is a powerful way to convey the main message behind a product. You should design your product in a way that every time your customers use your product, they spread the word about your brand.

Measure the efficiency of ads

You should also measure the efficiency of ads and make adjustments. If your ads are not effective, stop investing in them and try something different instead.

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