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The difference between what people buy and what they want

Many people tend to think about marketing as the art of making people want something.

I find it much more useful to think about marketing as the art of making people see something.

It turns out that to change what people want is quite difficult most of the time. But we often confuse the things that people buy with the things that people want. They are often not the same thing.

People buy a piece of software but what they want might be peace of mind (e.g. because these people are not in the “figuring out software” business but in logistics). So, if your piece of software really does spare your customer the hassle, then all you need to do is to make them see how.

When the thing you make attaches to what people want and when your communication makes them see how, then marketing becomes a lot easier than to start on a mission to change what your customer wants.

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Dr. Michael Gerharz

Dr. Michael Gerharz