What is BuzzWord Compliance?
July 19th 2008 19:56
So there you are shopping for the latest consumer electronics product (gadget). You are very much trying to get the "best deal". You want the best bang for the buck obviously, because like most people you value your hard earned money.
So what metrics do you use in your decision making process?
It is a given that the manufacturer wants to persuade you to buy their product and so place all kinds of statistics and features on the box of the product. This can be very confusing. What is at play here?
Well there is a phenomena where companies, in a marketing ploy, give you information about their product and engineer a product to have certain things attached to it simply because the competition has it.
The logic is that if you, as the manufacturer, do not include this buzz word in your product then it may not survive the market.
Stop and consider, does this feature actually benefit me, the consumer?
What about the point of diminishing returns? How much should I actually spend on this thing I want?
Part of the persuasion is to inform the customer, this creates a want for that feature, then hopefully turn that want into a strong desire or maybe a need.
On the other side of that same coin some one might actually need that feature, then it is the marketers job to turn the need into a want! A "want" for their specific product, not the competitions.
An example of this today is that American cell phone manufacturers are having trouble in Japan. Apparently American phones are to easy to use and do not have enough features. Here is the kicker though, the average Japanese consumer is not even going to use, let alone know how to use, the features they are buying on their phone! It is more about the capability and bragging rights, and the status symbol of the BuzzWord Compliant features!
This is a lesson you should learn for your own marketing efforts and your own consumption.
Is it really the "best buy"?
By the way, Cameron Cotrill is credited with penning the term "buzz word compliant". He is a software engineer of epic proportions!
So what metrics do you use in your decision making process?
It is a given that the manufacturer wants to persuade you to buy their product and so place all kinds of statistics and features on the box of the product. This can be very confusing. What is at play here?
Well there is a phenomena where companies, in a marketing ploy, give you information about their product and engineer a product to have certain things attached to it simply because the competition has it.
The logic is that if you, as the manufacturer, do not include this buzz word in your product then it may not survive the market.
Stop and consider, does this feature actually benefit me, the consumer?
What about the point of diminishing returns? How much should I actually spend on this thing I want?
Part of the persuasion is to inform the customer, this creates a want for that feature, then hopefully turn that want into a strong desire or maybe a need.
On the other side of that same coin some one might actually need that feature, then it is the marketers job to turn the need into a want! A "want" for their specific product, not the competitions.
An example of this today is that American cell phone manufacturers are having trouble in Japan. Apparently American phones are to easy to use and do not have enough features. Here is the kicker though, the average Japanese consumer is not even going to use, let alone know how to use, the features they are buying on their phone! It is more about the capability and bragging rights, and the status symbol of the BuzzWord Compliant features!
This is a lesson you should learn for your own marketing efforts and your own consumption.
Best Buy
Is it really the "best buy"?
By the way, Cameron Cotrill is credited with penning the term "buzz word compliant". He is a software engineer of epic proportions!
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