How Much Love Does Your Customer Feel?

Blue Ocean Strategy Articles : How Much Love Does Your Customer Feel?

Besides providing exceptional functionality or utility, products and services can grab customers emotionally as well. In fact, if you can establish a strong emotional pull to your brand, your customers will become loyal and committed fans. The trick is to create an intrinsic association between their lifestyle aspirations and what you are offering them.

Just about as extreme an example of the power of emotional connectivity as you can get, is the saga of the Trabant. The former communist economies of Eastern Europe produced some of the most incredible cars ever made. Behind the iron curtain only East European vehicles were available, and people had to wait up to ten years to get one!

The crown jewel and most legendary of all communist cars was the “Trabant,” from East Germany. Remaining virtually unchanged for four decades, it was available in only the most distinctly bland colors. The car’s 26 horsepower, two stroke engine produced a maximum (downhill) speed of 50 mph., yet spewed almost a hundred times more pollution into the air than western cars. Its plastic frame cracked and shattered upon impact, and the steering wheel mounted gearbox required exceptional dexterity to operate. This car was so bad, so lacking functional appeal, that it actually inspired an endearing, emotional connectivity among its owners.

A simultaneous source of frustration and charm was the Trabant’s complete unpredictability: It would break down in the middle of a spring day for no apparent reason, but would also skip along unfazed in a winter storm. It’s blatant faults and quirks gave it real character and personality, while its unpredictable temperament made it the continuous source of funny stories. East Europeans' obsession with the Trabant sprung to life countless jokes about the car, such as: “How do you double the value of a Trabant?” Answer: “You fill up the gas tank” or “Why is the outside of the rear window of a Trabant heated?” Answer: “So that your hands don’t get cold when you are pushing it.”

The essence of the Trabant can be summed up by quoting the owner’s manual from 1983, revealing the single new feature of that year’s model: "A FOUR spoke, plastic steering wheel.” Apparently, no other features were deemed needy of improvement, so why mess with perfection?

Source: http://blueoceanstrategy.typepad.com/creatingblueoceans/2008/02/how-much-love-d.html