PRO Article
Six Irrational Leaps to Avoid in Marketing
There was no Viagra in 1918, but there were plenty of goats.
At the time, the alleged sexual prowess of goats enjoyed legendary status. So it was that Kansas physician John R. Brinkley made a small fortune surgically implanting goat testicles in men seeking to enhance or restore their own virility.
Never mind that the procedure failed to deliver the promised benefit; that Brinkley was a medical school dropout who bought a diploma for $100; or that most of his patients died during or shortly after surgery. A steady supply of men handed over their cash to Brinkley's scruples, and their privates to his scalpel.
I hope you agree with me that the decision to undergo Brinkley's procedure was irrational. The risks of infection, mutilation, sterility, and death were clear... yet otherwise presumably intelligent men convinced themselves to go ahead with implantation anyway.
Why?
Of course, you already know the answer. People who really, really want to believe, will believe—regardless of where the evidence points. Brinkley's patients really, really wanted the promised benefit, so they embraced his trumped-up "success stories," and disqualified the negative outcomes.
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Steve Cuno is chairman and founder of RESPONSE Agency (www.ResponseAgency.com), a direct-response marketing firm in the Salt Lake City area. He is author of Prove It Before You Promote It: How to Take the Guesswork Out of Marketing, due in bookstores December 2008 (John Wiley & Sons). Contact him via Steve@ResponseAgency.com.
Comments
Do I hear an amen?
I especially like Irrational Leap #5. It seems like often times because we can push our products from the comfirt of our desks, we become over reliant on our marketing efforts. Then, when sales go up, since we have no idea what is actually going on in the world, we immediately attribute it to our marketing campaign. I am a grpahic designer, and I can't tell you how tempting it is to take credit for sales based on my design or creative idea. It is much more practical and advantageous to the bottom line to think through the trends more carefully. Thanks Steve.
Steve, this is by far the best article I have read in past years I think.
By your permission, I will translate it to Slovenian language and post it wherever I can. :-) I'm even considering to have it as an intro to a afternoon-discussion we will have in January in our marketing association.
Possibly the best opening line I've ever read.
Loved the article, just ordered the book from your website.
Right on the money. In spite of evidence, we continue in our irrational behaviours. I especially like the one about connecting cause to effect. There is no substitute to observing and testing in most marketing situations.
Shekar
http://marketingshiksha.blogspot.com