Purple Cow; with the subtitle, "Transform your business by being remarkable." As you all already know, traditional marketing no longer works. The public is very bored with these types of advertisements. This is because these ads are so large in scale and excessive, to the point where people feel tired of them, no longer want to watch, and no longer want to listen to them at all. So, if they are bored and no longer want to know or listen to advertisements, what should we do to be able to sell our products? And what should be done to attract customers' attention back?
In the explanation that follows, there are answers to these questions. To avoid wasting time, I would like to invite you all to follow along and understand together as we continue.
Mr. Seth Godin began the story of his book by sharing about a happy vacation with his family to France. As he and his family were traveling along a road adorned with scenery as beautiful as a painting, they were very interested and delighted by the many cows gathered in herds on the green fields, which looked inviting for a relaxing sit-down, with a clear sky mixed with fluffy white clouds, beautiful enough to be admired.
All those herds of cows were happily grazing, unworried about attacks from tigers or lions. However, the beautiful scenery with forests, mountains, ponds, and various animals became repetitive, the same from one place to the next. This caused them to gradually lose all their interest.
Because that scenery had nothing strange about it at all. It was like the scenery of the countryside and farms along the national road from Bei Jing to Shang Hai. We are not very interested because we are used to all that scenery. But if you have a foreign friend who has lived in a modern city and comes to visit their country, China, and has never seen this kind of rural countryside scenery before, they will surely be interested and would not dare to close their eyes to sleep. But this happy feeling will fade little by little when they see the same thing from one kilometer to the next, with nothing new and nothing that should attract their attention.
Let's return to talking about Mr. Xing Godin's family. Along the road of their vacation, they also started to feel bored with the repetitive scenery along the road. Now, let's imagine that, by chance, along that road, there was a herd of cows, and in that herd, there was a cow that was purple. We would surely find it strange and be interested again, wouldn't we? Of course. We would surely stare without looking away. This is the reason that attracted the mind and idea of our author to think of the table of contents and the title of this book of his: "Purple Cow", And in its metaphorical sense, it means something that represents being outstanding, something of which there is only one, or something that is different from others, and so on.
In this explanation, we will understand together the strategy of how to create an outstanding product and the technology of marketing with intelligence. Please note that the word "outstanding" or "remarkable" here refers to something that is new, different from others, and better than others. Traditional marketing is like a brownish-gray cow. It has nothing strange or interesting about it anymore because, since forever, we have only seen cows with this color. And this traditional marketing uses the same methods and injects too much advertising information to customers, to the point where customers no longer want to listen or see it.
Not only that, but competition in the market is also increasing. The question is, if we continue to use the same traditional methods, how can we sell all of our products? How can we maintain the presence of our business? The answer to this question is that we must have a purple cow to attract the attention of customers again. How important is a purple cow? Why is it necessary to have a purple cow?
In the beginning, before there was advertising through digital platforms, people used word-of-mouth advertising. This means that if a customer loves and likes your product, and that product can solve a problem they are facing, they will continue to share information about your product with many other people they know. Later on, advertising through television and printed materials like newspapers and magazines emerged. This advertising, by buying radio or television time to broadcast ads or buying advertising space in newspapers or various magazines in the past, yielded good results. Because when customers watched or read those newspapers and magazines, they would always see the ads. And they would decide to buy the products or use the services that were advertised.
As time went on, people started to get very bored with the flood of those commercials because it pushed too much information, targeted and untargeted, to customers every single day, to the point where they no longer wanted to listen, see, or read it all. So, how can we sell our products if customers don't even want to listen to information about our products anymore?
The answer to this question is that we must create a product that is appealing, that can stand out and float above the flood of advertising for products that are similar or identical. We can think of aspirin. This is a very good example because everyone has a need and wants to use it. Not only that, it is easy to find, affordable, and has high efficacy.
Many sellers in the early stages can earn a lot of money from selling this one type of medicine. However, if you are thinking of selling a new series of aspirin that has just been released recently, you will surely have a hard time selling it. Because there are so many new brands of this type of aspirin on the market today. We have seen and used them frequently, such as the brands Advil, Excedrin, and Tylenol, and many other brands. Even if your aspirin product has better quality than the famous brands mentioned above, how can you hope to compete with those famous brands?
Even if your company has a sufficient budget for advertising on television, social media, or in newspapers and magazines, you still need to find target customers who dare to try your new product, which is unavoidable. And this is a very difficult challenge. Because the vast majority of customers will decide to choose a brand that they already know and have been using since they can remember. And not only that, many customers have put their trust in the old aspirin brands and have already accepted their effectiveness. They mostly will not risk spending money on new brands. Thus, your product will soon have no customers and will surely disappear from the market.
In the past, this kind of traditional advertising was done in this format: an enterprise would start by finding a product that still had a large and growing market that hadn't been controlled by any company yet. After that, they would start building a factory to produce that product. The next step, they would market their product on a massive scale through various advertising channels, especially television. The public would be informed about the advertisements. And as a result, they observed that sales increased sequentially. With the demand in the market growing more and more like this, it made the factory continue to supply its products without rest. And it created a lot of profit for those enterprises. They also took a portion of the profit to continue buying advertising on those media channels. They cooperated to create a continuous stream of income from this system.
For example, companies that earned huge profits through advertising their products on television include companies like Revlon, Quaker, and the company P&G, which has some products that have made everyone remember them well and are often seen displayed in modern markets, such as: Head & Shoulders, Ivory, Mr. Clean, Olay, Pringles, and Irish Spring, among others.
In the past, in some countries, they used a technique by putting a phrase on their product. They wrote that "This product is advertised on television." Because at that time, before the existence of social media like Facebook, television was the most influential. Anything that was broadcast on television seemed to be recognized as having quality, being official, or trustworthy, whether it was news, a product, or a singer. As long as it appeared or was shown on television, it was known to be good.
This is a stark contrast to the modern era. A product that is not good and has no quality can also be famous. A number of singers and actors, even without proper training in school, can still be famous. As long as they know how to attract attention, get many people to watch, get likes, and get shares, they can make more money than they know what to do with. And they don't have to spend a lot like in the old days. This is the reality of the social fabric that we cannot ignore or overlook. If not, we will be left behind, and they will move forward without caring about us. It's no different from someone who wants to do business selling online but doesn't know how to do live selling or is too shy to show their face to sell, or is afraid to post for sale because they fear people will get tired of it. If you keep doing that, even if you sell for 10 years, it won't equal what they sell in one month.
Therefore, you should be able to update your skills or knowledge related to advertising and marketing to be up-to-date. You shouldn't be negligent and let yourself become outdated, unable to catch up with them, or be left far behind. Today, large companies still spend tens of millions of dollars on television advertising. But the market situation is not the same as it was before. Especially with the existence of so many giant social media networks. For this reason, the author of this book has pointed out that the traditional marketing strategy is to create a safe and stable ordinary product and then market it heavily. As for the modern marketing strategy, you must create a product that is outstanding, especially by creating interest and being able to respond to the needs or wants of the target customers.
Next, I would like to bring up the idea of Mr. Jeff Moore related to the theory of the "diffusion curve," which is a curve theory that shows the situation of a new product or service that circulates through different types of users. This counts from when the product or service has been officially launched on the market. This curve is shaped like an overturned bell that is divided into 5 parts, which we will explain from left to right, one by one.
The first part on the left, which is the smallest, represents the group of users or customers called "Innovators." This is a group of customers who like to buy or use a product or service before anyone else. They don't care if they need the product or not. The important thing is to be the first to buy it.
The next part is the "Early Adopters," who are a group of customers who are interested in seeking out new products or services to try and are willing to spend money on new brands that they have never used before.
The next part of the curve is the part that bulges up the most. This is where almost all companies like to target their marketing to win over customers. This part includes the "Early Majority" and "Late Majority" customers. Customers in these two segments do not like new products or services. They tend to use only the brands that they have known and used for almost their entire lives. Customers in this group sometimes like to listen to information about new products or services from their friends who are in the "Early Adopters" customer group. But only a few of them decide to buy or try it.
But in this book, the author wants us to turn our attention to the "Early Adopters" customer group, which is a type of customer who likes to try things that are new, modern, trendy, different, and outstanding. Even though it is not a large part of the curve that covers a wide range of customer types, it is more than enough. We need to create a product or service in a way that is outstanding, with characteristics that are different from others, and is appealing, just like the purple cow we talked about at the beginning. Do whatever it takes to win the hearts of the customers in this group. When you do, they will help market your product or service to people in their network who are in other segments of the curve.
This is why the author emphasizes that it is most important that you create a product or service that is absolutely remarkable to attract this group of customers to support your product or service. The words "remarkable" and "appealing" here refer to creativity, fun, beauty, and being different from others, while still maintaining quality and effectiveness in solving the customers' problems.
Let's take a look at the digital camera product. Initially, this type of camera was only bought by a group of people who liked electronic devices, liked computers, and were professional photographers. Because it was difficult to use, had many settings, and was complex. But the camera manufacturing company successfully launched a marketing campaign targeting the "Early Adopters." This caused them to continue talking about it from one person to another, to people in their network in other segments, through sincere recommendations. This led to many different brands entering the market in large numbers, to the point of completely eliminating the type of camera that used film rolls from the market.
To return to the point, to be able to capture the hearts of the "Early Adopters" customer group, your product or service must be easy to understand and easy to explain and recommend to others. This provides an easy way for them to recommend it to people in their network. A product that is outstanding should be a product that has wings, can fly far, and brings back success to the owner who created it, and can generate a continuous stream of income.
The author mentions a type of person whom he calls "Sneezers," who are the ones who share information about a product or service to the people in their network actively, spreading it like the coronavirus. The author also reminds us not to try to create a product or service for everyone, because it might become a product that no specific group of people needs. And if you are just entering the market, you won't be able to make it anyway, because those huge and massive companies have already firmly established their market share with deep roots.
Instead of focusing only on the popular market niche, you should try to find a target market, which is better. Create a product that fits a specific group of people. By doing this, you can narrow your focus, as well as your goals and strategies that are too broad, very well. And try to provide the "Early Adopters" customer group with a product or service that is the best at solving their problems. Provide the best value to them with all your ability. They will choose you.
And what's more special is that if you make them even more satisfied and happy, they will continue to advertise and share good information about your product or service even more. Hopefully, it won't be long before your product or service spreads into the big markets successfully, just like the digital camera product we talked about at the beginning.
There are many companies that have not used the common tactics for marketing. They seem to have taken a shortcut by marketing in the "Purple Cow" style, by creating a product that is appealing, outstanding, and competes with their competitors without spending a lot of money like in the standard marketing playbook. And they can also receive a lot of profit and capture the hearts of the "Early Adopters" customers.
For example, Starbucks used this shortcut to create an appealing and outstanding product that successfully defeated its competitors. This made customers in other segments, when they wanted to drink coffee, think of Starbucks first. The coffee company Amazon also uses this shortcut, which is a strategy of creating a "purple-colored cow" to attract customer interest by offering free delivery and a wide variety of coffee flavors. This strategy makes it difficult for Amazon's competitors, who focus on only one type of coffee, to compete.
As for the company that provides entertainment through movie programs on cable television, HBO, they also play this shortcut. They created only three or four new original programs and broadcast them only one day a week. Besides that, they broadcast old shows left over from the past.
Another case study on this "Purple Cow" strategy is the company that makes canned paint for houses, the brand Dutch Boy. They created a simple but appealing solution that was different from their competitors. They changed the design of the paint can, which other companies always made in the same way, to a unique design that was different from others. The difference is that, usually, a paint can is difficult to hold for a long time because it has no handle. Plus, it's hard to pry open the lid. That's a secondary issue. The main problem is that when you hold the paint can to pour it, it's hard because you're afraid your hand will slip and spill it all. And it's also hard to close the lid again. Plus, it's heavy because it's a can made of metal. Users understand that even though it's difficult, they have no other choice. Since forever, paint cans have always been made this way.
But the new paint company, Dutch Boy, revolutionized the appearance of the paint can to be new, beautiful, light, made of plastic, with a handle attached, and a lid that can be twisted open and closed easily without needing to be pried open like before. Just by applying this "Purple Cow" strategy to their product, this company was able to increase its sales significantly and continuously.
The examples above have shown us that effective marketing is about changing or improving a product or service to make it outstanding and different from others, not changing the format of the advertising or the advertising message that misleads the user's perception.
I would like to bring up the case of the company Krispy Kreme in the United States, which is a company that produces donuts. This company is famous for being a company that produces delicious donuts. But in the very beginning, the branches that produced these donuts were not located in large population centers. If there were customers who were fans and wanted to eat these donuts, and they wanted to eat donuts from the Krispy Kreme brand, they had to drive for at least an hour or more to get to a shop to buy them. The public recognized that Krispy Kreme produced delicious donuts, but was a donut from this brand valuable enough for its customers to drive for up to an hour to buy it?
In fact, it could work if the company Krispy Kreme could find many customers who were avid donut lovers. As a result, this company was able to find many customers who were its "Early Adopters" and achieved great success with this one type of customer. With success with its "Early Adopters," the company began to expand its branches to cities. They also created a program to give away thousands of donuts so that customers could try them for free. Do you know who those first customers were? It's certain that they were truly customers who were supporters of this donut brand. Indeed, it was them. They not only came to support, but they also advertised and encouraged people in their network to come and try it. The donut company Krispy Kreme truly has a strategy to make its product a topic that people talk about from one person to another in every city, with great success.
With this success, they took another step by cooperating and expanding their branches with coffee shops, gas stations, and many ready-to-eat food stalls in the city. To sum up, this company used a strategy to market to customers who were willing to drive for up to an hour to buy their donuts, and they ignored the customers who were too lazy to travel far to buy food. They did this by cooperating with coffee shops, gas stations, and even convenience stores. This company made a quick decision on which popular market segment to capture and began creating a product to suit that market type. Through a product that was outstanding, with taste, quality, and service for its "Early Adopters" customer group, they did it correctly. This led to the donut brand becoming a topic that people shared, recommended, and talked about from one person to another in different cities.
Before long, other customers who were in the "Early Majority" and "Late Majority" groups also began to lose their resolve and wanted to try it. When they tried it and found it delicious, they started to change their minds and support this new brand, just like the "Early Adopters."
If we look at Starbucks, this company has a coffee product that tastes delicious, is outstanding, and different from other brands. This is because the founder of this company, Mr. Howard Schultz, is a person who loves and is obsessed with coffee. He spent many months living in Italy to learn and study in detail about coffee. It was this passion and deep love that pushed him to create a product with outstanding characteristics, different from other brands. Therefore, "passion" here also plays an important role in creating a product that is outstanding, appealing, and different from other brands.
At this point, you all have understood the method of marketing by making a cow become a purple cow, which can create appeal, be outstanding, and different from others in both quality and effectiveness, and can also solve the problems of the target customers. Especially in cases like the Dutch Boy paint company. The author gives a final piece of advice: you should not create a product first and then look for a market. You should find your target market first, then start creating a product or service that is outstanding and different from others, which is better.