How is your business perceived?

by on 23/10/2009

I am always curious as to why some businesses  get noticed by their prospects more than others.

They are often similar businesses offering similar value to their clients, but one could be doing exceptionally well and the other struggling to survive.

Why?

What makes the difference ?

  • Is it the Marketing?
  • The Branding ?
  • The PR?
  • The Team?
  • All the above ?

Here is an interesting experiment organised by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities  ….

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk..

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

What does this story highlight ?

How your target market perceives your product/service is just as important how good you are..

It seems that simply turning up is not good enough, the business must communicate its offering -positioning and value in a compelling way.

Do you agree ?

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