‬The Crowd And Your Meaning

‪It’s not easy to be a marketer in any discipline be it of yourself (personal brand), your firm, organization, Movement (even church) or Government (policies or campaign promises). This is simply because your pitch must consider at all times the Early adopters, the innovators and the mass market. This is essential if you ever want to communicate your meaning to your dynamic audience. ‬

‪Early adopters want to buy a different experience than people who identify as the mass market do. Innovators want something fresh, exciting, new and interesting. The mass market doesn’t. They want something that works.‬

‪Sometimes you hear pastors respond to people urging for excellence and improvement with words like “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” not because they don’t understand what is being requested of them in leadership but simply because they know that innovators and early adopters are not as much in number as compared to the mass market, who mostly fill the pews. Honestly in this economy the mass market wins it. It’s all about filling the pews, giving them a show and getting rewarded in tithes and offerings. ‬

‪Sincerely speaking, most pastors would do anything to rid their church of innovators and replace them with the mass market who won’t notice a repeated sermon or question the church finances and operations. ‬

‪This is as true for product adoption as it is for ideal adoption curve. It’s worth noting here that you’re only an early adopter sometimes, when you want to be. And you’re only in the mass market by choice as well. It’s an attitude.‬

‪The people bringing new ideas to the public are early adopters themselves (because it’s often more thrilling than working in a field that does what it did yesterday), and often default to using words that appeal to people like themselves, as opposed to the group in question.‬

‪More rarely, there are a few people with a mass market mindset that are charged with launching something for the early adopters, and they make the opposite mistake, dressing up their innovation as something that’s supposed to feel safe.‬

‪When you bring a product or service or innovation to people who like to go first, consider words/images like: New, Innovative, Pioneer, First, Now, Limited, Breakthrough, Controversial, Technology, Brave, Few, Hot, Untested, Slice/Dominate/Win, Private, Dangerous, Change, Secret etc. ‬

‪On the other hand, people who aren’t seeking disruption are more likely to respond to: Tested, Established, Proven, Industry-leading, Secure, Widespread, Accepted, Easy, Discounted, Everyone, Experienced, Certified, Highest-rated, Efficient, Simple, Guaranteed, Accredited, Public… ‬

‪Of course, it’s important that these words be true, that your product, your service and its place in the world match the story you’re telling about it.‬

‪Which brings us to brand value. When expectations are high and huge cost is invested (risk factor) and a low quality product/low utility is derived upon experience, this brings about a market disaster. See APC’s tragic Change in the Nigerian context revealing the APC brand as deceptive, diabolical and chaotic with No brand Value, though its marketing appealed to the mass market, which was grossly ignorant of the political reality. The stories and myths never matched or proved themselves. (This is not to say the PDP and other mushroom political parties are better or posses an ideology (if at all) that inspires hope…they are mostly wings of the same bird). ‬

‪Know your calling, some are called for the niche market (i.e. Awakening and raising quality leaders, or enlightening a critical mass) but not setting up a church or running for political positions to seize power for ourselves. Are you an innovator or early adopters or just wired as a follower/supporter of good ideas for the mass market? ‬

‪Once you see this distinction, it seems so obvious, yet our desire to speak to everyone gets in the way of our words. ⛱‬