I purchased a book today called, “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing“, after seeing it recommended by Kevin Rose and Tim Ferriss. On Amazon, I was surprised to see that it only had four stars after the glowing recommendation but the recommendation bumped it up to five stars for me.
I glossed over other books Amazon recommended for me and found that nearly every book had a four- or five-star rating. At first I thought the ratings were rigged or slanted but then I realized that I had read many of the recommended books and they were great.
I thought of my other recent purchases too: a Roku, an iPod Touch and an Altec Lansing speaker dock. They’re all products that I not only love but I rave about them to other people too.
They’re all five-star products. I’m a five-star snob.
If I come across a product that is only four stars then I debate purchasing it and if it has three stars, well… it’s out of the question. There are just too many great products these days to settle for less.
So what happens when you have to choose between great products? Where do we go from here? Do we add another star?
I’d argue that it’s our niche that tips the scale. A recommendation from someone in my social circle not only gives me confidence about my purchase but also pulls me closer into a niche. It makes me feel like I am a part of a club.
As marketers we need to make it easy for customers in our core niche to connect to others and spread the word.
What else will there be that differentiates between great products and services?
