Keeping Up with Change

So what’s a business to do? According to a research study I saw years ago, the most powerful, effective, attention-getting, motivating word one can put on a product package or in an ad is, “NEW!” If you don’t believe it, take a look at how many companies are using it on packages the next time you walk through a store.

Sometimes, using the word is a real stretch because it doesn’t necessarily mean the product is new, but rather that the package design is new, or it now contains 14 instead of 16 ounces, or that it’s a finer grind, or that the product has been “improved” in some teeny-weeny way that, if they hadn’t pointed it out to you, you’d never notice. In other words, “new” is the magic word, and sellers will do almost anything to justify using it.

The main reason they use it is to try to get people to try their product or service, which is really hard to do because everyone knows people don’t like to change. (The second reason companies use it, incidentally, is to reinforce the buying decision of their current customers.)

It takes a whole lot of repetition, a whole lot of tantalizing, a whole lot of informing, and a whole lot of money spent on advertising/marketing/promotions to get a satisfied user of product A to switch to product B. And it takes a whole lot more of this to get a current customer to resist switching to a competitor. That’s why strongly established products and services, like Coca-Cola or Target or Toyota, continue to spend enormous amounts of money promoting their products. They never, never, never say, “Well, we seem to have plenty of customers, so let’s stop advertising now.” They understand their customer base would begin to erode very quickly.

So if that little lesson from Advertising 101 is correct—and if people hate change, as most of us would agree—how come we’re in the midst of some of the most colossal behavioral, sociological, and product-loyalty changes in history? I mean, look at what’s happened:

• American newspapers are at risk of becoming extinct, partly because young people seem to prefer newer, higher-tech forms of information sourcing, and partly because classified advertisers have basically pledged their allegiance to Web sites. Very big change.

• For a hundred years, department stores were the be all and end all. Our downtowns were once the home of Donaldson’s, Powers, Young-Quinlan, the Golden Rule, Dayton’s, Schuneman’s, J. C. Penney, and more. In today’s downtown, Macy’s stands alone. Very big change.