You know, when you buy something new, then you feel like you need to buy something new to match it. That’s called The Diderot Effect, and this is Denis Diderot. This blog teaches you how to grow your brand ethically, using The Diderot Effect.
Denis Diderot was French. He was a clever man; a philosopher, a writer and he began writing the Encyclopédie in 1751, finishing in 1772. Diderot was interested in making connections between life sciences and humanity, and his life’s purpose (and vision) was to change the way people think.
Diderot was paid handsomely for his Encyclopédie, and to celebrate, he treated himself to You know, when you buy something new, then you feel like you need to buy something new to match it. That’s called The Diderot Effect, and this is Denis Diderot. This blog teaches you how to grow your brand ethically, using The Diderot Effect.
Denis Diderot was French. He was a clever man; a philosopher, a writer and he began writing the Encyclopédie in 1751, finishing in 1772. Diderot was interested in making connections between life sciences and humanity, and his life’s purpose (and vision) was to change the way people think.
Diderot was paid handsomely for his Encyclopédie, and to celebrate, he treated himself to an extravagant red cloak, as worn in the picture. The trouble is that Diderot had to keep buying new furniture, clothing and other objects to match his desired splendour. In fact, this grew into an obsession, and sadly, he fell deeply into debt. Sound familiar? How can someone so smart be so foolish?
Diderot felt incomplete as he was, and thought he would feel more complete with new possessions.
Transactional Analysis (TA) is the fascinating study of human personality. There is a Transactional Analysis (TA) term called ‘Life Positions’. In Life Positions, humans are either:
- I’m OK, You’re OK
- I’m not OK, You’re OK
- I’m OK, You’re Not OK
- I’m not OK, You’re Not OK
Many of us are ‘I’m not OK, You’re OK’ and we do everything in our power to feel OK. Many people ‘wannabe’ happier, richer, more influential, and such like. This is where marketing psychology can grow your brand ethically.
Have you ever tried to keep up with the Jones? Either in business or in your personal life? When we compare ourselves to others on social media, we may become dissatisfied with our present situation. Credit card companies thrive on our insecurities, offering easy credit, so we can buy new objects to ‘complete’ us. The beauty industry promises to ‘complete’ women, yet many beauty brands pack their products with carcinogenic parabens – see my Blooming Wonderful Wombs vlog.
For me, the ultimate scenario is that people want to keep the relationship going with my brand because it is the best, or at least perceived to be the best, in its niche. It is my mission that my brand exceeds expectations and creates well-being and a better world. In this blog, I explore how we can use The Diderot Effect to grow our brand ethically. When I teach marketing psychology, I focus on ethical branding. Does your business brand want to be perceived as virtuous or a villain?
How to grow your brand ethically, using The Diderot Effect
Part of my ‘inside-out’ philosophy is that I like to flip marketing concepts and models on their heads. Flipping The Diderot Effect on its head: We don’t have to be in a bad place (not OK) to fall prey to The Diderot Effect. Sometimes we might decorate a room and then fancy completing the look with matching furniture. You are simply ‘refreshing’ and ‘upgrading’ your home. Notice the consistent feeling is ‘completeness’ and we are enabling our customers ‘complete’ their goals. It is with this in mind that you can utilise The Diderot Effect to grow your brand.
- Take a look at your current business offerings: As an example, if you are a BMS controls business, then you will have engineers installing, maintaining, serving preventative maintenance as standard. What else could you offer to ‘complete’ the maintenance solution? What did the pre-planned maintenance highlight? Any improvement opportunities? Any wear and tear on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) plant? Are the estate managers showing any stress? How can you help their well-being? How could your business make their life easier? The problem with many services is that customers are not aware of the solutions. They need educating about solutions.
- Educate your customers:For example, in this case, the customer could do without the stress of his HVAC breaking – downtime could be detrimental to his or her career. An estate manager’s KPIs will include downtime and comfort complaints. What if the customer didn’t need to be on-site for this to be fixed? He could be somewhere else. What if everything could be fixed remotely? Remote BMS controls maintenance is not new, but many are not aware of the technology or how it can benefit their lives. Think from a well-being perspective as well as cost and convenience, to make your brand more loveable.
- Speak to your customers. What is important to your customer? What are their needs? I have designed some superpower questionsto ask your customers to understand their needs. The questions are guaranteed to improve your customer journey, boosting your business brand. These are available in my new CPD accredited course: Marketing Psychology from the Inside Out. Free trial – no credit card required.
- Product redesign?Once you have spoken to your customers and understand their needs, you may need to redesign your product and solution packages to create The Diderot Effect. How can you create a feeling of completeness with your offering? You may need to form a partnership or collaborate with another business to increase your offering to take advantage of The Diderot effect.
- On the topic of completeness, you can make your brand more loveable and complete by giving it a personality. A good starting place is by selecting up to three brand archetypeswhich resonate with you. Then you can speak from the heart and be more compelling on social media, your website and more.
If you would like help using The Diderot Effect to grow your brand, then call me on 07909 693172 or contact me using the contact form.
an extravagant red cloak, as worn in the picture. The trouble is that Diderot had to keep buying new furniture, clothing and other objects to match his desired splendour. In fact, this grew into an obsession, and sadly, he fell deeply into debt. Sound familiar? How can someone so smart be so foolish?
Diderot felt incomplete as he was, and thought he would feel more complete with new possessions.
Transactional Analysis (TA) is the fascinating study of human personality. There is a Transactional Analysis (TA) term called ‘Life Positions’. In Life Positions, humans are either:
- I’m OK, You’re OK
- I’m not OK, You’re OK
- I’m OK, You’re Not OK
- I’m not OK, You’re Not OK
Many of us are ‘I’m not OK, You’re OK’ and we do everything in our power to feel OK. Many people ‘wannabe’ happier, richer, more influential, and such like. This is where marketing psychology can grow your brand ethically.
Have you ever tried to keep up with the Jones? Either in business or in your personal life? When we compare ourselves to others on social media, we may become dissatisfied with our present situation. Credit card companies thrive on our insecurities, offering easy credit, so we can buy new objects to ‘complete’ us. The beauty industry promises to ‘complete’ women, yet many beauty brands pack their products with carcinogenic parabens – see my Blooming Wonderful Wombs vlog.
For me, the ultimate scenario is that people want to keep the relationship going with my brand because it is the best, or at least perceived to be the best, in its niche. It is my mission that my brand exceeds expectations and creates well-being and a better world. In this blog, I explore how we can use The Diderot Effect to grow our brand ethically. When I teach marketing psychology, I focus on ethical branding. Does your business brand want to be perceived as virtuous or a villain?
How to grow your brand ethically, using The Diderot Effect
Part of my ‘inside-out’ philosophy is that I like to flip marketing concepts and models on their heads. Flipping The Diderot Effect on its head: We don’t have to be in a bad place (not OK) to fall prey to The Diderot Effect. Sometimes we might decorate a room and then fancy completing the look with matching furniture. You are simply ‘refreshing’ and ‘upgrading’ your home. Notice the consistent feeling is ‘completeness’ and we are enabling our customers ‘complete’ their goals. It is with this in mind that you can utilise The Diderot Effect to grow your brand.
- Take a look at your current business offerings: As an example, if you are a BMS controls business, then you will have engineers installing, maintaining, serving preventative maintenance as standard. What else could you offer to ‘complete’ the maintenance solution? What did the pre-planned maintenance highlight? Any improvement opportunities? Any wear and tear on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) plant? Are the estate managers showing any stress? How can you help their well-being? How could your business make their life easier? The problem with many services is that customers are not aware of the solutions. They need educating about solutions.
- Educate your customers:For example, in this case, the customer could do without the stress of his HVAC breaking – downtime could be detrimental to his or her career. An estate manager’s KPIs will include downtime and comfort complaints. What if the customer didn’t need to be on-site for this to be fixed? He could be somewhere else. What if everything could be fixed remotely? Remote BMS controls maintenance is not new, but many are not aware of the technology or how it can benefit their lives. Think from a well-being perspective as well as cost and convenience, to make your brand more loveable.
- Speak to your customers. What is important to your customer? What are their needs? I have designed some superpower questionsto ask your customers to understand their needs. The questions are guaranteed to improve your customer journey, boosting your business brand. These are available in my new CPD accredited course: Marketing Psychology from the Inside Out. Free trial – no credit card required.
- Product redesign?Once you have spoken to your customers and understand their needs, you may need to redesign your product and solution packages to create The Diderot Effect. How can you create a feeling of completeness with your offering? You may need to form a partnership or collaborate with another business to increase your offering to take advantage of The Diderot effect.
- On the topic of completeness, you can make your brand more loveable and complete by giving it a personality. A good starting place is by selecting up to three brand archetypeswhich resonate with you. Then you can speak from the heart and be more compelling on social media, your website and more.
If you would like help using The Diderot Effect to grow your brand, then call me on 07909 693172 or contact me using the contact form.
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