Don’t Act Like a Commodity!

Harvard’s legendary professor of marketing, Theodore Leavitt, taught his students that there’s no such thing as a commodity; only people who act and think like commodities. He taught that absolutely everything can be differentiated. You wouldn’t know that by looking out at our local resorts, hotels, communities, and even apples and banks. It’s sad to see how the majority of today’s marketers and clients want to be just like somebody else – it’s safer, it doesn’t take any imagination, and the board of directors will no doubt like it.

Spiker Insights

Water covers 74% of the earth’s surface and is available from faucets in your home almost for free, that is a sure definition of a commodity if there ever was one. Yet, when branded and differentiated, water commands premium pricing and generates strong brand loyalty. I grew up drinking out of a garden hose during the summer months, so they all taste somewhat alike to me, although I do think that VOSS and Fuji do taste slightly better. Not that I would buy a bottle, I’m a little too cheap to purchase bottled water. But when it’s offered in offices around the world, I ask for it by brand name.

The problem that many marketers face is they focus exclusively on getting better instead of also getting different. Reframing an existing offering can be exceptionally powerful just as we have seen with water, coffee, automobiles and many other products and services just by changing the way a product or service is presented.