It is always interesting reading the newsletter of Benedict Evans, former Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Especially his essays.
One of the latest, ‘News by the ton’, about the challenges of legacy media has an enlightened graph based on Google Trends that shows that over time, internet searches has moved from looking for ‘cheaper’ towards increasingly looking for ‘better’.
It is significant in more ways than one.
On a banal level it shows precisely why traditional advertising as a model is f*****. The value of the message of ‘Get it with 20% off over here’ is just fast eroding and is close to zero. Traditional advertising has reached junk bond status.
On a more strategic level it shows that gunning for ‘better’ is more inline with the expectations and needs of your customers than gunning for ‘cheaper’.
Of course there will always be scavengers looking for a bargain, but as long as you deliver value above and beyond what you charge, you’re in a fundamentally good place.
And more importantly you’re in a more sustainable place business wise. Because you made the commitment towards being ‘better’ and always push for that – and not just prostitute yourself on the cheap.
(Photo: Pixabay.com)