Why we can’t stop with just the one purchase
Buying something new can often turn into an unexpected domino effect. Here’s a short story about the Diderot effect where a change in a couch led to the change in a living room
Explaining through stories is a powerful way to convey a message to audiences. This is a short story from the StoryBank publication that you can use next time in your presentation to convey your message.
The Story
How many times has this happened to you?
The three of us, (my wife, my son and myself) were all at the dining table having an afternoon snack during a lazy Sunday. Yet, where was our daughter? She seemed awfully quiet.
Calling out her name, we saw her give a big grin as she walked over from the couch, proud of her work of art. She had dutifully drawn all over the couch with a ballpoint pen.
After the excitement, we thought it was time to upgrade anyway as it was an old couch and promptly bought a new leather couch. When it had been placed in the living room, we were happy as can be. There was a new couch, it was a lot newer, more sturdy, more comfortable, and a better fit for our living room. However, our happiness subsided as we saw that the rug no longer fit the couch, nor did the old cushions, nor did the coffee table.
Soon enough, we went on to replace each of these one by one till we had a new living room. All from that one ballpoint pen scratch on the old couch.
This happens to all of us, we buy a new possession that is either an upgrade of an existing possession, or is a totally new consumer category that enters your home. Some examples are: a new shirt which requires cuff links, a new Mac computer when you had always used PC before, a new blazer, a new bike, and the list goes on and on.
This phenomenon is known as the Diderot Effect after the French philosopher Denis Diderot who reflected on how he received a gift of a new dressing gown which quickly didn’t fit the rest of his possessions. He quickly went to change his chair, his desk,and even his paintings.
Using the story / Key Messages
You can use the above story in your next presentation with the following key messages:
- There can be knock on effects when changing things drastically
- Although consumers may think about a purchase in isolation, there can be spiral effect which could be capitalised if planned carefully
- Don’t think about offerings in isolation — there is always more opportunity
References
