Millennium Marketing Research®

Tom Schori DBA Millennium Marketing Research®, 808 Ironwood, Normal IL 61761, 309-532-8466

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When new, different, better encounters old, same, good enough.

By Thomas R. Schori, Ph.D., and Michael L. Garee, Principals,  Millennium Marketing Research, 808 E. Ironwood, Normal, IL 61761-5239. Tel. 309-532-8466 -

We human beings are a rather predictable lot, aren’t we? Although we tell ourselves that we are always open to new ideas and different "things," as long as these "things" are perceived as better, in fact, very few of us genuinely are. We quickly get in our own "comfort zone," and it can be nearly impossible to get us out of it.

In our personal lives, this phenomenon of resisting change usually proves to be essentially harmless, and sometimes may even facilitate the necessary continuity of our lives, however mundane they may be. In our professional lives, however, this phenomenon can prove to be disastrous. Failure to remain open to, let alone recognize, something that’s a "new, different, better" way of conducting our business can easily presage eventual failure of a business¾ any business, no matter how large or currently successful.

Ah, but you say, many things that are touted as being "new, different, better" are shown not to be that at all. And, many, many times you would even be correct! The catch is, when we shut our minds to everything that professes to be "new, different, better," we don’t remain open-minded enough to recognize when something genuinely does possess these characteristics. That’s the rub, as they say.

To illustrate this point, think back if you will to the late 19^th Century, when the automobile was in its infancy and owning one was viewed by most as some sort of strange "hobby" pursued by rather eccentric people. Now, suppose that your livelihood at the time was heavily dependent upon the principal means of transportation, the horse. To further strengthen the point, let’s even assume that you are a blacksmith.

One day, a salesperson stops by your blacksmith shop and wants to talk to you about how it might be wise for you to start adapting your business to accommodate this newfangled means of transportation, the automobile. What would be your likely response? Probably laughter at first, then perhaps scorn and derision. Why, you would think, just look around. . .everywhere one looks there are horses and everyone you know uses these horses either as a means of transportation or in the conduct of their business, or both! How absurd to think that these horses may someday supplant the automobile in the "hobby" category. Undoubtedly, you would quickly send the "addled" salesperson down the road!

Are there parallels to this fictitious scenario in the business world today? You bet there are. Many.

Today, most of us in the business world¾ including ourselves¾ are constantly besieged by telephone solicitations, direct mail offers, salespeople stopping by unannounced, ad infinitum. Each of these contacts promises, if not necessarily something "new and different," at least something better, either a product or service. Being the skeptical animals that we are, don’t we usually "blow off" these people, these offers? Why? Because we’ve convinced ourselves that we already have all the "outside" suppliers we need, or are certainly content with the ones we already have, or that we have all the new "whiz-bangs" we can afford (or at least need), etc. We also devoutly believe that the way we currently are conducting our business is not only the right way but the only sensible way as well. After all, we’ve been doing what we do for many, many years, and shouldn’t we know the best, most logical way to conduct our business? To be sure, a very human response, a very human attitude. It also has considerable potential for "leaving us in the dust" when one of our competitors remains open-minded enough not only to recognize something that genuinely is "new, different, better," but also has the courage to act on this recognition, and end up pummeling us in the marketplace!

Does this mean that we should allow ourselves to be continually distracted by every claim for supposed "new, different, better" products or services? Of course not. However, for those of us who want not only to survive in this sometimes hard, cruel, very unforgiving world of business, but also to prevail, it certainly pays to at least retain a very effective, finely tuned "filtering" system. Unless we’re missing something, this seems to be the only effective guard we have against becoming so jaded and inured against change that we end up missing that which does in fact prove to be "new, different, better," something that could give us the "competitive edge" we all better be looking for¾ continually.

So, the next time someone approaches you and your company with a product or service purported to offer you something "new, different, better," will you automatically shut them out and stay with the "old, same, good enough," or will you at least give them a fair, albeit brief, hearing? Believe it or not, if you are in a position of authority within your company, your answer to this question could end up determining whether your company stays on the leading edge of competitiveness or slowly joins the ranks of "also-rans."