Can anyone help with my itch?

Posted by Dave CollinsMarketing

There are three groups of people. People who need what you sell, people who want what you sell, and people who don’t need or want it.

For the people who need it, as long as you communicate that your solution scratches their itch, they’ll buy it.

The people who merely want it are another story. They require more work, and you need to convince them that they have the itch.

Communicating the itch is achievable and profitable.

Have you ever seen what head lice look like?

Headlice

Picture derived from Eran Finkle

These lovely little creatures are parasitic wingless insects. They live on people’s heads and feed on their blood.

That’s right; they bite and drink. That’s what causes the itch. And now you’re probably itching too.

In 2005, few people on the street would have recognised the name Tamiflu. Then we had the bird flu epidemic, and there were companies all over the world frantically getting their hands on it – not to save lives but to make money.

And Oseltamivir?

It’s the same thing, but harder to pronounce and it doesn’t have the scary disease in the name.

If you Google both product names, you’ll see far less results for the lesser-known name of the identical product.

The media galvanised the demand for Tamiflu. And if you were selling this particular flu medicine, which name would you use?

Find the itch, tap into it and push the solution.

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