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This has been described in marketing as the "drill-hole" problem. If you work at a hardware store, and a customer comes in looking for a drill bit, they aren't

This has been described in marketing as the "drill-hole" problem. If you work at a hardware store, and a customer comes in looking for a drill bit, they aren't actually trying to buy a drill bit. They're trying to buy a hole in their wall. Why would they want a hole in their wall? To put a screw or nail into it. Why would they do want a nail or screw in their wall? To hang a picture. And now you can start with all kinds of picture-hanging solutions, some of which don't require the screw or even the hole in the wall. Edit: And this only used 3 of the 5 Whys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys

krapp 11y ago
Let me guess... those picture-hanging solutions the customer really wants just happen to cost more than the drill bit they specifically asked about?
- stephengillie 11y ago
  Well yes, you could run your business that way. And maybe your customer lives in a building with asbestos or old lathe walls or another reason not to drill holes in the wall. Or maybe the customer just doesn't want to risk putting a nail in the wall because last time it went right into a water pipe and they had to replace their entire entryway - 2 walls, the floor, and rehang the front door.
- shostack 11y ago
  Possibly yes. I think that's where the sales culture of the company comes into play. At somewhere like Best Buy I'd expect them to push the most expensive option regardless of other considerations. Somewhere else where I trust the sales person, I would expect them to present me with a variety of options based on the defined scope of the problem I'm trying to solve, and be able to communicate the pros and cons of each, with "more expensive" being a con that is presumably outweighed by some of the pros.
tedunangst 11y ago
Or they're a carpenter who builds houses for a living. "Why are you trying to build a house? It's so much easier to just buy one."
idlewords 11y ago
Sometimes they come in looking for a drill bit, and leave wanting to strangle you.

krapp 11y ago

Let me guess... those picture-hanging solutions the customer really wants just happen to cost more than the drill bit they specifically asked about?

stephengillie 11y ago
Well yes, you could run your business that way. And maybe your customer lives in a building with asbestos or old lathe walls or another reason not to drill holes in the wall. Or maybe the customer just doesn't want to risk putting a nail in the wall because last time it went right into a water pipe and they had to replace their entire entryway - 2 walls, the floor, and rehang the front door.
shostack 11y ago
Possibly yes. I think that's where the sales culture of the company comes into play. At somewhere like Best Buy I'd expect them to push the most expensive option regardless of other considerations. Somewhere else where I trust the sales person, I would expect them to present me with a variety of options based on the defined scope of the problem I'm trying to solve, and be able to communicate the pros and cons of each, with "more expensive" being a con that is presumably outweighed by some of the pros.

tedunangst 11y ago

Or they're a carpenter who builds houses for a living. "Why are you trying to build a house? It's so much easier to just buy one."

idlewords 11y ago

Sometimes they come in looking for a drill bit, and leave wanting to strangle you.