4 ms·

My feeling: The author does not understand the human psyche well enough. People don’t buy coke because of the taste only. They buy coke because the way they fee

by baxtr 9y ago

My feeling: The author does not understand the human psyche well enough. People don’t buy coke because of the taste only. They buy coke because the way they feel, whenever they drink coke. A branded coke gives a whole different feeling than a generic one, which depends on several factors like brand image, price, peers, etc. Works even with pain drugs. See “Predictably Irrational” by Dan Ariely for several examples of this effect.

sjg007 9y ago
?? I prefer coke (American coca-cola) because it is less sweet (drier) than Pepsi/RC/generic. It also works well for an upset stomach. The people I know that drink Diet Coke basically drink that exclusively and it's not a brand thing, it's the taste. Now maybe that's an in America thing since in other countries maybe drinking a coke is more of a status symbol. I think Mexico drinks the most coca-cola in the world. That being said I do like Mexican coca-cola.. but I can't remember if it is more or less sweet than American coke.. I'm guessing it's similar but maybe the pure azucar helps.
fizixer 9y ago
> People don’t buy coke because of the taste only. Despite agreeing with you, I never get why people do this. I'm a big diet coke addict. But my local store has a generic clone which tastes exactly the same. I always buy the clone.
- baxtr 9y ago
  Because it’s a lie people tell themselves to get a good feeling, at least 2-3x a day (the author 6x). You are immune to the lie :-) you gotta have a different lie to feel good. BTW: I didn’t come up with the stuff. A splendid book about that topic is “All marketers are liars” by Seth Godin
bobosha 9y ago
A couple of other book recommendations that examine why we stick to the familiar and known: 1. The Power of Habit 2. Hit makers
x2f10 9y ago
Good points. I'd also argue that humans don't want to tax their decision making skills as it's often time consuming & exhausting. When you purchase a Coca-Cola, the assumption is that you're purchasing dependability (taste, mouth feel, ingredients, packaging, etc). You have _no_ dependability trying a new product. Will the product taste similar to Coca-Cola? Is the product more affordable than Coca-Cola? Is the generic soda's ingredient list worse than Coca-Cola's? Is this product available at multiple retailers or am I now forced to purchase the generic soda from a specific retailer? How do I choose which retailer's generic soda to try? Now, move to the bread isle and start the process over! Clearly, this level of evaluation is taxing for a small purchase: bread, soda, chips, etc. However, most do take the time to evaluate large purchases: TVs, computers, homes, automobiles, etc. TLDR: There are times where analyzing costs more time than it does dollars.

by baxtr 9y ago

sjg007 9y ago

?? I prefer coke (American coca-cola) because it is less sweet (drier) than Pepsi/RC/generic. It also works well for an upset stomach. The people I know that drink Diet Coke basically drink that exclusively and it's not a brand thing, it's the taste. Now maybe that's an in America thing since in other countries maybe drinking a coke is more of a status symbol. I think Mexico drinks the most coca-cola in the world. That being said I do like Mexican coca-cola.. but I can't remember if it is more or less sweet than American coke.. I'm guessing it's similar but maybe the pure azucar helps.

fizixer 9y ago

> People don’t buy coke because of the taste only. Despite agreeing with you, I never get why people do this. I'm a big diet coke addict. But my local store has a generic clone which tastes exactly the same. I always buy the clone.

baxtr 9y ago
Because it’s a lie people tell themselves to get a good feeling, at least 2-3x a day (the author 6x). You are immune to the lie :-) you gotta have a different lie to feel good. BTW: I didn’t come up with the stuff. A splendid book about that topic is “All marketers are liars” by Seth Godin

bobosha 9y ago

A couple of other book recommendations that examine why we stick to the familiar and known: 1. The Power of Habit 2. Hit makers

x2f10 9y ago

Good points. I'd also argue that humans don't want to tax their decision making skills as it's often time consuming & exhausting. When you purchase a Coca-Cola, the assumption is that you're purchasing dependability (taste, mouth feel, ingredients, packaging, etc). You have _no_ dependability trying a new product. Will the product taste similar to Coca-Cola? Is the product more affordable than Coca-Cola? Is the generic soda's ingredient list worse than Coca-Cola's? Is this product available at multiple retailers or am I now forced to purchase the generic soda from a specific retailer? How do I choose which retailer's generic soda to try? Now, move to the bread isle and start the process over! Clearly, this level of evaluation is taxing for a small purchase: bread, soda, chips, etc. However, most do take the time to evaluate large purchases: TVs, computers, homes, automobiles, etc. TLDR: There are times where analyzing costs more time than it does dollars.