This is a follow up to my recent post entitled “A fundamentalist view”. I doubt any of you are strangers to the negative ink Windows Vista has received. It’s not news. However, I doubt many of you have heard of The Mojave Experiment (http://www.mojaveexperiment.com). This is truly a sad, sad case.

This is from The Mojave Experiment web site:

What do people think of Windows Vista when they don’t know it’s Windows Vista? To find out, we disguised it as “the next Microsoft Operating System” codenamed, “Mojave” so regular people who’ve never used Windows Vista could see what it can do – and decide for themselves.

Primary Results:

94% of respondents rated the “new OS” codenamed Windows “Mojave” higher than they initially rated Windows Vista before
the demo.

0% of the respondents rated the “new OS” codenamed Windows “Mojave” lower than they initially rated Windows Vista before
the demo.

Of course, the sad part is that Microsoft conducted this experiment. I suppose, to make a point. Of course, if you have to deceive your customers into trying and liking your product, then…well…perhaps that should be a point in and of itself.

Anyway, this whole “experiment” was a very elementary exercise in human nature. In my recent post, “A Fundamentalist View”, I referenced a fundamentalist as someone who decides “whether they can accept a new piece of information based on how it will affect their prior belief system, not based on whether it is actually true.” In other words, the placebo effect. Tell someone that something is true, they will expect it to be true, and then will be slow to accept any information or evidence that suggests the contrary. It’s science as old as the sugar pill. It’s also very bad marketing. You play with fire when you tell a story that isn’t authentic.

But aside from those obvious points, there are a couple of others worth mentioning…

First, anything in moderation can be enjoyable. Pepsi wins blind taste tests every time, yet more people continue to drink Coke. The reason is that Pepsi is sweeter than Coke. So, when you take one sip, it does taste better. However, when you drink a whole can, it’s a little much. Sure, Windows Vista is prettier and fancier and has cool bells and whistles. But take the operating system out of the little white thimble-sized paper cup and pour it into the regular-sized can that we call “everyday life”, and…it’s a little much.

This is why focus groups- particularly for technology products- can only do so much. And, to claim that the results of such groups or experiments are totally valid and use them as selling points is truly dangerous. You run the risk of a backlash when the 16-ounce experience doesn’t measure up to the taste test experience. Once that backlash occurs, there’s very little you can do to correct it…which brings us to the next point…

Marketing is a battle of perception, not products. That Microsoft would conduct this ridiculous experiment is proof-positive that they’ve forgotten this. It doesn’t matter if you have the greatest product in the world. If consumers think it’s rotten, then it’s rotten. Period. And, the single most fruitless- not to mention expensive- thing you can do in marketing is try to change a mind. It rarely works. If the world believes that Vista is the most ill-conceived product since un-sliced bread, then it is. Pure and simple. The truth doesn’t matter. This principle is so powerful, Microsoft had to change the name of the product and lie in order to get any movement away from that negative perception. Not sure how that’s going to work as a marketing strategy…

The moral of the story?

Produce something that people will enjoy beyond the blind taste test. If you don’t, then consumers- even the fundamentalists- will eventually come to their senses and they will be none too happy with you.