We live in a world where there are politicians, media outlets, retailers, and service providers that are COUNTING on the ignorance of their constituents, viewers, and consumers.? I’m referring to the politicians who tell bold face lies on hot-button topics that often leave them as complete hypocrites but endear them to those who don’t pay enough attention to the news to realize that they’re selling a load of crap. Or the media outlets that have to tell you they are ‘fair and balanced’ and ignite flame wars over dogmatic agendas in the hope of garnering viewers. Or the retailers and service providers who sell a shoddy item and actually charge more for that item or service than it could be purchased for elsewhere with just a little bit of research. In all cases, these people are literally counting on the ignorance of people to get by in this world. For a while, it works. But in the end they more than likely fail or at least reach a point of limited growth. This is because although there’s a seemingly unending supply of uninformed people in this world, these vultures ultimately fail to distinguish themselves or are found out as frauds.
Take the super market business for example. There are tons of chains out there. And regardless of where you live in the country there’s always one that has less selection, lower quality items, and actually charges MORE. They can intially get by either because of location convenience or a consumer’s ignorance but ultimately a Wal-Mart comes in and destroys them on price or a Whole Foods Market comes in and beats them on quality. If you aren’t winning the battle in either of these fronts you may be branding yourself as forgettable. In my work, I’ve picked the high end road in an attempt to distinguish ourselves via quality rather than price. Combining that with competitive pricing we are able to provide the best possible service which is also an incredible value. We charge 25-50% more than our local competitors but offer a service that is several fold that better in quality than what they provide. How are you distinguishing yourself? Are you counting on the ignorance of your consumers?
