I was really impressed with a marketing strategy in which i found myself being caught.
It so happened tht i started following a Business Mag long time back, at tht time it came
very cheap, around 5 Rs.I always knew they r gonna raise the prices one day or the other.N so it happnd, they raised the price to 10 rs., after abt 5 yrs. of such low prices. In tht period, they hv got many readers like me. N now among them, they got some sure shot subscribers who can’t do away without it. It became like the daily newspaper, u get up in the morning n the first thing u shud come across shud b the day’s newspaper. At least for me, it goes like tht. But wht I am telling u is a familiar strategy tht many companies apply 2 attract consumers. Bait them with lower prices initially, n then when they can’t do without it, raise the prices.I found sthg diff. phenomenon happng coz of this.
Its my personal experience, but i’m pretty sure this is not restricted 2 a few ppl, n many ppl r affected by it. Actually, i’m a kinda reader who reads mags from cover to cover.There were times, when i cud afford it, but with life becoming busy, it is becoming distinct. But i still keep all those mags with me till i finish reading evrythg.So, coz of this disease, I c myself buying evry issue of the magazine whenevr i venture out on weekends. I know tht i already hv a pile of those at home, but the mag has made me so instinctive tht i go on buying it.I think this is where they hv triumphed.First getting the readers, hooking them, n then making themselves indispensable. I’m sure newspapers like TOI must hv followed a similar kinda startegy in their own times.
But wht r the resons behind it? Y am i hooked 2 it.
When i delve deeper, I found out some logic 2 back it up.Now, when one uses a product, in this case a magazine or a newspaper, he has no prior knowledge or reputation for it. He just goes ahead trying sthg new.Over the period, when he finds the quality good n better than the contemporaries,n the product is also relevant to his needs, he tends to respect tht product.N over the period of time, this respect gets converted into a bond.Like some personal relationship, one forms a relationship with the brand, n tends to identify with it.It is this definition in our subconscious tht makes us to go for it impusively.
I am sure that this phenomenon must hv been captured by marketing gurus, but it caught my eye just now. I dont know wht they call it, but i tend to call it “The Subliminal Bond”.
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