Today Seth Godin wrote about the
ingredients in Kraft Guacomole. He
reprinted the ingredients on his blog.

“As you can see from this
list of the ingredients in order of quantity, avocado is the ninth ingredient
by weight, coming in at less than 2%, less, in fact, than the salt.”

He marveled at consumer
behavior…

“…what I don’t understand
is why people buy it more than once.”

If people are buying this
product more than once, it’s reasonable to assume that they either like it or
consider it good enough to meet their needs.  

Is that bad?

I love bagels and lox
(grew up in NY!), can’t imagine anything but the “real” thing, but people by
lox spread all the time. 

Are Maxwell House and
Folgers “real” coffee?

Are cheaper, lower amenity
cars “real” cars?  

Let’s not even start on
the subjects of music, movies, or books!

If what I consider lower
quality or less desirable products are still around, someone must be buying
them.  

If a better product is
introduced and people stop buying the “less desirable” alternative, then the
market will have spoken (and perhaps my preferences would be vindicated).

In the mean time, who am I
to say that the consumers buying the “lower quality” product don’t know any
better?  

We all have our purchasing
biases.

We all could name some
product or service for which we go out of our way, or spend more, to get
precisely what meets our needs (or desires).   

For most of us, though,
these products represent the exception to the rule: every purchase doesn’t fall into this category.

My husband calls me a
coffee snob. I am.

Could Seth be a guacamole
snob?