How To Become A Popular Company - Siimon Reynolds

I was out driving recently in Los Angeles and saw an amazing sight.

A famous hot dog stand called Pinks had a line of people outside that went half way around their entire building.

The question is, why?

Is it because their hot dogs are so amazing?

Well I’ve eaten there and while they’re good, a hot dog is a hot dog. There’s only so much you can do with it.

Is it because they spend a fortune on marketing?
No way. In all my time in L.A I’ve only seen one ad for Pinks.
Is it because they cost less than other hot dogs?

On the contrary, they cost more than many of their competitors.

No, in my opinion the reason Pinks has people waiting for an hour just to taste their dogs is because of a factor far more strange and subtle.

People line up outside Pinks because they see other people lining up.

They assume that because so many are lining up the hot dogs must be amazing, and so they decide that they too must visit this place.

So it becomes self perpetuating.

There’s a term for this in behavioural research – it’s called Social Proof.

Humans tend to get more interested in things when we see that other humans are interested in them.

So, think about this:
How can you create the appearance that lots of people love your company?

If you could just achieve that, then you too would get an ever increasing number of people desperate to buy from you.

As I see it, there are three ways:

1. Get lots of testimonials.
When potential customers read about other customers that adore your products, their desire for your stuff will dramatically increase.

2. Initiate a PR campaign about popularity.
Plan a campaign of hitting the media outlets with stories about the fast growth and popularity of your company, product or service.

3. Create shortages.
Consider occasionally making your product unavailable or booked out, due to high demand.

None of these strategies cost much money, but together they will go a long way to creating the impression that your company is powering, and that your product is something really special.

Pretty soon you could end up like Pinks.

Not selling hot dogs, but selling hot products.