Affirmative Buying

Seth Godin recently wrote about stinky durian:

Durian is a fruit from Southeast Asia that can be charitably described as smelling like stale baby vomit.

How about a genetically engineered durian that is odorless? Would such a variety solve the "vomit odor problem" and therefore be a hit in the market for durian?

Non-durian eaters don't have a 'durian problem'. They aren't standing by, fruitless, impatiently waiting for Songpol Somsri to figure out how to make a stinkless one. Nope. They've got cantaloupes and kiwis and all manner of other fruits to keep them busy.

The feedback you get from non-consumers is rarely useful, because the objection they give is the reason they don't buy from you, not the thing that will cause them to affirmatively choose you.

If you spend all your time trying to address objections that buyers might have to your product, you end up with a product that offends no one but doesn't appeal to anyone, either. Focus more on the affirmative reasons customers buy your product, and be careful not to jeopardize the appeal of your product by watering it down.

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