I Really Want a Segway

I Really Want A Segway. But I really do not want to buy a Segway.

Technological innovations are really amazing. Whenever I see a completely new, technologically innovative product, I can not help thinking, “I want that.” It seems like I may be the only though. After reviewing a list of recent technologically innovative “failures” I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world these new products aren’t in every home- including my own!

Endowment Effect
The idea that “something I own is more valuable (to me) than something I do not own” seems simple, straightforward, and logical to me even though I know that it does not follow a path of logic. A mug that I own is not worth more money than a mug that I do not own. A pen that I have used for a year is not worth more than a brand new pen I have never seen. But for some reason I feel like my stuff is better than other stuff.

The endowment effect is powerful. Its power is likely underestimated by marketers and salesman, but I am sure that it is quite strong. I can see it in myself. Logically, I know that what I am thinking does not make any sense, but even I can’t help it. I like my stuff.

Fear of Change
I remember when the Segway was introduced to the American public on the Today Show. Katie Couric and Matt Lauer talked for fifteen minutes about how “this new product will CHANGE the world” and “this was the biggest revolution in transportation technology since the steam engine” and how “the new product will be revealed right after this break.” There was so much build-up and hype. So much emphasis on what an amazing revolution it would be and what a drastic change it would be from our current lives.

There is only one problem: people fear change. At least most people do. It can be argued that change is an unknown- that is no one really knows what the change will be like. And it has long been agreed that people fear what they do not know.

It is a wonder that more marketers don’t realize this fact. It seems so much marketing is geared towards the “newest revolution” or the “next big thing,” but what marketers really need to be focusing on is giving people more of the same. That is what we really want. “This product is exactly like the product you already own and will not change your life in any way. Buy it.” It seems like a good product pitch for just about everything. It will appeal to everyone’s desire to be comforted by the well-known.

In retrospect, that is probably where the Segway went wrong. The makers of the Segway spent too much time telling everyone how much their product will “change their lives” and not even close to enough time telling anyone how their product will “allow you to keep your life pretty much the same except maybe make it a little better.” They spent too much time being the next big thing that they never became anything. If only they would have spent more time being “a slight improvement on the same old thing you know and love” then maybe they would have actually done something.

An interesting thought- as appealing as technological innovation is to the normal consumer; perhaps marketers should consider downplaying a product’s innovation. In typical human fashion: people claim that they want something but their actions prove otherwise. It seems like everyone loves technological innovations and their new benefits, but when it comes time to actually buy a revolutionary new product people seem to forget how much they like it.

My only possible conclusion is that I am not the only one thinking, “I want that.” Every one else is thinking the same thing as I am, and just like me they aren’t buying any of it.