Computers, hammers, commodities and post truth emotions

What is a computer? To my mind, it is a tool for work, to communicate, to watch Netflix and the only way to play games, as life is too short for Monopoly. Do you notice anything in that list that one computer can do, and another computer can’t?

What about a hammer? That’s a useful tool as well, even if it doesn’t have the multi-purpose repertoire of a laptop.

A hammer is as close to a commodity as a product can get. Any hammer can be substituted with any other hammer. Even salt products have greater differentials if you add flavourings to them. The computer is near to a commodity. Most of the basic, current computer brands can replace most other current computer brands if you work according to utility within a class or price band.

Why spend more on an Apple then? According to a major SADC retail site, the basic Apple laptop costs about N$23,000 compared to about N$8,000 for a standard Lenovo or an Asus. In terms of the range of applications, the Apple may provide a negligible speed increment and some design chops, but no additional functionality.

The answer lies in emotion, not functionality. Those emotions come at a premium of N$15,000. What are they?

The first emotion is validation of self. Apple projects the identity of a power user, imbued with sophistication and effectiveness. By owning the embodied identity of the power user, the Apple owner projects the identity onto herself or himself, creating a very compelling image.

The second emotion is social validation through a combination of tribalism and social proof. By adopting the sense of ‘us vs. them’, the user finds belonging in a wider though exclusive group. Social proof tells the user that Apple must be good for her or him because others are using it.

This emotional facet creates a heuristic bias, a way to make a quick decision. However, a heuristic bias can lead to a cognitive bias, a systematic deviation from reasoned choices, in this case the functionality of the Apple compared to the same functionality of the Lenovo or the Asus.

If you want to explore this, ask an Apple user why Apple was their choice, then present the evidence of functionality. If you are an Apple user, interrogate the validity of your reasoning. The same questioning can apply to the choice of Coca-Cola or Pepsi. What’s your choice and why?

When subjective emotion takes precedence over a reasoned truth, it is known as post truth. This post truth is the same reason why Donald Trump features so highly in the estimation of many USA nationals, despite documented falsehoods. Post truth is a concept worth committing to memory.

There is no right or wrong solution to the question of Apple or a PC. Product utility and emotional utility are both valid benefits. Even on the apparently unemotional end of the continuum, emotions can come into play. An investment that one believes is highly stable may be described as low growth and stagnant by another.

What is important is that, within the ethical parameter of avoiding a risk that verges on intentional or negligent harm to the consumer, it is expected of brand management to learn and understand the degree and nature of the emotion, then use it to sway the consumer to make the initial purchase and repeat it.

This column draws on Daniel Kahneman’s ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’. Read it if you want to find out more about heuristic biases. To see the idea in action, Google ‘Apple heuristic biases’.