It makes sense that outside the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa, where the Morama bean grows prodigiously, few consumers have even heard of this legume, which is a good source of protein and keeps well in hot conditions. But researchers at University of Botswana were concerned that, according to results from their surveys in Kalahari Desert communities, most residents were unaware of the nutritional advantages of this easily available staple. The researchers recommend educating the citizenry.
As to the submarine sandwich—more precisely, a sandwich on a submarine—the potential consumers weren’t people of the Kalahari Desert, but rather bacteria of the deep sea. Still, the relevance of deficient consumer preparation matches.
In the late 1960’s, research submarine Alvin began taking on water as it was being lowered into the ocean. The three crew members quickly escaped with no more than a single sprained ankle among them. But, alas, there was insufficient time to extricate the crew’s bologna sandwiches. The lunch and Alvin itself gently sank to 5,000 feet below sea level.
It was nearly one year before the submarine could be retrieved. Understandably, the bologna sandwiches were soggy. But they were intact. At 5,000 feet down, you wouldn’t expect fish or crabs to be around to nibble the bologna. However, what about bacteria? Cold sea water can be an excellent preservative. Yet, if you’d left bologna sandwiches in cold salt water for a year on your kitchen counter, the bacteria would have had a feast.
Scientists’ answer to the question: At that depth, there are no bacteria. Life has its limits.
This was in 1969. Over the decades, the original answer has been declared dead wrong. Or more accurately, wrong about dead. There are plenty of bacteria and other life forms at 5,000 feet down and beyond. The proper salty answer regarding the highly-seasoned sandwiches is that the plentiful bacteria had just never seen a bologna sandwich before.
They hadn’t physically evolved to consume bologna. And your shoppers may not have intellectually and emotionally evolved to consume highly novel products and services. What you’re selling could be sitting there perfectly preserved for a year, and still no bites.
Offer shoppers sampling while educating them about nearby nourishment and other benefits.
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Offer What They’ve Never Seen Before
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