The Death of Best
A classic positioning play is to call yourself “the best X.”
From broad: “the best CRM”
To narrow: “the best time tracking software for freelance programmers”
But in all cases it involves the seeker being explicit about the solution they are in search of.
The rise of personalization—accelerated by AI—means there is no longer a global best*. Or even a need to start with a specific solution in mind.
Every shopper is now building a personal contextual layer that adds another filter to the selection process (whether deliberately or just through the use of algorithmic tools).
As a basic example, a user may search for “best car” but their contextual layer can understand what they really mean is “what is the best mid-priced car for a family with elementary school age kids…etc & so on” based on the accumulated understanding from prior queries and tasks.
For humans, your brand is a story.
For algorithms, your brand is a list of attributes to be matched against.
Two sides of the same coin. Same core, different package.
*there was never a global best
Ways To Think About AI: The Care Factor
All the terms used in / for AI are geared towards the brain: intelligence, learning, neural, thinking, etc. These are not terms of the heart.
Or, as Tom Webster wrote:
But this is the one thing you CAN and MUST do, no matter how much or how little you embrace AI: you must care. Claude cannot care. But you can care. You can ensure that the craft is evident, that the hand of the watchmaker is revealed in the workings of the watch, however it is made.
But care is not just about how you differentiate, it’s about how you deploy as well.
The constant of AI is the person choosing to post the content. Behind every sloppy email and sketchy article full of genAI tells, there’s a person who decided that was good enough to publish.
Taste + discernment + care
It’s not just purchases consumers are getting more deliberate about
audiences’ shrinking attention span is a myth…consumers are instead making deliberate choices about where to direct their attention. People still devote hours to podcasts, newsletters, documentaries, and long-form video when genuinely interested. What’s changed is how ruthlessly they filter everything else. … consumers don’t reward content for being brief, they reward it when they believe they’ll get something valuable in return.
People have more choice and control than ever. Why should they choose you?
Continuing my recent series of posts about the consumer mindset…
What is “value” for consumers?
value is increasingly defined not simply by price but by a product’s ability to meet specific needs, improve daily life, and deliver a meaningful period of ownership.
For tech, this is
products that deliver stronger utility, productivity, and long-term value
creating opportunities for brands that clearly connect innovation with everyday consumer needs.
Price is the cost.
Value is the return.
Even consumers want a positive ROI.
via Circana
Consumer confidence dipped in August. Thanks expectations!
Gas prices remain top of mind, while
Comments about war/conflict, food/groceries, trade, and jobs rose in August.
People are planning less discretionary spending on experiences. Things people still plan to spend on include:
- auto
- food out of home
- furniture
- internet
- pet care
- utilities
All in line with yesterday’s needs based buying post.
The Expectations index includes Q4. I expect early planning, flighted purchasing, and strong deal seeking during Black Friday and holiday sales.
Circana has a good post on recent consumer spending habits.
The era of value-seeking is being replaced by needs-based purchasing behavior.
Discretionary purchasing is pulling back
&
Growth is more concentrated among higher-income households and a narrowing set of categories, particularly those that deliver clear value, convenience, health benefits or affordable enjoyment.
4 vectors of tangible life improvement.
Who’s listening?
men are five times more likely than women to regularly listen to sports podcasts, while women over-index in true crime, self-improvement, lifestyle, and wellness. News is the most popular genre overall, drawing 56% of men and 44% of women. Comedy acts as a genre equalizer, with similar consumption rates across genders.
Wallet pressure waits for no store. Walmart is feeling the squeeze.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said heightened petrol prices are to blame for the slowdown in spending.
“When fuel prices increase and get above $4, perhaps there’s a psychological impact to that … consumers are making trade-offs,” CFO John David Rainey said on a call with analysts on Thursday.
As consumers spend less, each potential purchase needs to work harder to close the sale.
Q4 is looming