When pigs, cattle, and sheep complain about poor conditions, you should tell them, 'There are wolves outside.' For a long time, 'individualization' has been politically correct: Products should be individualized, brands should be individualized, and promotion methods should be individualized. In the 1990s, most companies made annual plans with the trend judgment that 'consumers are increasingly pursuing individualization.' After 2000, when the post-80s generation took the consumer stage, various experts said, 'The post-80s are increasingly pursuing individualization.' After 2010, they said, 'The post-90s and post-00s are pursuing individualization.' In recent years, the internet has had the greatest impact on the market, and some say that in the internet environment, 'consumers' individualized needs will be further tapped.' However, over the years, the most successful products have been those that 'you use and I use, you buy and I buy,' such as Coca-Cola and Lao Gan Ma, or those that 'many want to use, but only a few can afford,' such as Moutai and iPhone. When buying things, people still habitually go to big platforms like Taobao and JD.com. The individualized Bullet Message app didn't even make WeChat 'tremble' before it cooled off after a brief encounter. Mr. Kotler said in 'Marketing 4.0' that the internet's impact on people is not more individualization, but more conformity. And this trend will continue. Are Lao Miao and Mr. Kotler telling everyone to follow the crowd? Of course not. Everyone is a combination of conformity and individuality, rooted deep in human nature. We need to understand it, dissect it, conform to human nature, and make it work for us. Apart from specific use value, consumers buy a product driven mainly by two factors: first, personal preference; second, social conformity. Social conformity is obviously about group behavior, while personal preference seems individualized but is actually composed of both individualization and commonality. Good things are praised by everyone, at least by a group. The result is: Everyone is pursuing uniqueness, but in the end, most people end up being identical. There was a famous saying: 'The most effective advertising is always authoritative testimonials and consumer testimonials,' which advocates the conformity effect and authority effect. Does that mean our products, brands, and advertisements cannot appeal to individuality? Of course not. Behavioral scientist Professor Cialdini conducted an advertising test experiment: He showed moviegoers an advertisement for the San Francisco Museum of Art with the slogan 'Over one million visitors annually.' If the audience watched an action movie, the ad strongly aroused their liking for the museum; but if they watched a romantic movie, it actually reduced their liking. Later, the experimenters modified the ad, changing the slogan to 'Stand out from the crowd,' and the results were, unsurprisingly, the opposite. This ad was a great success with audiences watching romantic movies but failed with those watching action movies. This experiment again reveals the natural essence behind 'conformity' and 'individuality,' the two most important social behavioral characteristics. Conformity is based on survival selection in natural selection. Humans are fragile as individuals; being alone is dangerous. In sudden situations, our ancestors who pursued uniqueness have gone extinct. 'Staying consistent with the majority' is ingrained in our genes. (Those interested can further learn about the famous obedience experiments in psychology.) Individuality, on the other hand, is based on sexual selection in natural selection. If you don't show uniqueness, why would the opposite sex choose you? Even your admired goddess or god might not give you a glance. So we see that children are mostly obedient, but during adolescence, they develop edges and become rebellious. This is because after puberty, sexual energy greatly increases. Therefore, when safety is threatened, it stimulates 'conformity' reactions. Panic and anxiety make people more conformist. When people live comfortably and feel pleasant, especially when receiving sexual stimuli, they pursue individualized expression more. After all, 'when warm and fed, one thinks of lust.' Governments like people to conform, making them easier to manage. The most common and effective way is to create an enemy. For example, the US always finds an enemy or a hypothetical enemy, whether it's the Soviet Union, bin Laden, or China. Creating an enemy increases fear, which most effectively stimulates the conformity effect, making people more united and giving them a stronger sense of collective honor. A grandfather asked his grandson: 'If in our yard, the pigs say the feed is bad, the dogs say the treatment is too low, and the donkeys say the working environment is too poor, what would you do?' The grandson said: 'Change their feed, improve treatment, and improve the environment.' The grandfather sighed: 'If so, our yard is in danger. You should tell them there are wolves outside.' A brother said that a friend showed off his smart speaker, boasting about how great it was. The brother replied with one sentence, and the friend threw away the smart speaker. The sentence was: 'In that case, your speaker can monitor every word and every move you make at any time.' The same thing, when facing different situations of showing individuality or enhancing security, your judgment can be completely opposite. Cialdini mentioned that there are two classic types of advertising in business, perfectly reflecting two opposite motives: fitting in and standing out.

One is 'Don't be left out,' urging us to join the majority.

The other is 'Stand out,' urging us not to follow the crowd. The so-called most effective advertising methods, 'authoritative testimonials' and 'consumer testimonials,' use the former, while the golden rule '3B' (beauty, baby, beast) uses the latter. In the internet world, these two opposite motives also dominate communication. Content that goes viral either triggers (or soothes) anxiety or shows one's uniqueness. People are a contradiction of conformity and individuality. So in marketing, when you should conform, expressing your alternative style will cause customer unease and create consumption barriers. Many award-winning ads don't sell products, basically because they fall into this trap. When you should show taste and individuality, appealing to 'more people buy,' 'more people choose,' 'leading far ahead,' 'wrapping around the earth 180 times' is also counterproductive and detracts from marketing. Generally, for functional, practical, and essential products, conformity appeals are more effective; for spiritual, symbolic, and high-value products, individuality appeals are more effective. In purchase behavior, especially the final step of sales, the conformity effect is more obvious; in communication, appealing to uniqueness is more effective. After all, people spend their lives pursuing a sense of different value. Although we are all ordinary, and the final result is that everyone is similar, we still hope for a different life. Kotler says the internet makes people more conformist. The reason is that increased connectivity makes it easier for us to contact the outside world, and the explosive, overwhelming amount of information makes us more anxious. At the same time, because we come into contact with more people who share our interests and resonate with us, our behavior is more easily influenced. Now, conformity has increased, and its form has changed, manifesting as circle-based conformity. Or we call it 'niche.' Author: Miao Qingxian, Chief Consultant of Shanghai Yihe Marketing Agency. Brand and marketing expert. Professional media person. Source: Lao Miao Tears Marketing (ID: yiheyingxiao) Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted. China FMCG + Internet Professional New Media Committed to FMCG manufacturers' transformation and upgrading and channel digital solutions