When I was a kid, my friends and I rarely had any money to spend on stuff like candy, pop and comic books at a little grocery store in called Luzier’s in Westwood – the 28th Ward of Pittsburgh.
However, from time to time, in our travels through people’s backyards and back alley’s we’d find old pop bottles which were worth two cents! And, if we’d collect enough through our pooled earnings we’d have enough to buy something at the store. Let me tell you, with an empty Coke bottle worth two cents, that special something at Luzier’s better be worth it and have lots of value.
For us, that special something was nearly always a Black Cow sucker!
Why?
Black Cows had a simple value proposition. They tasted great and lasted a long, long time and cost a nickel – just two and half empty Coke bottles!
Black Cows were like a long flat Sugar Daddy (only BETTER) covered with a thick layer of dark chocolate on a stick. You could do a variety of enjoyable and disgusting kid things with a Black Cow when it was in your mouth – you could lick it, gnaw on it, suck it, chew it, twist it around and more. Plus, you couldn’t eat it with your mouth closed so its word-of-mouth value was huge too.
Believe me, if you were knocking back a Black Cow, anyone near you knew it first hand because it wasn’t something easy to disguise. And, another great thing about Black Cows was that once you bit into one it was impossible to share – another great kid feature. Net – Black Cows were exceptionally kid friendly.
I’m not sure if they still sell Black Cows, but I wonder if you offer one at your business.
That is, do you offer products and/or services of high value and do you offer a unique experience too?
I’ve been a big fan of Seth Godin’s over the years and love his Purple Cow lessons too.
However, if you offer a Purple Cow and a Black Cow, you’d really be on to something awesome!
Remember, your value equation is simply the quality of the experience you provide divided by your price.
Create and sell Black Cows and Purple Cows too!
