F.U.D.
My last article about an old IBM advertising campaign (”THINK!“) brought to mind another strategy they used in competitive situations that gained wide notoriety.
It later become well documented and the stuff of considerable study in marketing and sales meetings everywhere. Most often, the IBM sales strategy focused on an abundance of quantitative analyses supporting the use of their products. Sometimes, however, and especially as they became the highest cost provider in more and more situations, the analytical approach wasn’t a good one. Objectivity might steer a decision-maker away from IBM… so a new strategy came into play and was VERY effective.
It was called FUD (rhymes with THUD) but is an acronym: F.U.D. … which stands for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. When in a tense selling situation, the salesman tried to stir up as much Fear about the prospect or customer choosing the competitor as possible, as much Uncertainty about whether choosing anything but IBM would achieve better results, and as much Doubt about how well they could defend their decision to others within their own company. It was just the opposite of an objective sales pitch… in fact, that was the point. An objective analysis was NOT wanted since the facts would not support their case. So, it was an entirely SUBJECTIVE barrage of verbiage intended to confuse the issue and appeal solely to emotions, especially fear. The more emotional, the better… anything to keep the line of reasoning to be fact-based.
F.U.D. sometimes was a very subtle play but, just as often, a blatant in-your-face challenge. Deciding against IBM could even have career implications, as the sales team took it higher and higher up the management ladder, treading heavily over anyone who dared stand in the way, until they reached a decision-maker who supported them. As you might imagine, this is a somewhat risky approach since you run the risk of alienating people at every turn unless you are absolutely masterful at the technique.
But, it worked a large portion of the time. So other companies, generally leaders in their industries, also added it to their sales arsenal. Indeed, it has been applied in many other situations… including politics.
It seems most people are just naturally more at ease with the status quo, even if it isn’t quite as good for them as they may want or like. There is a certain amount of comfort in knowing the way things are… versus the great unknown of doing something different. Change, even if it will lead to better things, is hard… it causes tension.
When you hear a politician ignore the facts and appeal only to your emotions, think about the F.U.D. they are feeding you. The odds are VERY HIGH they are trying to snow you… they do NOT want you to look at the REALITY of the situation, they just want to persuade you into doing what THEY want.
The question you have to ask: WHY would they ignore the facts? Most often, you’ll find that there’s something in it for them (generally more power). THEY are the benefactors… and their gain is at YOUR EXPENSE.
