Herman Miller Aeron failed market research tests

This is the most famous chair in the world: Herman Miller Aeron. But, when they tested it with the focus group, people hated it.

People thought it looked as funky as a shaved grizzly bear and asked for the finished version.

It didn’t look like any chair in the market. It didn’t have any upholstery.

But, besides very important engineering reasons, it was a deliberate attempt to look totally different from everything in the market.

👉Differentiation was a huge part of the design strategy.

At first, differentiated products push people away.

People gravitate towards the status quo. The way things have always been.

“New & different ”is an unknown land.

And most people aren’t adventurers ready to explore it.

But if the marketing machine executes properly. And the product is extremely good.

Uniqueness becomes a moat. A distinguishable asset. A way out of the sea of sameness.

💡Although market research is crucial, the trouble with it is that people don’t think what they feel, they don’t say what they think, and they don’t do what they say.

And this skepticism of “different” often comes out in research

👉Research should be done. Taken into account. But you should be ready to ditch it for strategic (brand) tradeoffs.

Doing things opposite of what the rational customer wants is a bet your competitors aren’t willing to take.

And it can make you stand out from the rest.

Another great example: Ikea. There’s nothing like that in the market.

And it would fail all market research. Yet, it’s the most famous furniture brand in the world.