Today, it might seem as though Coca-Cola’s stranglehold on the global drinks market is unshakeable.
While this has been the case since the late 19th century, its dominance did wobble somewhat in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the emergence of a new contender to the throne: Pepsi.
The two brands soon found themselves locked in what became known as the “Cola Wars”, a marketing skirmish that took no prisoners.
Pepsi even fired a bold shot across Coca-Cola’s bow in the form of the “Pepsi Challenge”, a campaign that saw blind tasters preferring the new arrival. Coca-Cola panicked and decided that a drastic counter-offensive was needed.
On 23 April 1985, Coca-Cola replaced its original formula with a new product, aptly named “New Coke”.
Despite its “sweeter and lighter taste”, the launch was met with immediate and brutal backlash.
Adverts were enthusiastically booed at American sports stadiums, and the product was unceremoniously poured into sewers. Meanwhile, others stockpiled the original product, either for one final and nostalgic sip or to make a quick profit amid the chaos.
After just 79 days, New Coke was consigned to fizzy drink limbo, costing the company millions in the process. The product has since gone down in the annals of history as “the biggest marketing blunder of all time”, and the shortest beverage launch in history.
There are many marketing lessons to be learned from the saga. But one particularly fascinating idea, especially for financial professionals looking to market their service, is the “curse of knowledge”.
Continue reading to discover what this is and how it might affect your content-writing efforts.
The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias common in the financial services profession
You may have previously heard the phrase “knowledge is power” and wondered whether this is entirely true.
Well, of course it is. It helps you make more informed decisions and solve problems more effectively.
When applied to writing content, expertise gives you a deeper understanding of your audience, helping you craft more captivating content to stay ahead of the curve.
However, as the uncle of a certain friendly neighbourhood Spiderman once said, “With great power comes great responsibility”.
The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that occurs when your deep understanding of a topic makes it difficult to imagine what it’s like not to know it.
This can mean you forget what it’s like to be a novice, leading you to miss out important details, gloss over complex concepts, or even misjudge how your audience will perceive what you say.
It’s a common pitfall in the financial services profession, where topics quickly become technical.
Think of it like riding a bike. Once you’ve mastered it, you don’t consciously think about how to balance, steer, or pedal – it’s just muscle memory.
In New Coke’s case, the curse likely took hold during the research process.
Internally, data showed that people liked the sweeter taste of the new formula. Executives and developers may have been so immersed in test groups and tasting panels that they lost sight of the emotional connection consumers had with the original product.
They focused solely on flavour. But for customers, it wasn’t just about the taste, but also the nostalgic connection and the symbolic importance of the brand itself. This quickly turned into a costly error.
You can overcome the curse of knowledge in your content
There are several ways to ensure that the curse of knowledge doesn’t alienate your prospective clients. Read on to discover three.
- Don’t assume foundational knowledge
Financial planning is complex. But your content doesn’t have to be.
Whether you’re writing blogs, social media posts, or newsletters, it’s worth avoiding the assumption that your audience shares the same level of understanding as you.
Imagine, for instance, you’re discussing the last Autumn Budget and changes to the non-dom regime. You may talk about “residence-based taxation” and “double tax agreements” as though everyone should know what these terms mean.
However, many people may find them confusing and alienating.
Instead, you could approach writing with a “beginner’s mind”. Think back to when you first encountered complex topics, or imagine explaining them to a loved one with no financial background.
Doing so could force you to simplify language and break down complicated ideas into more digestible parts.
- Avoid overusing complex jargon without context
It’s tempting to use industry terms, especially when you’ve spent years reading up on them.
Yet, phrases like “asset allocation”, “final salary scheme”, or even “Consumer Prices Index” might mean little to the average reader.
This is why it helps to read your content out loud. Doing so helps you identify sentences that sound convoluted or contain too much technical language.
This isn’t to say you should “dumb down” your writing. Instead, focus on making it more accessible.
Of course, sometimes it’s impossible to avoid using certain jargon. You can’t talk about returning to the workforce after previously retiring without mentioning the “Money Purchase Annual Allowance”, after all.
So, if you must use jargon, it’s vital to define its terms as much as possible. Making a conscious effort to provide concise explanations that are easy to understand might really resonate with readers.
You might even want to use analogies where applicable. It can be beneficial to use “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” when discussing diversification, for example.
- Connect with your audience’s specific circumstances
Even when your content is accurate and technically sound, it can still miss the mark if you don’t connect with your audience’s unique circumstances.
For instance, you might write about market volatility by diving straight into graphs and economic cycles.
Yet, not acknowledging that your reader may be understandably anxious about their pension, your message could fall flat, or worse, heighten their concerns.
While you may understand a complex topic, you might simply be straying too far off topic by including it.
So, as Gareth explained in a helpful previous article, it helps to ask yourself: “So what?”.
Doing so could force you to translate technical information into direct human benefits, rather than including it just for the sake of it and confusing readers.
Get in touch
Unlike Coca-Cola in 1985, we understand how important it is to speak your audience’s language and connect with them on their level.
To find out how we could use this expertise to deliver real and tangible value to your service, email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300.
