The Power of a Pepsi Challenge

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I’m not a Pepsi drinker, but there is a lot to admire about the Pepsi Challenge.

Begun in 1975, the Pepsi Challenge is of course a blind taste test that pits Pepsi against Coca-Cola. Participants take a sip of each drink (unknowing as to which one is which), they pick their favorite based on taste, then the brands are revealed. 

I once knew a school librarian who was adamant about teaching kids to construct sound arguments and backup their statements with facts. She was known for asking questions of students and, once they answered, firing back with “Well, prove it to me!”

Your customer is asking the same question.

You say that your product/service is better.

Well, prove it to them!

If an entrepreneur goes out and makes claims about their product solving a problem or being better than their competitors, it can be so incredibly powerful to offer a demonstration. To PROVE it. Think of the Oxy Clean commercials, which showed a regular stain remove on one side and the stain-fighting power of their product on the other.

This is not to say you should create some marketing gimmick where you impersonate Vince from ShamWow and perform a cheesy product demo at every opportunity. But providing some kind of proof… assurance that your offering is the real deal… will help you establish credibility in the mind of your customer and ease the buying decision that much more.

So, what’s YOUR Pepsi Challenge?

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