The Story of Pepsi and New Coke

In the 1980s, #Pepsi had grown to a point that it was trailing Coke by just 3% in terms of market share.

To counter the threat, Coke started planning to change their original formula under the brand of New Coke.

In their planning phase, they took a survey to see how people liked the new flavour.

75% reacted positively. 10% simply hated the taste.

They figured that a good majority loves it so, they should go ahead and roll it out. After all, the haters might come around, right?

Wrong.

Turns out, when Coca Cola launched New Coke, the people who hated it were so vocal about their sentiments, that it created mass hysteria.

The peer pressure snowballed & the media focused on the dissenting faction giving them more momentum. Coke's hotline was flooded with angry consumers who felt they had been betrayed.

Kaboom.

Coke's campaign flatlined & they had to undo the damage by bringing back Coke Classic.

It's true that you can't satisfy everyone. Aiming for consensus is futile.

But regardless of how small your #product's detractors are, its imperative to understand their grievances. Gripes based on emotion/perception can catch fire & influence buying behavior.