🦞 Poor Man’s Chicken

🦞 Poor Man’s Chicken

You were lied to about lobsters…

This fancy delicacy used to only be fed to slaves, prisoners, and poor people because shellfish are actually just sea roaches.

See, back in the 1700s lobsters richly washed ashore on Massachusetts beaches. Sometimes even in 2-feet-high piles (61cm).

It was so bad that they used to call lobster meat Poor Man’s Chicken because poor people would shamefully sneak to shores at night and feed themselves with these ocean roaches.

But when the railroad was invented, they started shipping them to other parts of the country. Marketing these ocean roaches as scarce delicacies for rich people…

They lied and said Boston’s people loved lobster & only the rich ate it.

But as word spread about this new expensive, delicious meat, demand increased. With that, the price as well.

Over time the Poor Man’s Chicken became a global sensation. Becoming a key dish in many fancy restaurants, even in Massachusetts.

And this is all because of how they made the public perceive it.

🔑 Key Take Away

By changing the narrative around lobsters, marketers were able to shift public perception and turn it into a high-demand luxury item.

💷 How To Position Something As Valuable

There are multiple ways to increase the perceived value of your product/service.

But before we do that, let’s go over the benefits of increasing perceived value.

If those are things you’d like—which you obviously do… tune in!

Social Proof
Have people leave reviews and testimonials about engaging with your business. The more positive reviews you have, the more valuable you’ll be perceived.

People were talking about how bussin’ lobster was, so everyone needed to try it.

Unique Mechanism
Offer something new to the marketplace. Like a new strategy, seasoning, or feature.

Storytelling
Create a great intriguing story about your business, even it’s all made up. When you tell people a great story, they’ll not only remember you, but also perceive you as an authority in the market.

Scarcity & Urgency
Use scarcity and urgency tactics to increase perceived value. Limited-time offers or exclusive products can create a sense of urgency & increase demand.

Lobster wasn’t worth anything in Massachusetts because it was abundant there.

You could literally find it for free on shore. But people in other states couldn’t. It was scarce there, and many people wanted it. So they were willing to pay more for it.

👞 Action Step

Find a way to increase the perceived value of your product/service.

You can do this through crafting a more compelling story, creating scarcity and urgency, getting more social proof, or introducing a unique mechanism.

📖 Book Bit

Price is a story. People don’t buy based on logic; they buy based on perception

$100M Offers - Alex Hormozi

🌟 Epiphany

It’s not about what something is, but how people see it.