I heard this story some months ago and found King Frederick

the Great of Prussia, 1712-1786, a revolutionary master in the

field of marketing. He was a great statistician who greatly

expanded his kingdom. However the part of his life that

amazed me was how he introduced potatoes to Prussia.

Wheat was one of the primary food sources and King Freder-

ick II knew that reliance on one crop left his kingdom vulnera-

ble. He came across potatoes and he decided to introduce

them to his people given their nutritional content. The potato

is a delicious vegetable nevertheless it is lacking in the beauty,

appealing category. Prussians were not buying the potato

story and the king had to get inventive. So he enthusiastically

smacked his lips during state dinners to demonstrate the pota-

to’s appeal. Still, the majority of the kingdom’s population did

not see his delight and was not prepared to try the odd look-

ing vegetable.

The king ordered a plot of potatoes to be planted at the royal

gardens and he placed around the clock guards to protect the

crop. The town started talking about the vegetable plot and

wondered what was so precious that their king safeguarded so

much. The guards stopped looking over the plot in the eve-

nings and people started stealing the potatoes. Soon, the

Prussians were planting potatoes and the rest is a tasty and

nutritious history. The king was tenacious and did not give up

when his initial efforts did not produce desired results.

Perceptions is reality. Does your logo, promotion, employees,

yourself, pricing, storefront, website, reflect your reality? And

more importantly does this reality match your customer’s per-

ception of you and your business.

Your business is unique and so will be your perception and

reality situation. Call us at (520)515-5478 or e-mail Mrs. Cecil-

ia V. Rivas Schürmann at schuermannc@cochise.edu to set-

up an appointment to develop strategies to maximize your

profits.

How do your customers perceive your company?

Perception vs Reality

September’15

Marketing Tip