That puppy isn’t free…

Years ago, Microsoft was under extreme pressure to compete with Linux, a free, open-source operating system.

But, with 1 sentence, Microsoft was able to fortify its #1 position in the minds and hearts of consumers.

Here is how they did it…

Linux’s biggest advantage was that it was free.

It is hard to sell an expensive product when your competitor has something for free, so Microsoft developed the term:

“Total Cost of Ownership”

Sure Linux is free, but if you look over the product’s lifespan and factor in things like the training costs and documentation or the need to hire more specialized people, Microsoft could actually be cheaper.

The problem?

This was a complicated argument.

It took lots of charts, and data points, and explanation of the concept, and because of this, it wasn’t being adopted by the market.

(Note: Any time you have to spend a lot of time explaining your idea, you need to rethink the idea. Or at least how its being communicated.)

Steve Balmer, Microsoft CEO at the time, used a simple analogy to get the message across without any of that.

He said:

“Linux is free like a puppy is free.”

With one sentence, he captured the entire essence of the “Total Cost of Ownership” concept.

Sure, you may get a puppy for free, but you have to feed it, care for it, and provide its medical care…it is not free at all.

In the book, “Made To Stick”, Dan and Chip Heath show how impactful analogies can be when you are trying to get people to understand and adopt your message.

Another way to use analogies is with a method called, “Anchor and Twist.” Anchor the analogy you are familiar with and then couple it with a twist. We see this all the time in hollywood…

“It’s like Die Hard, but on a bus”

“It’s like Jaws, but on a spaceship”

Analogies lighten the burden of explaining and tap into pre-existing knowledge in the brain.

So, when your messaging starts to feel heavy. When you need to spend a lot of time explaining it using charts and data points.

Try using a simple analogy instead.

If you liked this, you will love my newsletter The 5-Minute Monday It will be the most productive, predictable, and profitable 5-minutes of your Monday