A Rolex Cosmograph tells time LESS accurately than the phone in your pocket.

A Lamborghini Huracán is one of the LEAST convenient or efficient ways to reach your destination.

A Mont Blanc Meisterstück won’t help you write ANY better than a $2 Bic.

Yet people spend fortunes on these products.

Not because they solve unsolved functional problems, but because they make statements.

Functionality be damned. It’s about identity and status signalling. Your tank brain understands something deeper than features and benefits: Often a product’s job is simply to announce who you are.

Chew on a few less obvious examples:

• Rimowa luggage (dents and scratches easily, weighs more, costs WAY more)
• Sub-Zero fridges (5x the price, less storage than standard models)
• Smeg appliances (basic function, complex maintenance, preeemium pricing)
• Tom Ford glasses (optically identical to $49 basic frames)

Understanding this MATTERS for every product maker, even if you’re not in a space connected to a space connected to the luxury space. Because status signaling happens at every price point:

• That coffee cup you’re carrying
• The workout gear you’re wearing
• Which water bottle (or aluminum tallboy) sits on your desk
• The laptop or tablet brand you put in front of you in meetings

Others take note of these things, and you care about that.

Your customers are no different.

Action for today: Open that notes app and be brutally honest — what status signals does (or can) your product send? Even if function is your core value, ignoring the social signalling aspect means missing WHY people really choose products.

Want to explore the role of status in YOUR product strategy? Tap the old reply arrow, and let’s talk about social signalling. Or reach out to my amazing team of product launch consultants at Graphos Product.

Laurier

Product Payoff: Stanley transformed a pretty basic thermal cup into a status symbol by understanding this principle. That big 40 oz tumbler doesn’t keep drinks a degree warmer than competitors at one-third the price. But it signals membership in a specific lifestyle tribe (like my kids’ classmates) — and suddenly the company that made my grandpa’s lunch thermos couldn’t spit cups out fast enough.