Why Is Sugar Sweet?

What makes sugar sweet? I mean, what is the chemistry involved in the sweet taste?

Our tongue detects the sugar molecule by its shape. Sugar molecule fits into grooves in our tongue tip, and when this groove is filled a nerve sends a message to the brain that says -sweet!. It is as simple as that.

Sweetness is not in the sugar, then; but in our minds.

Perceptions, are derived senses actually. They are managed by more evolved areas of our brain. For instance the perception of flavor -a derived sense, is a combination of taste + smell.

And what makes our product sweet, then? Does it reside in product features (molecule shape), or more in how it fits with our client’s taste pores?

Almost all experienced sales people learned how to link product features and benefits. Features (molecule) give you credibility, while Benefits (taste) give you marketability. But it is Positioning (perception) that makes you close the sale. Product perception involves complex associations, based on client’s personal experience on similar products.

The good news is that perception and positioning are (still) far too complex phenomena to be automated by any software means. Experienced sales persons, with good questioning and listening skill can still make the difference.

Bilateral Symmetry

R&D investments stagnating and engineering software sales slow down.
From a software customer perspective, three factors are shrinking investments in engineering software:

1. Open source software. Customers start to consider open source software as an option.
2. Mergers or acquisitions.  Newly-consolidating client companies maximize interoperability and reduce software redundancy, i.e. they get rid of the ones they don’t need anymore.
3. Wide Area Network vs. Local Area Network. Global companies want to deploy software on global scale. They need to reallocate software licenses into main servers, to gain economies of scale and optimize expenses for software.

From a software vendor perspective, three factors are driving sales down:

1. Open source software. Software editors consider open source (only) as a threat.
2. Mergers or acquisitions. Newly-consolidating software companies maximize interoperability and reduce software redundancy… It takes time, money and makes their clients endlessly ‘waiting for the next release’.
3. Wide Area Network vs. Local Area Network. For obvious reasons, global software vendors (still) like to sell software on local basis, avoiding clients to gain economies of scale and optimize expenses for software.

Symmetric perspectives on software sales drop-off.

Software and Sushi

Software and Sushi are two of my favourite things.

I like the customizability of sushi meals. There’s always a sushi meal that fits with my appetite. I also like the inexpensiveness of sushi. Or actually the inexpensive price per item. Three Euros for a Temaki, two for an Uramaki, etc. Low price per item means low pain in the buying process. Moreover I like the zenlike design of sushi sets.

Like with the sushi, some software editors offer component-based software, where clients choose from a “menu” the modules they need.

Sushi restaurants & software companies success factors:

1.     High quality components

2.     “A la carte” pricing

3.     Product design

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