How to Apply the *Toothpaste Principle* to Your Business (and sell more stuff)
✅ Today's Fix: Increase the *percieved* value (in 90 seconds)
Hey Part-Time Creator,
Over 15,000 Creators sharpen their business design here every day.
Take this newsletter and apply it to your business daily; it’ll help you build your business smarter. This is a paid post. If you want daily business design growth levers you can apply immediately (and access to 50+ writeups):
Years ago, I learned of an idea that has stayed with me.
You know, sometimes a thing hits you and for some reason, you never forget it.
That’s what happened…
One day, on my Master's programme, I learned about the psychology of products…
The idea? — It’s called the *perceived* value.
And there’s this one story (the toothpaste story) that teaches the whole idea in a nutshell.
Let’s get into it👇
The toothpaste story
Colgate began mass producing toothpaste in 1873.
It was pretty abrasive back then, but many advancements have been made since, like in the 1890s, the introduction of collapsible tubes, and in 1914, fluoride was added to help prevent tooth decay.
Here’s the interesting bit— in the 1940s, Toothpaste foam was introduced, it was the result of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), which didn’t actually improve the removal of plaque (the primary function of toothpaste).
Actually the foam is a result of scrubbing, which turns out people *really* liked.
Why?
Because they saw the *foam* as evidence that the toothpaste was working. «This is the real insight here.
Think washing the pots, it’s the foam that indicates something is working, because you can’t see the bacteria being killed…
Think washing your hair, would you be convinced it was working as well if you didn’t see the soap suds?
Even though the foam has nothing to do with being clean, it’s an indicator of something working.
And here’s the thing…
Sometimes it’s not about what is valuable — it’s about what feels valuable.
And here’s how you can use that idea to your advantage…
🧪 The Toothpaste Principle Framework
Challenge conventional thinking
Most people think that you must improve the product to make more sales.
For people to be happier.
For buyers to come back time and time again.
But that isn’t always the case.
Of course, you must improve a product— if it’s below a certain standard, you’ll never sell a thing. But beyond a certain point, it’s not about the *actual* value (because after all, who’s the judge of that?), It’s about the perceived value.
Here’s how to add perceived value to anything you sell (without changing the core product, like adding new features or spending a ton on marketing):
Step 1: Identify What the Customer Wants to Feel
Here’s a weird shift:
Instead of asking what job customers want done (often a term used in product teams, the ‘job-to-be-done’, ask: how does the customer want to feel. Or in other words, as a result of the job being done, what *feeling* are they after?
Ask:
What’s the *emotional* job this product is doing?
What are they frustrated with?
How do people want to feel?
Examples:
Skincare customers want to feel like their skin is being nourished.
Business owners want to feel like they're being smart with money.
Pet parents want to feel like good dog mums, aka their dog is cared for.
Step 2: Find the ‘Foam’ — the Visible Signal
Now it’s about asking how can I signal to the customer that they are getting that. You’ve got to ask yourself what would give you confidence that you were:
Nourishing your skin?
Being smart with your money?
Being a good dog mum?
What is something that can signal progress, effort, or success? aka what’s your version of the foam? «That’s the magic!
Think of the reason most people give up with their weight loss efforts — because they do a handful of gym sessions and step on the scales only to find it says exactly what it said before.
So in their head, it’s “I’ve just done all this work for nothing.”
Now, of course, that’s not true; it’s a function of time, not effort. Aka things are happening that they can’t see right now, and if they just carried on, they’d get the results they wanted.
So how can you show your customer that they ARE making progress even though they can’t see it… yet…
Examples:
A digital product might show a “% complete” bar (even if the progress is self-paced).
A coaching service might send a personalised summary after each call — not essential, but it makes the service feel tailored.
Step 3: Apply this GPT prompt
If you’re struggling to come up with ideas for your business, use this prompt: