"A 3.5 million-dollar violin?" Mario exclaimed, captivated by the news.
"What? Did you say 3.5 million?" Luigi reacted.
Mario continued reading the article, a smile spreading across his face. Then, he paused and exclaimed, "No way!" in disbelief.
"Ohh my goodness, Luigi, you won't believe this!"
"Tell me, what are you reading?"
"Come here, take a seat," Mario said, pulling up a chair with the magazine in his hands.
"This is the story of a 290-year-old handcrafted Stradivarius violin that recently sold for $3.5 million. It was created by Antonio Stradivari of Cremona back in 1731."
Mario turned the page and pointed to a picture, saying, "Look, here it is. This violin is considered a masterpiece!"
"But what makes it so special?" Luigi asked.
"Each violin is unique, but this one, in particular, is considered one of the best in the world, full of secrets and exceptional craftsmanship."
"It must be something extraordinary," Luigi said, "Why would anyone pay 3.5 million dollars for a 300-year-old violin?"
"This violin is so highly sought after that it has been stolen twice in the past century!"
"What? Now you've really got my attention," Luigi said, leaning in closer.
"The first theft occurred in 1919, when it was taken from a hotel room in Vienna. Thankfully, the police recovered it three days later. The second theft happened at New York City's Carnegie Hall in 1936."
"And did they catch the thief?" Luigi asked.
"Nope," Mario continued, "The owner never saw the violin again. Almost 50 years later, a man on his deathbed confessed to his wife that he had 'purchased' the violin for $100."
"Hmm, I don't believe that. Sounds like the man was the thief himself," Luigi said.
"Yes, many people think the same. However, after he passed away in 1988, his wife turned the Stradivarius violin over to the British insurance company that responded to the theft 50 years earlier. She was rewarded with a $263,000 finder's fee. The insurance company sold the violin for $1.2 million a few years later."
"Wow, this violin truly has an intriguing history. I wonder why people would steal it or pay such an enormous amount for it."
"It's quite hard to fathom, Luigi. This very instrument has been cherished by people all over the world for centuries. A few years ago, world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell purchased the violin for 3.5 million dollars. It's considered one of the best violins in the world."
Luigi chuckled, saying, "I feel like if I listened to this violin, I would probably hear ordinary violin notes."
"There's a valuable lesson in that, Luigi!"
"What? What did I say?" Luigi asked, intrigued.
"While we may hear only regular violin notes, true violin connoisseurs hear so much more than that."
"Haha, true! I'm pretty sure if I listened to both this multimillion-dollar violin and a $3,500 one, I wouldn't notice much difference."
Mario opened the magazine and said, "That's where the 'Stop and Hear the Music' metro experiment by The Washington Post comes into play."
"What was that experiment about?" Luigi asked.
"They wanted to answer a simple question: What if Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinists in the world, played his multimillion-dollar Stradivarius violin outside a Metro station in D.C.? Would anyone notice?"
"Oh, wow! What an intriguing experiment! So, what happened?" Luigi inquired.
"A
total of 1,097 people walked past Joshua while he played with his multimillion-dollar violin. Out of all those individuals, only seven stopped to listen!"
"Only seven out of over a thousand people?" Luigi exclaimed.
"Yes, and one of them was a little boy who tried to stop but was pulled away by his mother. He kept turning his head to catch the melody as he continued walking," Mario explained.
"Oh no," Luigi said, feeling astonished. "What happened next?"
"Bell played for about 45 minutes. Towards the end, a woman finally recognized him. She stopped and watched the last two minutes of his performance, and then approached Joshua to say hello. But when the music stopped, silence engulfed the station. Not a single person applauded his impeccable performance."
"It's unbelievable how easily distracted we are!" Luigi remarked.
"Exactly! That morning at the station, only seven people truly paid attention to Joshua's music. And just three days earlier, he played to a sold-out audience at the prestigious Boston Symphony Hall, generating millions in box office revenue!"
"That's incredible," Luigi said with wide eyes.
"It's a true story. That day at the Metro station, Joshua collected a mere $32.17 in tips!"
"What a powerful experiment," Luigi exclaimed.
"Yes, indeed. In fact, The Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for that study," Mario confirmed.
"So, what's the lesson in all of this, Mario?"
"You mentioned earlier that you've been struggling with sales, right?" Mario reminded Luigi.
"Yes," Luigi replied, "We haven't been able to turn a profit yet."
"And what do you think your biggest problem is?" Mario asked.
"We believe we have an excellent product, but it just won't sell. So, we've been constantly tweaking and revising the product," Luigi explained.
Mario shook his head. "Stop changing the product," he interjected.
Luigi paused, absorbing Mario's words.
"The problem isn't the product itself. It's your marketing strategy," Mario clarified.
Luigi looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"That morning at the Metro station, less than 1% of the people passing by paid attention to Joshua's melodies. Why? Because most of them only heard the 'noise' of a violin. Only seven individuals were truly interested in his music."
"So, what do you suggest?" Luigi asked, eager to find a solution.
"You're spending a significant amount of money to attract traffic to your website, but very few of them genuinely care about your 'music.' You need to ask yourself, Luigi, who is your target audience?"
"But Mario, you don't understand. We use targeted ads," Luigi countered.
"To improve your conversions, you must narrow down your current target audience even further. Think about Joshua's music—it's only appreciated by a very specific audience. Joshua doesn't need or want to please every 'music lover' out there to be successful. He just needs to focus on those who genuinely appreciate his music."
Mario stood up, handed the magazine to Luigi, and said, "By the way, Joshua Bell returned to perform at Union Station seven years later."
"I bet it was a packed event," Luigi remarked.
"You're absolutely right! Over a thousand people showed up that day. Read the whole story here and reflect on the importance of knowing exactly who you serve."
If Your 'Melody' is NOT for Me, I'll Only Hear Noise
How many times have you heard an entrepreneur say, "Everyone needs my product!" Next time, tell them about the 3.5-million-dollar violin and share this story:
The lesson here, Luigi, is that not everyone will appreciate or understand your product or its value. Instead of trying to please everyone, focus on identifying and targeting the specific
