When I was a kid, Good and Plenty was one of my favorite candies. Do you remember the pink box with the pink and white candy-coated licorice that looked like medicine pills? They were popular at the movies and as Halloween treats, and when my parents let me pick a candy out at the store, it’s often the one I would choose (unless Snickers won out that day).

I could eat a whole box of Good and Plenty in a single sitting. As a kid, I thought it was fun that my teeth would turn a lovely shade of charcoal gray, and the gritty, sugary feeling in my mouth would stick around for a while. (I’m sure dentists and mothers alike are cringing at the thought.)

Those memories and feelings came flooding back to me as I was recently trying the “fennel” (aka licorice) flavor of Tom’s of Maine toothpaste.

I love the taste of licorice, so I thought I would really enjoy the toothpaste. But something interesting happened…

Even though I knew my teeth were clean, psychologically, the flavor made me feel like I had just eaten a handful of Good and Plenty. That association back to the candy and my childhood days made me feel as though my teeth weren’t clean.

Even after a week or so of using the fennel toothpaste, I still had the ongoing sensation that my teeth weren’t as clean as if I had used a mint flavor. So, I went out and bought the mint flavor and went back to using that. That’s how strong those sensory perceptions can be!

It makes you wonder what feelings, sensations, memories, and thoughts one can evoke in customers and clients with choices of flavors, smells, pictures, and words. It’s hard to know what associations, correlations, assumptions, and inferences people can draw from anything that you say or do — and how that can affect your business, positively or negatively. That’s why it’s good to check in with customers and prospects to see how they perceive what you are doing. You could be really surprised at what they say!

I’m sure the last thing Tom’s of Maine wants is for customers to feel that their teeth aren’t clean after using their product. I wonder if they ever test marketed the flavor and what audiences said…?

As for me, I still use the Tom’s of Maine brand, just a different flavor. I still like the product and what it stands for. Because of situations like this, it’s a good case for making multiple flavors of the same product. People might love your product or service, but perhaps the “flavor” of it isn’t quite right. What if a simple flavor change made all the difference?

Whether you primarily sell products or services, how could this example apply to your business?