Our recent post on psychology and colour was incredibly popular, not surprising when you consider some of the data that various surveys and the like threw in to the popular domain. Always on the lookout for other factors that impact on what we do in terms of business, we came across some research recently that addressed the issue of psychology and marketing.
Marvelling at the human brain and how it makes decisions, understanding some of the basic cognitive functions can help marketers to reach the consumer; some basic understanding of why we think our message is brilliant, and yet it fails to draw in the crowds, can also be incredibly helpful in how we market our products and service.
So sit back and enjoy a journey through cognitive biases, quirks and flaws… and understand why some marketing campaigns have back fired (or really, really worked!)
Cognitive – what is it?
Cognitive relates to cognition and is ‘concerned with the act or process of knowing, perceiving etc.,’; in other words, it is all about the mental processes of perception, memory, judgement, reasoning and so on. From Medieval Latin, it is a word that explains the process behind why we do the things that we do, and the decisions that we make.
As we all know…
… we sometimes make decisions that we find hard to explain after a passage of time. In most cases, this tends to be a decision that has a negative impact; for example, the ‘why on earth did I do that/say that/choose that?’ questions. The never-answered question of ‘why did I do that?’
Psychologists say that these faulty decisions are down to ‘brain quirks’. There is probably a more technical term, however, it is noted by ‘brain experts’ that some of these decisions we make could actually be linked to our cavemen ancestors – back then, they would have been ‘right’ decisions to make but in the modern day, some of the decisions we make seem ill at ease and out of place.
When it comes to marketing, it can be interesting to understand some of these brain quirks, with 5 being identified as the most ‘common occurring’ ones. When marketing your products or services to your consumers, understanding why some these quirks happen can help you avoid them meaning your consumer could still buy from you…
Brain quirk 1: Attribution Error
Proved in an experiment from the late 1960s, subjects were given an article to read, either for or against a certain hot topic at the time.
The group that read the pro- articles were told the writers expressed their true opinion, of their own free will and this was something that sat well with the group.
The other half of the group were told these pro and anti- topic articles were written by people who were coerced into expressing this opinion. But, the interesting result here is that, when questioned, the readers all said that the opinions expressed were the author’s real ones.
Attribution error is where we ignore context and circumstances, attributing -in other words, giving credit – everything to a person or organisation’s personality.
What this means in a marketing sense…
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The personality of a company is important in the consumer’s mind and this personality will define how it behave towards them
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A company that gets caught up in a string of unfortunate events, will regain its trustworthiness in the eyes of its consumers if it takes responsibility for these events
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A company demonstrates its personality through its actions, rather than through its words
Brain quirk 2: Confirmation Bias
We all have opinions and whether you agree or not, we are all biased. We have a skewed vision of something or someone and will seek out information that tends to agree with these preconceptions and existing beliefs.
Confirmation bias is about justifying what we already believe and are more likely to dismiss information that challenges these pre-conceived notions and ideas.
This tends to happen more when the subject is emotional or controversial; we will seek out information that supports us, rather than proves us wrong…
What this means in a marketing sense…
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First impressions are incredibly important as this is the basis on which the consumer interprets the company now and in the future (and we have all done it! One bad experience and that’s it…)
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Conversely, making a good, strong impression has sticking power!
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To get someone to change their mind after a negative impression or experience takes a ‘whole lotta effort’!
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Consumers are more likely to trust (and buy from) a company that has similar values and beliefs to them
Brain quirk 3: Self-serving bias
Step away from the ‘pick and mix’ because this is not the type of self-serving we mean.
It’s tough, isn’t it, taking criticism? Regardless of how well the bad news about your product, service or performance is given, it stings. And we know this and our brain, being the super thing that it is, will try and protect us.
A self serving bias is when good criticism (is there such a thing?) will be attributed directly to us and how brilliant we know we are… but poor criticism (is there such a thing?) is linked to faults in the evaluation process.
What this means in a marketing sense…
Don’t insult your consumer. It really is that simple but, there are cases where marketing exploits and format are doing just that and could be a huge turn off for your consumer…
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Informercials – we have all seen them on TV and they cover a wide range of topics from the disgust expressed at NOT cleaning your dishwasher to how to fry an egg. Your consumer will either ignore such a rubbish advert or they will be insulted and never shop with you.
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The headlines – some headlines deliberately court controversy but there is an incredibly fine line with some of these headlines; attractive they may be, they can also be incredibly insulting. “How over 50s are breaking the internet…” – on one hand, when you read the article it tells you all about how we are becoming increasingly internet savvy at ALL ages but, it could also imply that anyone over 50 is a bit past it…
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Flaws – OK, we all know that going to the gym 3 times a week and sweating for an hour and half is really good for us (Mmmm…) but, an advert suggesting that we need to do as we are overweight and lumpish is NOT the right way of going about enticing people through your gym doors. Never victimise; always point out the positives of a purchase – like ‘get in shape this summer!’ rather than ‘calling all couch potatoes!’
Brain quirk 4: Belief Bias
This is not the same as confirmation bias; it is something quite different.
Belief bias is when we reject a conclusion because it just seems too extreme or outrageous, even if it IS backed by a completely sound argument or evidence.
And it seems that logic gets in the way; in experiments carried out in the early 1980s, groups of people were given arguments, some with ‘believable conclusions’ and some with ‘unbelievable conclusions’, even those these unbelievable conclusions were based on sound facts and theory. But, the logic of the people in the experiment denied that this could possibly be the case with only a third of those accepting that the ‘unbelievable conclusion’ was a possibility.
What this means in a marketing sense…
Belief bias is incredibly important for marketing purposes:
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Logic cannot stretch too far when it comes to asking consumers to believe something that seems a little too far-fetched…
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The conclusion needs to be more realistic in order to make the argument withstand the rigour of ‘too good to be true’
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Ignore this and keep plundering on with a message that does seem ‘too good to be true’ can and does hurt sales
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Consumers have a ‘gut reaction’ and this emotional driven response governs a purchasing decision more than logic does; in other words, your marketing to consumers should not be devoid of ALL emotion, but relying solely on logic is not helpful either
Brain Quirk 5: Loss Aversion
Also known as the framing effect, loss aversion is essentially about our vision of something, and whether the implications or results are positive or negative.
How information is presented is important; a positive frame will create a positive reaction and vice versa – even though the outcome is actually the same.
For example, to illustrate the point, in an experiment, subjects were asked to choose between two treatment options: Option a) would save 200 lives out of 600 or, option b) which would mean 400 deaths out of 600 lives.
Even those these options are the same (and this is a very simplified synopsis of the experiment) the vast majority of people opted for option a), although essentially they were both the same.
The experiment has since been improved, with phrasing of the questions changed etc. to make the negatives less obvious but the results are the same. In other words, when an outcome is framed as a loss, we take a risk but when the framing of an outcome is positive, we see it as a more sure-fire option.
What this means in a marketing sense…
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Watch your phrasing – for example, ‘save 25%’ has a better ‘frame’ than pay only 75% although the two are the same
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Watch your message – and it is a complex space to be in with some products and services, especially in relation to businesses that work in health, body image, keeping fit etc.
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Watch the headlines – informing someone that the article or blog will help them avoid something (like pain) is, according to experts, more likely to be read than those blogs that promise or guarantee satisfaction and pleasure.
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