Shall I tell you a story or show you a chart? A set of researchers at Ohio State University wanted to compare the effectiveness of narratives and statistics in influencing consumers' opinions. In one study, they asked participants to estimate how likely it is that a refrigerator they might purchase would break down at some point. Before stating the estimate, each participant was told they'd be given information to help them with the task. For one group, the information consisted of stories told by consumers about the times they'd had to deal with a refrigerator breaking down. Participants in the other group were given actual statistics about the frequency of appliance breakdowns.
Frequency estimates from the group who were told just the stories averaged about one-third higher than did the estimates from the group given just the statistics. The stories of trouble led the consumers to exaggerate the actual frequency of trouble. Narratives are more influential—and more memorable—than numbers.
You don't want negative stories about your store's products to be leading shoppers to exaggerate the negative. To counteract the exaggeration, work with your staff to maintain an up-to-date collection of positive true tales based on the experiences of staff and shoppers. Having these stories is especially useful for new employees, since they might not know the products well enough to confidently recommend them to customers. In fact, the stories can become a part of the employee orientation.
Shoppers do want charts, tables, and numbers. Research at University of Chicago and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China found that consumers like to be shown product specifications, even though they often don't use the specifications to full advantage in making their purchase decisions.
Give shoppers the specifications they want, but lock in the evidence of product advantages with good stories.
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