Meeting new people—as well as new products and new brands—can be absolutely stimulating. Consumers seek novelty and variety. But classic research at University of Delaware found that the need for that sort of stimulation does differ widely among individuals. Most consumers also find a special comfort in being with old friends—and with the brands and products they’ve known well for a long time.
This creates a challenge for retailers who would like to switch customers from a familiar to an unfamiliar brand or product. Recently published research out of Southern Methodist University suggests there’s an effective way to do it: Enthusiastically introduce the unfamiliar brand or product like it’s an old friend of the shopper.
After reading those research findings last week, I experienced a compelling example of the psychology behind the technique:
I was walking through the lobby of 300 Montgomery Street in San Francisco. My mind was on getting to my meeting with the director and assistant director of the San Francisco Small Business Development Center to discuss upcoming training and consulting for San Francisco retailers.
Suddenly a man walked up to me flashing a huge smile. “24 Fitness, Santa Rosa,” he said, pointing his finger.
I’d never been to that gym. I shook my head.
“Nautilus, Fremont.”
I didn’t recognize the guy. “I think you have me confused with somebody else.”
“No, no,” he insisted. “I’m sure I know you.”
His enthusiastic desire to make a connection drew me in. Maybe I did know this guy after all.
It was a passing thought, since I had to get up to my meeting. I turned around, and we both walked off.
Consumer psychologists talk about “the mere exposure effect.” Shoppers tend to have more favorable attitudes toward something they’ve seen before. The Southern Methodist University researchers lied to study participants in telling them the participants had seen brands previously. The people who were convinced they had seen the brands before showed the same sorts of favorable attitudes as if they actually had.
I don’t advocate lying to your customers. So instead, when introducing a new product or brand, in ads, signage, and face-to-face selling, work in phrases like, “…the same way as with the brand you’re accustomed to using…,” and “…once you do this a few times, it will be as second nature to you as what you’ve been doing up to now….”
Click below for more:
Expect Shopper Conformity and Variety Seeking
Display Unfamiliar Brands with Prototype Brands
Use Familiar Routines to Sell the Unfamiliar
Compare Unknown Brands to Best-Known Brand
No comments:
Post a Comment