Fiddle Around with Expert Expectations

Changing the brand or item preferences of an expert can be difficult, even when a retailer has evidence that the change would benefit the expert. Consumers who consider themselves to have high expertise often like to show off their knowledge. If you say, “Here’s a product I think you should consider because it’s better than the one you’ve been buying,” the expert’s eyes will open wide and a smile will cross the lips, all in anticipation of the opportunity to debate.
     Experts also hesitate asking a full range of useful questions. This is because they fear that doing so would make them look less knowledgeable.
     How to change the preference? First off, instead of saying, “I know better than you do,” say, “Here’s a new alternative I hope you’ll consider.” Say this even if the alternative has been around for a while. The word “new” allows the experts to believe they’ve overlooked the better choice because it was not previously available.
     Next, blind the expert. Okay, maybe that sounds too harsh. Instead, I’ll phrase it as “fiddle around with the expert.” In a study conducted by researchers at Université Paris 06, University of Michigan, violin maker Joseph Curtin Studios, and violin string manufacturer D‘Addario and Company, blinding and fiddling were pretty much the same thing.
     Twenty-one expert violinists were asked to compare high-quality new instruments with classic violins made by Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu. But since experts would be likely, without question, to consider a Stradivarius and Guarnerius to be superior, the study was a blind design: The violinist was not told which instrument was a classic and which was of modern manufacture. The study was conducted in a darkened room. Each player wore welder’s goggles to cloud vision of the fiddle.
     The sense of smell was masked, too. The chin rest of each violin had been dabbed lightly with perfume in order to mask any hints from the fragrance of old wood or contemporary varnish.
     Indeed, the researchers found that the most-preferred violin was a newer one, the least preferred happened to be a Stradivarius, and most of the 21 experts couldn’t say whether the instrument most preferred was old or new.
     You won’t be able to have your expert consumers wear welding goggles unless that’s what they’re aiming to purchase. But you can invite them to try out alternatives, preferably without telling them which is which.

Click below for more:
Respect Customers Who Claim Expertise
Give a Vocabulary for Richer Shopping