Fill In Blanks Positively With Consumers

Who is most likely to vote against Mitt Romney due to negative portrayals of Mr. Romney’s Mormon faith? Someone who…

• Has a Mormon family member or close friend 
• Has only a Mormon co-worker or neighbor 
• Doesn’t know any Mormons 

     In a recently published study, researchers at University of Notre Dame, University of Akron, and Brigham Young University conclude it’s the second group. The first group—those who have close, long-term contact with someone who is Mormon—are informed by their personal experiences. They won’t be significantly affected by sales pitches against the faith.
     The third group can be influenced by the negative portrayals, but they are also open to being influenced by positive portrayals of the religion. They are the most persuadable in either direction.
     The second group, who have only passing contact, respond to the negative, but are largely impervious to positive counterarguments about Mormonism. The researchers attribute this to what they call the perceived “social insularity” of Mormons. The voters in the second group fill in the blanks with the negatives because they view the insularity as justification for suspicions.
     For retailers, one point of all this: Shoppers will fill in the blanks in their impressions of your store and your products using whatever information they can quickly process, so be sure you have positive information available.
     An additional point: Be abundantly clear about your interest in answering any questions the shopper wants to ask. Counteract any perceptions of insularity.
     A few other research-based points to fine-tune my advice:

• Offering to answer questions doesn’t mean the questions will come. A repeated finding in consumer behavior research is that people who know lots about a product category or know only a little about it usually ask fewer questions than the shoppers who know a moderate amount. People with little knowledge say they couldn't think of questions to ask. And those with lots of knowledge? One reason they limit their inquiries is that they fear looking like less than experts. 
• When asking the shopper to imagine product or service usage, having them fill in the blanks helps make the sale. Give the shopper the minimum amount of technical information necessary to set up the imagining. Then be ready to provide more details if the shopper asks. The power of imagining is greater when a person fills in their own blanks. Again, be sure accurate positive information is easily available. 

Click below for more: 
Respect Customers Who Claim Expertise
Relax Caution About Comparative Imagining