Aspirational groups are those to which your shoppers want to belong, and dissociative groups are those from which they’d like to distance themselves. Research verifies that people are attracted toward products marketed as appealing to an aspirational group and people tend to avoid items they consider to be frequently used by dissociative groups.
The implication for retailers is to devote more store space to aspirational items than to dissociative group items, remembering that what is dissociative for some can be aspirational for others.
Studies at University of Pennsylvania and Southern Methodist University added a wrinkle to this: If the consumer already belongs to an exclusive group or is confidently aspiring to belong, he’ll be looking for more subtle cues—what corresponds to the secret handshake which allows members to recognize each other while not tipping off the outsiders. This was a lesson learned by Lacoste when discovering that their crocodile logo stopped portraying as much status if it was displayed too prominently.
Now studies at University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology add yet another wrinkle: If shoppers are told negative information about a group they treasure belonging to, their attraction to products associated with that group might actually increase. The aspirational group does not necessarily become a dissociative group. Threats to group reputation can activate group loyalty.
Envy also wriggles in: Research findings from Tilburg University in the Netherlands indicate that when a shopper for a product envies someone who owns that product, they’re willing to spend more money on the purchase.
In some cases, it’s more money on the product owned by the envied person. In other cases, it’s more money on a competing product. Understanding how this works gives you one more tool to redirect shoppers toward products that best serve both their needs and your profitability.
When shoppers believe the other person earned the right to advantages of owning the product, those shoppers are willing to pay a premium for owning the product themselves. The extra money represents a tribute to the respected person.
What about the shopper who believes the other person doesn’t deserve the good fortune? There is then a desire to show that what the other person has isn’t so great, after all. People with this malicious envy were also willing to spend more money, but on a competing product. They dissociated themselves.
Click below for more:
Redirect with Evil Envy
Position the Logo Like a Handshake
Breed Family Pride to Motivate Choice
Reveal the Folly of Shopper/Product Rivalries
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