Researchers based at Miami University, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the University of Alberta gave consumers hints as to suitable items, but kept those items out of sight until specifically asked by the consumer to see them or try them out. The tease ended up making those items favored over suitable items initially presented in full view to the consumer.
But the way in which this effect works is important for you to understand, retailer. It was not that the consumer’s assessments of the discovered items were higher than that of the previously revealed items. Instead, it was that the revelation of the previously unknown items led the consumer to devalue the items shown openly by the salesperson.
This is another example of the contribution of high-quality consumer behavior research to guiding your actions at retail. We want you to go beyond knowing what works to a point where you understand why it works. Such understanding enables you to apply the conclusions properly.
In this case, recognize that the tease won’t make the discovered items highly attractive on their own. It will make them more attractive in relation to the other items. Therefore, when you know of an item that is close to ideal for meeting a shopper’s consumption objectives and your profitability objectives, allow the shopper to discover the item for themselves. Unwrap these purchase alternatives seductively. It’s a form of consumer coproduction, in which the shopper participates in shaping the transaction.
Something else about the Miami/Northern British Columbia/Alberta research findings: Once the shopper realized the payoff from asking about half-hidden alternatives, they kept asking whether there were more choices when they came to other items on their shopping list. And although the research didn’t look at this, it may be that persistent probing during purchasing became a long-term habit for these consumers.
A bit of mystery gets shoppers involved, and involved shoppers are more likely to buy. Research findings from Indiana University and University of Colorado-Boulder indicate the value of a mystery ad format, in which you wait until the end to announce the retailer’s name. Start off with an unusual story or absurd humor that hooks the ad’s viewer or listener into asking “Who’s this commercial for, anyway?”
For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers
Click below for more:
Cojoin the Stages of Coproduction
Sustain Mystery, But Not for Too Long
Tease with Incongruities
No comments:
Post a Comment