Assure Consistency By Using Uncertainty

Repetition and predictability are valuable to a marketer. We want our customers to come back again and again. If we can anticipate what they’re likely to buy and what sorts of discounts will be most attractive to them, we can optimize our efforts.
     Researchers at University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon University, and Chinese University of Hong Kong saw how repetition, and therefore predictability, increase when there is some uncertainty in the payoff of a transaction. The resolution of the uncertainty, in itself, provides pleasure. In one of their studies, consumers who weren’t sure if they’d receive a 5¢ or 10¢ cash-back coupon were more likely to continue making purchases than were consumers who knew they’d receive a 10¢ cash-back coupon.
     Other research by the University of Chicago group showed that uncertainty also can motivate effort. Imagine yourself a participant in an experiment in which you’re asked, “How much effort are you willing to exert for a bag of Godiva chocolates? Oh, before deciding how hard you’ll work, you want to know how many chocolates are in the bag? Well, it’s either two or four.”
     Study participants given instructions like that worked noticeably harder than did another set of participants told that the bag was guaranteed to contain four chocolates. The researchers had parallel results when offering one group a guaranteed reward of two dollars and the other group only a guarantee that it would be either one or two dollars.
     The researchers point out that uncertainty motivates well only if it is resolved quickly. In times of high turmoil or when a transaction already involves considerable risk, don’t introduce prolonged uncertainty about the payoff. People going to the dentist or an auto repair shop prefer to know the parameters of the pain.
     At the other extreme, when the consumer’s involvement in a transaction is low, adding uncertainty can grab attention. 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 which dramatizes the category of retailer, but hooks the ad’s audience into thinking “Who’s this commercial for anyway?”
     Mystery ads were significantly more effective than traditional ads in making the name-category link memorable. Again, don’t sustain the mystery for too long. Announce the name at the end boldly.

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Encourage Category Consistency Time-to-Time
Tickle with Uncertainty
Sustain Mystery, But Not for Too Long
Kick the Sale with Curiosity
Worm Your Way into WOM with Self-Discovery