Inject Into Blood Donors What Happens Next

About 1 out of every 4 blood donors does not make a subsequent donation, according to a past study reported by researchers at University of Groningen, University of Hamburg, and Pennsylvania State University. Based on their own studies, the researchers say that a promising technique for increasing re-donation rates is to inform donors how the blood they’ve already given has been used.
     In one of the studies, some past blood donors received a thank you which added a message that their donation had been used to help save a life. Another group of past blood donors received only the thank you. Each participant was then asked to state their degree of intention to give blood at the next possible blood drive.
     Those people who received the “helped save a life” message reported a stronger re-donation intention than did those not receiving this message. Naming the specific hospital where the donation was used didn’t make much difference compared to saying only that the donation helped save a life. Accompanying studies did indicate that the influence of the message was greater when delivered soon after a donation compared to soon before the availability for the person to donate again. However, an uplift from the message still occurred even when used with donors who had been inactive for a while.
     Data for the studies was collected from people in both Germany and Austria. That the effectiveness of the “helped save a life” was seen in both countries is of note because attitudes toward donation of body parts is dramatically different for these two. In Germany, where a citizen must opt in if they want to be an organ donor, only 12% do so. Next door in Austria, where organ donation is the default option at the time of death, the rate is almost 100%.
     The value of telling donors what happens to their contributions is also seen with recycling. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University and Boston College found that rates were increased by showing people ads demonstrating how recycled items are transformed into new items. This worked regardless of whether the transformed item is similar to the recycled item (material from recycled soda cans being used to produce new soda cans) or quite different (material from recycled soda cans being used to produce bicycle frames). Considering the potential of trash inspires people to engage in the socially responsible behavior of recycling potential trash.

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Mine Golden Veins for Blood Donations 

Embody Right-Left in Body Selling 

Scrutinize Default in Sequential Decisions 

Show Products Made of Recycled Items 

Image at top of post based on photo by Cassi Josh from Unsplash

Vary Item Assortment to Fit Crisis Status

Researchers at Columbia University and University of British Columbia had study participants shop for candy in an area with either wide or narrow aisles. Those shopping among the narrow aisles chose a greater variety of candy bars and more unfamiliar brands. The same pattern of results was seen with supermarket shoppers. The researchers explain the findings by saying that when customers in Western cultures are shopping in tight quarters, they feel a loss of control, and that being able to select from a variety of items helps restore the balance.
     We might argue that variety seeking would instead decrease when consumers feel a loss of control. It seems people would seek choice familiarity to ease stress associated with unpredictability and they’d embrace social conformity to increase comfort derived from interpersonal relationships.
     A study at University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, and Wake Forest University concluded that the direction in which loss of control drives consumer variety seeking depends on a factor few might predict: Political orientation.
     The researchers saw this by considering a crisis with a substantially greater threat to control then narrow aisles in the candy section. They analyzed over 32 million transactions in 687 U.S. grocery stores occurring before and during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
     As part of the study, the researchers also defined the political orientation of the county in which each of the grocery stores was located. The proportion of Republican votes in the year 2020 presidential election was used for this, with a high proportion defining a conservative county and a low proportion indicating a liberal county.
     The data analyses indicated that in normal circumstances, when there is no crisis, politically conservative shoppers seek more variety in grocery purchases than do politically liberal shoppers. Then during a crisis, conservatives’ drive for variety drops, while that of liberals climbs.
     Perhaps these patterns are explained by variations in how conservatives and liberals conceptualize change and social conformity. We do know that, overall, the brain structures of political conservatives and liberals differ in the distribution of gray matter.
     Whatever the explanation for their findings, though, the researchers note evidence that widespread environmental threats which affect consumer decision making are increasing in frequency, and so they recommend retailers prepare to fit each stores’ item assortment to the political orientation of the local community and the stage of any threats to shoppers’ personal control.

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Give Shoppers Variety for Control 

Discuss Disgust Conservatively & Liberally 

Market by Political Propensity 

Scale Purchase Restrictions During Shortages

Clean Up by Prompting People to Clear Out

Item resale requires an ongoing influx of used merchandise. Some of those items are probably residing in your customers’ possession purgatories—a state between use and discard. People usually don’t think much about the particulars of what’s in their possession purgatory inventory. When they consider this at all, it tends to be as “stuff I should decide someday what to do with” rather than “pajamas with the Christmas tree designs,” “earrings which are too large for my tastes,” and so on.
     A secondhand merchandise store offering trade-in deals to prior customers energizes the inventory influx. Be specific in your ad messages and with your face-to-face selling: “We’re having a great sale on sleepwear. We offer credit on gently used pajamas as well as other clothes you might have stored away.” Give prompts for different specific item categories at different store visits by shoppers and you’ll start them thinking what they can bring in to your place.
     Prior customers are prime prospects because they’re familiar with your business and the used-merchandise resale process. A set of studies at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and City University of Hong Kong uncovered something else, too: People are more willing to resell items they purchased secondhand, such as from you, than equivalent items obtained unused.
     Of the reasons for this effect which were assessed by the researchers, the strongest was that purchasers feel their self-identity is reflected less clearly in resale items than in items purchased unused. This was found true when study participants were asked to imagine purchases and resales of a North Face McMurdo Parka, the latest model of a Nintendo Switch, and a collector’s edition of a themed LEGO set.
     The connection between willingness to dispose of items one owns and feeling of being true to the self (i.e., self-authenticity) was seen in a City, University of London and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology project. Plus, the impact was broader than on just supplying more stock for resellers. In each of a set of studies, one group of consumers was first asked to think about a situation in which they were completely being themselves. The other group was asked to think about a situation where they were not being themselves. The studies together concluded that those who had thought about not being themselves became more likely to resell their apparel, replace instead of repair broken electronics, and declutter at home.

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Resell Consumers on Buying Used Items 

Release Those Pajamas from Purgatory 

Sign Up Customers for Store-Self Identity 

Use Loneliness to Sell Used Merchandise 

Know How Customers Dispose of Products

Awe Shoppers, Then Avoid Ambiguity

Awe can advantage marketers, according to a team of researchers at Utah Valley University, Regis University, and Washington State University. Their report of studies by others indicates that for retailers, awe increases receptiveness to novel offerings; for nonprofits, awe increases a willingness to donate money and time; and for public welfare campaigners, awe increases interest in environmentally sustainable choices.
     For their own studies, the researchers defined awe as feelings of wonder, amazement, or reverence in the presence of something vast or mysterious. It’s both an awareness of being part of something far bigger than oneself and a sense of smallness in the face of the vastness. They generated awe in participants by showing them a two-minute video which created the sensation of flying through stars and nebulae, concluding with an image of earth as seen from space. The video was introduced with a message reading “ENJOY THIS AWESOME EXPERIENCE” and was accompanied by a portion of the music theme from the movie Interstellar. Results from surveys administered after the video viewing confirmed that the participants experienced feelings of self-transcendence and/or a sense of smallness.
     Then other aspects of the studies identified a potential problem with arousing awe: There are two opposite reactions to ambiguity. Participants showing evidence of high self-transcendence were open to uncertainty, while participants showing a sense of smallness avoided uncertainty. In one of the studies, this was seen when each participant was asked whether they preferred a well-known brand of computer or a little-known brand with a greater hard disk capacity.
     Because shopper reactions to ambiguity could swing toward either extreme with awe being aroused, I recommend minimizing uncertainty in product offerings when employing advantages of awe appeals. Marketers generally do best when able to accurately predict reactions to persuasion tactics.
     There are additional circumstances when you’ll want to avoid uncertainty. In times of high turmoil or if the retail transaction already involves clear risk, don’t add lots of extra ambiguity. People going to the dentist or an auto repair shop prefer to know the parameters of the pain and the gain.
     But aside from these circumstances, uncertainty can provide stimulating appeal. In a University of Chicago study, people worked harder for a bag containing either two or four chocolates than did another group told the bag had four chocolates. The researchers attribute the effect to the fun which comes from anticipation of discovering the contents.

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Leap Up Donations Using Legacy Potential 

Place Attention on Biomorphic Design 

Anticipate Aesthetics Avoidance 

Tickle with Uncertainty

Benefit Non-Disabled with Accommodations

Why don’t retailers devote more resources to accommodating the special needs of shoppers with disabilities? Researchers at Dartmouth College and University of South Carolina say it’s because retailers are thinking that most shoppers aren’t thinking about those special needs, or if the retailers and shoppers are aware of the special needs, they object to the downsides for themselves of making accommodations.
     The result is that retailers believe shoppers will react negatively to disability accommodation initiatives. Based on this hypothesized explanation, the researchers tested ways to ease consumer resistances.
     In one study, participants were presented with a scenario in which the accommodations resulted in higher prices. The participants read, “Imagine you need to shop for some basic groceries, and visit a nearby grocery store. You walk through the store, and find everything you need for the week. Usually the total for this is $50, but to your surprise this time it is $58. You learn that the store has increased prices to cover the cost of ensuring that every product in the store is accessible to consumers with disabilities. For example, they have widened the aisles for wheelchair accessibility and now offer some pre-cut and pre-peeled fruits and vegetables to help those with hand dexterity issues.”
     Some of the participants also read additional text: “You realize these changes also benefit other people like yourself and people you know. For example, widened aisles will help new parents more easily navigate strollers around the store or buying the pre-cut and pre-peeled fruits and vegetables can help you eat healthier when you are busy.”
     After reading the text, each participant was asked to rate the grocery store on a scale ranging from bad to good, rate the personal costs of the shopping trip, and rate the morality of the retailer.
     Data analyses showed that on all three measures, the additional text improved the rating of the retailer and the shopping trip. None of these ratings were overall as positive as those from a group of participants who read only that the shopping trip cost $50 and read nothing about accommodations for the disabled. But for retailers who are required by law to introduce accommodations or choose to voluntarily do so in order to attract more shoppers, describing the benefits of each change for non-disabled shoppers is a promising method for easing negative reactions. For accommodation ideas, check ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business.

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Accommodate Disabled Shoppers’ Psychology 

Construe Differences in Disability Duration

Tap Seniors’ Curiosity with Prior Knowledge

When someone’s in the midst of making a consumer decision, they are likely to be motivated to gather information directly relevant to that decision. Another motivation for gathering information is curiosity. Even if separated in time and intent from a particular consumer decision, what’s learned via curiosity lingers in the background and therefore can influence choices. Knowing how curious consumers seek information helps persuasion agents be more effective.
     Researchers at University of Southampton, University of Stirling, University of Reading, Kochi University of Technology, and University of Tübingen say the how depends on age. When motivated by curiosity, younger people seek to broaden their existing knowledge, while older people seek to deepen their existing knowledge. The researchers recommend that when aiming to implant information in the brain of an older adult, we present the information as providing greater depth about topics we discover are already familiar to that older adult.
     The researchers base these conclusions on their study conducted at the London Science Museum. Visitors passing by a group of computer terminals were invited to select a theme they were interested in from a set of five—such as “Mythical Beasts” or “Lesser Explored Countries”—and learn about that theme. Once choosing the theme, the study participant was presented with a set of topics about it and asked to use the computer to display facts about one of the topics. Following this, each participant could decide to learn more about the topic, change the topic to learn about, or end the inquiry altogether.
     The participants ranged in age from 12 to 79 years. Measures of interest and curiosity were gathered, along with noting each participant’s pattern of information pursuit. Data analysis showed that interest and curiosity were closely related and that the pattern of seeking information was related to age, as predicted.
     Prior studies have provided supportive findings. Researchers at University of Cincinnati, University of Florida, and University of Mississippi offered choices of a variety of music samples to study participants. Novices accepted a few new songs in a multitude of genres. On the other hand, experts, who we’d expect to be older than the novices, accepted a greater number of songs solely from one or a limited number of genres in which they considered themselves to have some expertise. An explanation for the effect is that older consumers place greater importance on screening possibilities for consistency with their existing interests, values, and needs.

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Resolve Identity Crises for the Elderly 

Dismiss Distractions from Interrupting Seniors