Stand By Your School of Thought

In these times of geopolitical conflicts, should a marketer take a stand on issues affecting their community and then boldly support the position with the strength of standing by your school? As the Boston Latin Academy defines it, “Stand by her gallantly and fight for her valiantly. In all times and places, her greatness proclaim.”
     Or should you instead stand by your school of thought in the sense of watching from the sidelines, on guard for developments?
     Study results from researchers now at Tel-Aviv University and University of Pennsylvania find that even small solidarity messages, such as a, “We stand with you,” can improve consumer attitudes toward a brand. However, to fully realize the gains, a local brand would need to do more than would a global brand to demonstrate support. An explanation for the difference, supported by the studies, is that actions from a global brand are perceived as riskier for the brand, so in themselves enhance consumer evaluations.
     For the local brand, sustained communication, strategic partnerships, or community initiatives, may be necessary to foster goodwill. The researchers admit that it’s a balancing act, though. Bold support of a controversial opinion can mobilize backlash from consumers who disagree.
     Still, a set of studies at California Polytechnic State University and Georgetown University also makes a case for local brands using a strong megaphone to advocate for stands on geopolitical conflicts affecting their community. Yes, pipsqueak-size enterprises can’t afford to lose bunches of customers. They lack the revenue cushion and market momentum enjoyed by the major players. So stay away from advocating the political equivalent of the torture of puppies.
     Instead, pick your argument area from those where people could recognize legitimate points on both sides. Then, the research indicates, the chief benefit becomes the attention to your business your strong advocacy garners. The net effect proves to be an influx of potential customers which more than compensates for the exit of angry current customers.
     These studies also showed how for selecting an argument where support pays off, your audiences must consider your advocacy to be authentic. Genuinely believe what you’re saying.
     Some of your employees may agree with your stand and others may not. Another important element for success, then, is that you prepare them to handle the flack.
     Lastly, recognize that truly hot controversies can draw attention away from a brand’s selling points. Blazing heat usually distracts people.

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Equip Employees to Field Your Fallout 

Pick an Argument, Pipsqueak 

Salute Sales to Concerned Patriots 

Buoy Your Business Against Boycotts

Debunk Unrealities Using Virtual Reality

Researchers at Yeditepe University, University of Twente, and Ludwig-Maximillian Universität München were inspired to conduct their set of studies by a recognition that promoting accurate scientific information about climate change is crucial for a sustainable future. The study objective was to assess the value of immersive virtual reality simulations of climate scenarios in debunking falsehoods which could impede support for mitigation measures.
     The simulations visually depicted impacts of rising temperatures and sea level on communities and ecosystems. Accompanying the visual stimuli was either narration or text including phrasing like, “People are directly affected by the impacts of climate change. We should correct the misinformation that denies its human-made nature. We witness the rising sea levels encroaching on coastal communities, homes destroyed by stronger hurricanes, more frequent fires, and prolonged droughts devastating farmlands.”
     The VR methodology produced higher climate change belief and less skepticism that climate change is caused by human actions than when the same information was presented on a flat screen, as would be done using non-VR social media.
     Consideration of past research studies and data analyses from their own set of studies led the researchers to explain the superiority of the VR technique as due to the 360-degree environments where distracting physical reality is blocked out and the active engagement fostered by the participant exploring the environments themselves.
     The researchers note that the effectiveness of debunking unrealities via VR will depend on the content of the VR simulations, the VR equipment used, and the receptivity of participants to use of VR. They also admit to lack of purity in their methodology because different participants no doubt explored the VR scenarios in different ways so did not have identical experiences.
     Other research indicates this opportunity for participants to discover for themselves actually adds to the effectiveness. For example, researchers at University of Miami and University of Pennsylvania found that customers are substantially more likely to pass information on to others when they have found at least some of that information on their own. In addition to the thrill of discovery, a major reason for this is that we associate discovered information with our self-image. We’re less likely to criticize the information as unfounded or uninteresting. If the information is in written form, we’re less likely to be put off by spelling and grammatical errors when we believe we came across it through our own initiative.

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Control Conspiratorial Thinking 

Worm Your Way into WOM with Self-Discovery 

Expose Seniors’ Values Through Virtual Reality

Accentuate the Positive Item Characteristics

People purchasing food are more influenced by what will make them healthier than by what would make them unhealthier. This was seen in how study participants expressed greater interest in corn flakes claiming to be high in protein, fiber, and vitamins than in the same cereal claiming to be low in fat, sodium, and carbs.
     The University of Groningen and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam researchers who conducted the study attribute the difference in preference to shopper assignment of value. Consumers usually associate “higher” and “more” with increased benefits. This is usually less true for “lower” and “less.” Advertising the gain in healthful characteristics adds greater perceived value to a product than does advertising the reduction of unhealthful ingredients.
     The generalizability of this addition-subtraction difference was shown in another of the researchers’ studies: An item featured as “now enriched with alanine”—with alanine described to these participants as beneficial for health—received higher favorability ratings than did an item featured as “now reduced in alanine”—with alanine described to those participants as harmful to health.
     The implication for marketers is to emphasize what’s added over what’s subtracted. Similarly, people rate the same merchandise as better when a description is framed positively than when framed negatively. Researchers at Seattle University and University of San Diego cited past studies showing that consumers are more likely to say they’ll buy a cut of beef described as 75% lean compared to 25% fat, and then, in their own studies, found that people told a chewing gum had more than 95% natural flavors ended up giving higher ratings than those told it had less than 5% artificial flavors.
     Actually, there’s a risk in bringing up the negative at all. When Coca-Cola announced, “Our Bonaqua lightweight mineral water bottles are specially engineered to use 34% less plastic,” we might have expected the purchase likelihood of the product to grow. But studies at City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong showed the opposite can happen. Consumers could respond, “Gee, I wasn’t even thinking about how my mineral water comes entombed in a slug of plastic. I’ll stop buying bottled mineral water.”
     These researchers found that you can minimize the negative response by nudging shoppers to pay more attention to the decrease in the bad than to the presence of the bad. Accomplish this by discussing the upsides of change.

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Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me 

Lessen Emphasis on Less Bad Sometimes 

Fancy How to Sell More Features

Cover Cost Per Wear with Fashion Shoppers

High fashion inevitably clashes with high sustainability. Fashion is, by definition, fleeting, not sustainable. From this perspective, the term “fast fashion” seems comfortable. But with consumer behavior researchers using the term to mean inexpensive clothing produced rapidly to fit current trends, the practice of fast fashion is, by that definition, uncomfortable for many people. Compared to sustainable merchandise, fast fashion items are discarded quickly, producing offensive waste both in the inputs and especially the outputs.
     To nudge fashion shopper preferences and purchase intentions toward the less wasteful, highlight the comparison, say a pair of researchers from University of Bath and University of Cambridge. To avoid the clash of high fashion with high sustainability, make the basis of comparison what pays off directly for the individual consumer—cost per wear (CPW), which divides the estimated price of a garment by the estimated number of potential wears the garment provides, thus quantifying its economic value.
     In a set of studies, the researchers demonstrate how communicating CPW shifts preference away from cheaper, low-quality options and toward more expensive, high-quality options if the fast fashion and slow fashion alternatives are presented together, the slow fashion alternative does have a lower CPW, and the shopper is interested in greater economic value for money spent. Citing CPW numbers is more effective than citing non-numeric durability claims. The effect is stronger when the CPW figures are accompanied with certification by a respected organization. Perhaps this is because the prices of the garments and the number of wears are necessarily rough estimates.
     The value of discussing usage frequency extends beyond high fashion clothing. How often a shopper would use a purchased item influences how satisfied they’ll end up being with the item if purchased. Yet researchers at IE University, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, and Fundação Getúlio Vargas observed how infrequently retailers discuss probable durable item usage frequency with shoppers. In the studies, shoppers also brought up only rarely the predicted frequency of use as among their reasons for purchasing something.
     To improve well-informed shopping and reduce regrets among customers, discuss the likely frequency of use. With multifunction or multifeatured products, discuss the different ones, to the degree that your time and the shopper’s patience allow.
     But the research produces a caution: When covering usage frequency, talk to the shopper as an individual. Avoid averages and comparisons to others, especially when dealing with shoppers who are likely to compete with others.

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Weigh Disposal Over Depletion for Less Waste 

Serve Up Benefits Per Serving 

Mention Usage Frequency Frequently

Badge Frontline Employees to Curb Badgering

The studies by researchers at Queensland University of Technology and Tecnológico de Monterrey address the problem of store shoppers verbally abusing frontline employees who carry responsibility for selling to the shoppers and resolving their complaints. The researchers cite prior studies which show how the yelling, insults, threats, and demeaning language undermine job performance and increase employee intention to quit their job.
     The simple technique validated by the current studies to ease the problem is to have each frontline employee wear a badge announcing brief information about the individual. In the studies, this information, which appeared on a label positioned below the badge with the employee’s first name, included text such as “I’m a Daughter,” “I’m a Dad,” and “I’m also a local.”
     The researchers’ explanation for the effect is that the self-disclosure humanizes the employee, which leads customers to treat the employee more respectfully. The employee becomes less likely to be seen by the customer as an inferior status object whose job is confined to fulfilling the customer’s whims and absorbing the customer’s frustrations.
     In some cases, you might want the under-badge message to read, “This is my first week on the job.” Your shoppers should know that your frontline staff are experts. Yet a trio of researchers at University of Bordeaux and KEDGE Business School find a payoff in boldly proclaiming that an inexperienced frontline staff member is, in fact, not yet an expert and will consult with others. If there’s a service failure during the subsequent sales transaction, the customer is more forgiving of both the employee and the retailer and, if the customer has already built an attachment to the retailer, is more likely to return in the future than if the warning of inexperience had not been provided.
     Even with the under-badge technique, we can expect some verbal abuse of frontliners will continue. Studies at University of Edinburgh, University of Sydney, and UNSW Business School indicate that a helpful technique in response to this is to encourage the employee to step away from the workplace after being verbally abused.
     Positive results were for brief breaks. The researchers point out how prolonged absences from the service setting decrease employee performance. There are more uncompleted tasks to be made up, and irritation of other staff disrupts teamwork. However, a short retreat after incivility is different. A little snack can ease exhaustion. Chatting with colleagues can restore perspective.

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Proceed to Protect Your Staff from Insults  

Declare Inexperience to Experience Forgiveness

Retreat Briefly After Incivility 

Anticipate Black Friday Syndrome 

Announce Commonalities with Shoppers

Prepare for Pickiness to Pale

People who consider themselves socially advantaged are more picky consumers than are people who consider themselves socially disadvantaged. The University of Iowa researchers who conducted the studies supporting this finding defined pickiness as a willingness to acquire a product only if the product is at or close to ideal.
     Are those study findings telling you something you didn’t know already? My guess is no, the findings do not.
     Okay, since the findings appear to be common sense, is there anything to be learned to assist in improving your marketing profitability? My argument is yes, the findings can, but only if you dig deeper than the what to ask about the why.
     Based on their hypotheses and study results, the researchers say the effect of social advantage on pickiness cannot be completely explained as being due only to the advantaged having greater resources with which to access and possess items. Entitlement also matters. Even when the other factors are accounted for, the socially advantaged feel more entitled to be picky than do the socially disadvantaged. Entitlement is the feeling that you are more important and more deserving than inferior others.
     This sense of entitlement is related to what the researchers refer to as Social Dominance Orientation. In my email exchange with Prof. Bryce Pyrah, the primary researcher, he writes, “People who endorse inequalities (those high in SDO) demonstrate the differences that those who are advantaged are pickier than those who are disadvantaged because of entitlement. Those who challenge existing inequalities do not show these differences on entitlement or subsequent pickiness.
     “This sense of entitlement arises due to people's general motivation to justify the current hierarchy and their place in it. That is why those who are advantaged tend to feel more entitled, as they believe that their standing in their hierarchy is justified, and thus feel like they deserve more. And so, those who are low in SDO (or those who challenge the hierarchy) don't show this pattern.”
     I contend that your understanding of this why will be helpful by giving you a heads-up to prepare for pickiness to fade somewhat in the future. At present, there are deeply-entrenched wealth, racial, and ethnic inequalities in society. However, rumblings of a drive to moderate these inequalities can be seen in public polling. I anticipate reductions in entitlement deriving from our culture’s Social Dominance Orientation in the foreseeable future.

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Offer Poor Items to Low Self-Esteem Shoppers 

Box In Gift Shoppers for the Picky 

Hover Within the Shopper’s Power Level 

Insulate Perfectionists from Unwise Risk