Invite People to Ridicule for Themselves

University of Pennsylvania marketing researchers were impressed that after a respected reviewer said a certain $60 per bottle Tuscan wine smelled like stinky socks, sales of the wine increased 5%. The researchers then analyzed this “I don't care what they say, as long as they spell my name right” phenomenon by looking at the effects of New York Times book reviews. For 250 works of fiction, the researchers analyzed the pattern of sales from the four weeks before a review appeared until the four weeks afterwards.
     Two of the findings were what you’d predict:

• Positive reviews were followed by sales increases of 32% to 52%. 
• A negative review resulted in a drop in sales of 15%, on average, if the author was well-known. 

     However, for books by authors who were not well-known, negative reviews were followed by average sales increases of 45%. In one case, the review read, “…the characters do not have personalities so much as particular niches in the stratosphere,” and sales climbed over 300%.
     How can you make use of the phenomenon to build your store sales?

• A scathing negative review taps into sympathy for the underdog. Researchers at Harvard University, Simmons College, and Boston College say the power of the come-from-behind fits well with the distinctively American stories of successful immigrants and of second chances met with passionate determination. If your store or an item you’re selling receives a highly negative review, respond to it with an explanation of how you try harder. 
• Related to this, sarcastic criticism mobilizes those who love your store. A Miracle Whip marketing campaign urged consumers to take a stand, posting either their hate for the product (“…spreadable disappointment….”) or their love (“…not fancy-dancy elite….”) on YouTube and Facebook. A contrived controversy injected involvement for a bland-looking spread which adds flavor and texture, but is never the lead contributor to an entrée’s appeal. How can you arouse lovers by stimulating, or at least allowing, hate messages? 
• Give it time. People forget negative reviews before forgetting the objects of reviews. The Pennsylvania researchers went on to show people reviews of books by unknown authors and then ask how likely the people were to buy the books. When a review was negative and the question was asked immediately afterwards, the negative review hurt purchase intentions. But by a few days later, the tenor of the review didn’t matter. 

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more: 
Boast About Underdog Determination 
Arouse Lovers by Flaunting Haters 
Take Refuge from Controversy in Principles