Fix Responsibility on Whoever’s Representative

It seems that during each university sports season, we learn that at least a few players and coaches have been accused of unethical behavior. Researchers at Kennesaw State University, Murray State University, and University of Memphis explored effects these accusations have on fan interest in watching subsequent games of the team.
     Their study results provided no evidence student athlete misconduct significantly influenced game attendance. However, news of a coach’s misconduct did influence attendance intentions. The researchers explain the difference as reflecting how consumers have higher expectations of the coach to be a representative of the organization. More leeway is granted to the student athletes not only because they are younger and less experienced in the world, but also because they carry less leadership responsibility.
     The difference held when the data were analyzed taking account of the team’s win-loss record. The researchers conclude with a recommendation to punish in a fair way ethical transgressions of both coaches and student athletes, with greater tolerance toward the student athletes. The result should be more robust game attendance in the face of transgressions.
     In a separate body of research, a University of Oregon paper used principles of increasing game attendance to suggest ways to increase retail store traffic. How nice it would be to have your customers chanting about your retail business throughout their conversations as would devoted fans who are expressing their sentiments about a favorite football team. That’s more likely when consumers are fans of shopping with you. It has to do with interior décor, the merchandise you carry, and most of all, the interpersonal interactions. When it all comes together, shopping gives a positive emotional charge approaching that from attending an exciting sports event.
     Attention to the difference between the coach and the players can apply here. It is the supervisor more than the front-line employees who is viewed by consumers as representing the organization. And if the front-line employees are robotic devices instead of humans, let's say, the humans are considered more representative and more responsive.
     When there’s a serious mistake, consumers are more likely to blame a human service provider than a robotic service provider, according to studies at University of Zaragoza and Eindhoven University of Technology. With the robot, consumers generally held the firm responsible. Because the human service provider who fails is more accessible than “the firm,” restoring trust after a mistake should be easier with the human.

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Generate the Excitement of a Football Game 

Remind Consumers of Robots’ Competence

Notice How Your Discounts Help Competitors

You might offer a discount on your brand to woo customers away from a competing brand. You’d be in good company, since this is an extremely common tactic. Researchers at Texas A&M University, University of Alabama, Bentley University, and Clemson University say that price promotions constitute as much as 55% of a firm’s marketing budget.
     The researchers then document a danger: A consumer’s rejection of the promotion builds subsequent loyalty to and spending on the competing brand. In a laboratory setting, Coke drinkers offered a discount of almost 50% on a Pepsi showed a greater growth in loyalty to Coke after rejecting the Pepsi offer than did participants not presented the Pepsi offer. In a field study, participants choosing an undiscounted Starbucks coffee drink over a Dunkin’ discounted by $1.00 spent more on Starbucks products than did participants not shown the Dunkin’ promotion.
     The chance of a marketer’s promotional price discount inadvertently boosting loyalty to a competitor is worth you noting. The researchers point to prior studies showing that fewer than 16% of shoppers who are presented a brand’s price promotion will switch brands to get the discount. My advice, though, is not to forgo price discounting. The basis for its popularity is that it brings in new customers.
     The better takeaway is to avoid depending solely on a price discount to change minds. An integral part of successful promotions is a compelling portrayal of the benefits of product or service use.
     Another takeaway is a better understanding of the dynamics of shoppers making selections. Researchers at University of Miami and Babson College noticed that when asked to begin the choice process by eliminating alternatives, shoppers became more likely to end up selecting one of those alternatives they were considering for rejection. This happens because attention to any item makes it more likely people notice characteristics of the item they find attractive. Along with this, the process of deciding what to reject brings concern about missed opportunities, a concern people ease by selecting rather than rejecting. But once the rejection occurs, the rejected item becomes even less likely to be subsequently selected.
     After choosing one brand over another, the consumer is now effectively neglecting the other brand. What happens if the consumer is later asked to express a preference between the previously neglected brand and a neutral brand which had not been seen before? Yes, the neutral brand is more likely to be favored.

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Use Rejection to Learn About Shoppers 

Rehearse the Shopper Picking Out the Item 

Raise Luxury Prices If Equivalents Drop Prices

Contract with Near-Term Use via Contractions

When choosing among alternatives, consumers balance an item’s ease of use against the number and attractiveness of the item’s features. Feasibility versus desirability. Ample research says the balance is influenced by how soon the item is to be used. When people plan to put the item to work close in time, they're especially interested in feasibility. When people are shopping for items for the future, they'll generally pay substantial attention to desirability.
     Now researchers at Toronto Metropolitan University and Grenoble Ecole de Management say that grammatical contractions also play a role. A group of consumers were presented La-Z-Boy ad copy which used contractions such as “There’s always a wide selection” and “You’ll be surprised.” An equivalent group of consumers were presented equivalent ad copy, except without the contractions: “There is always a wide selection” and “You will be surprised.”
     All participants were then asked to imagine choosing between two La-Z-Boy office chairs for their home office. One chair was described as high on feasibility and low on desirability (Easy to assemble. In a color you do not prefer) and the other chair as low on feasibility and high on desirability (Difficult to assemble. In a color that you prefer).
     People who had been exposed to the ad copy with contractions were more likely to select the chair higher on feasibility versus desirability. There were parallel findings with a companion study involving choosing between apartments. That and other studies in the set also yielded an explanation: Exposure to grammatical contractions conveys a sense of informality which, in turn, guides the audience to think about close others and closeness in time.
     The researchers caution that their findings are novel, so call for further investigation. But the implication for marketers in the meantime, as I see it, is to use contractions in ad copy when the shopper is aiming for or would otherwise benefit from near-term use of the item. A formal tone is often the better choice when the shopper is considering consequential purchases.
     Beyond influencing the feasibility-desirability balance, an informal tone stimulates consumers to share embarrassing information. A Carnegie Mellon University study saw how admissions of personal shortcomings grew when a questionnaire was titled “How BAD Are U???” in a bright red font alongside a devil logo compared to when the questionnaire was titled “Survey on Strengths & Weaknesses” in a black font accompanied by a well-known organizational logo.

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Accent the Emotions when Imminent Usage 

Loosen Up Shoppers to Reveal Flaws

Customize for Prospects Who Use Smartphones

When shopping online via their personal smartphone rather than their personal computer, people are more likely to select options they perceive as fitting their distinctive characteristics and less likely to select options described as the most popular choice. City University of Hong Kong and University of Florida researchers observed this when asking study participant to choose among lifestyle products, chocolate truffles, wine, or even charitable contributions.
     The researchers explain the effect using evidence that, compared to the owner’s personal computer, the smartphone they own feels more personal and private, so using it directs more attention to the distinctive aspects of the self. We hold the smartphone close as we talk into it or type words and symbols. We don’t do that with a PC. When using a smartphone, we narrow our attention and experience a sense of privacy. Consistent with this explanation, the distinctive-preference effect was weaker or disappeared if the smartphone used by the consumer in the studies belonged to somebody else.
     An implication for retailers and fund raisers is for you to encourage marketing prospects to choose by using their personal smartphone and then for you to highlight the fit between what you know of the prospect’s distinctive characteristics and the option you prefer they select.
     Personalization appeal applies not only to a marketed item, but also to payment. For example, the tariffs offered to a smartphone user might be flat fee for unlimited usage with a label of “Worry-free,” for others pay-per-use with a label of “You’re in control,” and for still others a barebones plus add-on options with a label of “Getting started.”
     A corresponding difference between smartphone and larger computer device is seen when collecting marketing information rather than presenting marketing statements. Social media posts, product and service reviews, and open-ended responses to survey questions all show extra candor on the smartphone.
     One University of Pennsylvania study analyzed tweets which, by a tag on the item, could be identified as coming either from a smartphone or from a personal computer. The linguistic markers of self-disclosure included expression of strong emotions, references to family and friends, use of the first-person pronouns “I” and “me,” and self-focused storytelling. Additional studies analyzed TripAdvisor reviews and responses to survey requests for potentially embarrassing information. In all these, content entered via smartphone showed greater self-disclosure than did content entered via a personal computer.

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Wise Up by Tapping Smartphones 

Navigate Shoppers Toward Distinctiveness 

Drive Personalization by Fostering Narcissism 

Offer Service Pricing to Fit Idiosyncrasies

Employ Older Workers’ Interest in Influencing

The elderly want to leave a legacy. For example, University of Washington researchers say motivation arises to create an oral history, write an autobiography, or discuss prized possessions with younger family members.
     This desire helps explain the finding by Stanford University researchers that, compared to younger employees, older ones are more interested in assisting colleagues. In the study, participants were asked to report their work-period helping activities for five typical days. Instructions were, “Some examples of helping include but are not limited to: providing advice or information, listening to others’ problems, and helping someone complete a work task.”
     Participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 78 years. Data analysis showed that older age was associated with more time spent on helping activities. Other data collection and analyses indicated that older workers derive more emotional satisfaction from helping coworkers than do younger workers. Because experienced employees would be expected to have thorough knowledge of their jobs, an implication for managers is to allow older workers to serve in training and mentorship roles.
     The study findings are true in the aggregate. Among older workers, there are surely those who you’d choose not to assign training duties because they lack skills in or enthusiasm for training adults. In addition, you might be concerned that the older workers lack the latest job skills. Moreover, the elderly tend to reject ideas and practices differing from their own to a greater extent than do younger adults.
     Relevant to this, participants in the Stanford study had been asked to report their work-period learning activities, described as including, but not limited to, “working alone or with others to develop new ideas, performing new tasks, and receiving feedback from colleagues.”
     Analysis of these responses indicated that older workers were as likely as younger workers to keep learning on the job. However, the evidence is that they enjoy the learning less than do their younger counterparts. These findings can be understood in the context of older workers feeling a loyalty to their organization—so they continue to learn what’s required—but having less enthusiasm about mastering what will be most useful in the relatively distant future, since they perceive that the duration of their life is limited.
     Here, too, assigning training responsibilities to the older employees helps. They are then learning not so much for their own distant future as for the distant future of their trainees, developing a legacy.

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Resolve Identity Crises for the Elderly 

Slice Open the Minds of the Elderly

Shut Eyes Wide So Shoppers See Whys

“Before looking at the rest of this ad,” reads the message at the top, “close your eyes for a minute to reminisce about a pleasant event you’ve experienced.”
     What effect would this have on a consumer’s receptivity to the ad’s persuasion? A pair of studies at Korea University, University of Minnesota Duluth, and Bryant University provides evidence that if the ad emphasizes practical benefits, the eye closure prelude boosts favorability impressions.
     In one of the studies, participants were asked to evaluate a hotel gift basket featured in an ad for a travel package. The basket was described as including, “a massage ticket to recover from your fatigue, a best-selling nonfiction book, a DVD about global warming, a GPS for road trips, and a protective sun cream.” Prior to being shown the ad, some participants were asked to close their eyes and recall a nostalgic event. The other participants were asked to recall a nostalgic event while looking at a target displayed on a computer screen.
     Those asked to reminisce with eyes closed subsequently gave a higher favorability rating to the basket than did those reminiscing with eyes open. The researchers attribute this effect to eye closure encouraging higher level thinking—in this case, why a utilitarian item, such as a protective sun cream, is worthwhile. When another set of participants were told the basket contained, “a refreshing massage ticket, a best-selling fiction book, a DVD about world-famous mountains, champagne for your rest, and an aromatic cream,” this pleasure-oriented bundle was rated marginally more favorably by those who first kept their eyes open rather then closed.
     Other studies indicate that the reminiscing itself, whether with eyes open or closed and whether for utilitarian or hedonic items, assists persuasion. Researchers at University of Minnesota, University of Southampton, and Grenoble École de Management asked each study participant in one group, selected at random, to think about their past. The remaining study participants were asked to think about recent or future events. Then each study participant was asked how much they’d pay for a set of items which were described by the researchers. The group who’d been asked to think about their personal past came in with higher bids overall.
     In additional studies by the researchers, activating nostalgic thoughts resulted in a higher willingness to spend money to stop an annoying noise, to share rewards with others, and to otherwise loosen purse strings.

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Appeal to Nostalgia 

Lumber Through Forest or Trees 

Stimulate Consumption Visions with Ads