Danger Zone: Being the Best?

 

Researchers at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University released a study last week involving modern marketing campaigns and the use of ad maximization.  Research shows that customers influenced by maximizing techniques (example: “this product is the best in the market”) are more likely to be disappointed in said product if/when they discover it was not actually the best option.

 

The premise sounds simple—but how often do use terms like, “the greatest,” or “the healthiest” in colloquial speech?  If you’re anything like the average Joe, the answer is pretty often.  But what are the effects?

 

The study, conducted by Jingjing Ma and Northwestern Professor of Marketing Neil J. Roese, shows that it could be worse than you think.  Ma and Roese found that customers in a maximizing mindset search an array of options to find what appears to be the most ideal outcome.  However, these users are significantly more likely to feel regret or disappointment if they learn they did not choose the best item, thereby switching products or brands entirely. 

 

The result is quite counter-intuitive.  Users who are most susceptible to ad maximizations are also the most likely to feel a negative affect about their decisions.  From a marketer’s standpoint, it’s a lose-lose situation.  So, what to do?

 

 Ma and Roese suggest keeping campaigns with an experience threshold.  In other words, rather than advertising a product as the best of the best, advertise it as a brand that changes peoples’ lives in tangible ways or feature testimonials from consumers with positive experiences from the product. 

 

The Axiom Insights Takeaway:

 

With the burgeoning social sphere, the value of real-time encounters is more important than ever, and marketing campaigns have to cater to how a product makes a person feel, rather than how the company feels about their product.