Customers can be听鈥naive, fickle, or simply ignorant. Their choices are heavily biased towards outward appearances.听Why do subtle differences cause so much chaos in your sales?听Are appearances so important? Should you treat your听products like placebos, and invest heavily in pleasing your customers鈥 whimsical palate?
Short answer? No, and yes. Confused? Well, placebos can boost sales for a great product, but can cause irreparable damage if used听鈥poorly or unethically.
Living with Placebos
The medical community has long since known the power of placebos. While comparing the effect of a painkilling drug with that of a placebo on migraine sufferers, researchers听discovered听that the placebo听鈥渁ccounted for more than 50% for the drug effect鈥. From a marketing perspective,听experiments show that people found the same wine听when it was priced higher.
Your expectations from a product influences its performance.听These expectations can be shaped by anything, from the product description to the color of its logo. For example,听movie makers, people who thrive on creativity, use听听for similarly themed movies. This would give their audience a subtle nudge on what to expect.
So, when marketers tell you that they are working on their product鈥檚 鈥楤rand image鈥, they mean that they are trying to weave an interesting story for their product. This brand image acts like a placebo and carries a lot of value for the customer. This is specially relevant in the modern age where the products we use are viewed as reflections of our personality.
Give it a personality
Try to think of a personality for your brand听while building a placebo. This personality must match the aspirations of your target audience. For example, Levi鈥檚 has built an image of being a brand for the youth. It has taken care in ensuring that their website, advertisements, and shops reflect that idea. This has resulted in their customers being the youth and those aspiring to be youthful. Your product鈥檚 logo, design, and even its website should remind your audience of its personality.听For example, you could use 最新博彩网站 Sites鈥 ability to听customize听favicon, banners, footers and slide shows much more extensively. These would serve to subtly create a brand image.
While it can be a powerful way to attract customers, this 鈥楶lacebo effect鈥 has its limitations too; working best when outcomes are subjective.
Does Coke taste better than Pepsi? Do these glasses make me look cooler? Does this perfume smell better?
When outcomes can be measured objectively, like the speed of a car, it becomes harder to sell the idea. Jaguar has realized this, molding听their image to highlight style and their British lineage, rather than the speed or听reliability听of their car. While creating expectations around your product, remember that these need to be delivered. In the Jaguar example, they created an expectation for luxury, and style which reflects its deep cultural lineage. If they end up delivering a shoddy pick-up truck, the brand would lose its credibility. You cannot pass vinegar off as an expensive wine!
In conclusion, the success of a placebo depends on the product. A placebo without a great product behind it will fade into oblivion. However, if you have a remarkable product, a placebo can lead to your customers appreciating it more,听benefiting听everyone involved.
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