Hey there!
Hey. Welcome back (or welcome) to Kwerks. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s newsletter:
A behavioral science-based marketing tip, and
Some marketing wisdom. 😇
Something interesting from my swipe file.
Previous Tip: Motivating users with uncertain gifts (All tips here)
📈 Recommendation
Start demonstrating social responsibility as a brand. For example, donating a portion of the revenue to charity, or for the environment, and actually do it.
🎓 What do studies say?
Two scientists, Chernev and Blair designed an experiment to demonstrate how a company’s philanthropy causes us to develop more positive attitudes towards their products.
Participants in this study were given the same red wine in an unmarked plastic cup, along with a card providing details about the winery from which it came. All participants received the same general description of the winery, but some of them were told that the winery donates ten percent of its sales revenue to the American Heart Association, while others were given no information the winery’s prosocial behavior. Participants in this test were asked to read the description, sample the wine, then rate their enjoyment of it on a 9-point scale. They were then asked to rate how much they know about wine in general on a another 9-point scale, from “very little” to “very much”.
They found that the participants who got the description about the winery’s charitable donations rated the wine as tasting better than did those who did not receive that information. The second important finding was that this effect was driven by expertise. Specifically, participants who rated their knowledge of wine as low were more likely to have their rating of the wine be positively influenced by knowledge of the winery’s prosocial behavior than were those who rated their knowledge as high.
🧠 How it works
This works due to 2 cognitive biases that work together to create this effect.
Halo effect:
According to this effect, when our overall opinion of something or someone is positive, we will be more likely to evaluate the aspects of that thing or person positively.
We are more likely to use the halo effect to form judgments regarding the quality of products sold at a store when we are unfamiliar with that type of product.
For example, our impression of a car dealership that has made a generous donation to charity will only be affected by the information regarding its philanthropy if we do not know much about cars. However, if we are very familiar with cars, our attitude towards the cars sold at that particular dealership is unlikely to change.
Perceived motivation:
People are smart beings. So it’s not enough for a corporation to simply make a charitable donation. If we believe that a company is only engaging in socially responsible behavior in order to make themselves look good and thereby boost profits, the halo effect will not be as strong as if we believe that the socially responsible behavior was truly non-profit.
🔧 How to implement this?
Pick one social cause (instead of changing it every year) and genuinely support it with all your heart. This will show that you are consistent as a brand. For example, donate a part of your revenue to eliminate plastics in the oceans.
This tip will work primarily for non-technical products, or brand that do not have a well-informed audience. Example, Shoes. But you might receive severe backlash if not implemented properly, like in the case of Toms shoe company.
🧙🏽♂️ Kwerky marketing wisdom!
Here’s a good explanation of understanding your customers.
"People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole" - Theodore Levitt
Brands should create content that explains how they can solve a problem. Not explaining the features of your product. In this case, the customer doesn’t want to know about the dimensions of your drill bit, or what steel you used to make it. All they care about is if it can make a perfect quarter-inch hole on any surface.
When you understand that, marketing becomes easy.
From the Swipe file archives
Here’s why every marketer should know how to repurpose old content. You never know when it might create a huge impact.
Brochure of Next computers (1988)
iPhone launch event (2007)