The Effect of Expectations

The Effect of Expectations

The main example that Ariely uses to illustrate his point is the beer example. In the experiment three different scenarios were presented. In the first scenario the college students were given the choice between MIT Brew and Budweiser without receiving prior information of the balsamic vinegar additive in the MIT Brew. In this case, the MIT Brew won over Budweiser. In the second scenario the students were again given the choice between MIT Brew and Budweiser but were informed of the vinegar prior to choosing which beer they wanted. In this case, Budweiser won. In the third case the students were given the choice between MIT Brew and Budweiser but were informed of the vinegar additive after tasting both beers. In this case, MIT Brew won. This scenario demonstrates that preconceived notions/incoming information can significantly impact consumer behavior.

Consumer’s premature judgments can create self fulfilling prophecies. If a customer perceives your product or brand in a negative light it can have a negative impact on their experience. For example, if a customer has a negative perception of your product and subsequently trials the product, the likelihood of satisfaction will be lower and likelihood of repurchase or recommendation is also low. On the same token, we have the influence of positive associations – in cases where a product or brand can build on existing positive associations in the consumer’s mind, they are essentially building their brand equity at little to no cost. Due to the fact that the customer will associate the brand/product with existing schemas, the brand doesn’t need to work as hard to become a part of the consideration set of the consumer; subsequently building brand loyalty is easier.

In order to combat the effect of negative perceptions, prudent marketers should positively prime subjects in order to create a better perception on the brand or product. By priming the customer with positive associations and reinforcements, the marketer can increase the likelihood that a customer will purchase or repurchase a product.

To extrapolate this theory, we can consider two books with identical content.

Case 1: Book with positive endorsements from a celebrity author providing praise in support of the book

Case 2: Book with no endorsements from a celebrity author

In such a case, the likelihood of a customer to purchase a book in Case 1 would be higher than the likelihood of someone to purchase a book in Case 2.

Personally relating to the theoretical scenario, I recently purchased the book “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold. On the front cover of the novel, there is a quote from Time magazine which says

“A triumphant novel…it’s a knockout”

This influenced my decision to purchase the novel as I maintain a set of perceptions about Time magazine as credible, knowledgeable, and an expert in publishing. It appears that the publishers of “The Lovely Bones” built on the positive associations I have with Time magazine to influence my purchase decision.