We can use experiments like Ariely’s to truly discover how marketing affects the underlying reasons people act the way they do. Marketing provides information that amplifies someone’s anticipated and real enjoyment. If we can change the way customers expect a product to work, then we can most likely change their experience with it. Ariely provides an excellent example correlating with this thought. If a person hears of how amazing and exciting a new sports car is, are they more likely to agree with that evaluation after test driving the car - especially compared to someone who did not receive this review? Marketers strive for product endorsement in hopes that it shapes how the customer interacts with and perceives the product. Coke’s brand presence is so strong that even though customers like the taste of Pepsi better, they choose Coke because of the expectations that Coke has created around their product. I’m sure all companies wish their brand was this strong.
Ariely described several experiments he performed to discover how deep these expectations actually influence and affect our lives. He wanted to learn if previous knowledge actually modified not only our thinking, but the way something could affect brain activity. He began experimenting with different types of beer and if information provided about the beer would affect the way students at MIT perceived the beverage. His result was predictable – students without knowledge of the strange ingredient, balsamic vinegar which was added to the beer, chose the altered beverage. When students were informed about the vinegar in advance of the tasting, they chose the standard beer. What Ariely learned from this was that if you tell people something might be distasteful, they will likely agree with you. This is not because their experience with the beverage tells them this, but because their expectations tell them it will taste bad.
He took this research one step further to discover if knowledge that comes after the experience would it have the same effect as if it came before? He also wanted to learn which one (before or after) had a greater impact on the experience of the participants. He states that the implication of research is that if knowledge only informs us, then it shouldn’t matter whether the students received the information before or after tasting the beverage. He discovered that students who obtained the information after drinking the beer liked the beverage much better than those who were told before. These students liked the beer just as much as those who weren’t aware that there was vinegar in their beer at all.
Ariely briefly mentions giving great review of movies as a way to increase the enjoyment of others seeing the movie. I strongly believe that family and friend’s personal reviews of movies are more valuable than Ebert and Reoper’s evaluations. People respect the ideas and values of others around them and probably have similar views about various issues. I trust my friend’s opinions about current movies and often follow their advice if I should spend my valuable time and money on it. Also, no one likes when they hear that a movie is the funniest movies of all time because it expands their expectations of what they are about to see. Even if the movie is very funny, our expectations are so high that our experience is lacking.
This article shows the importance of customer expectations about products and brands. What I’ve learned is that marketers should attempt to create positive expectations to influence customers’ experiences.
