Why We Buy Useless Stuff: The (Pseudo) Science of Marketing
“The Miracle Pill: Want to LOSE 30 Pounds in Just a Week?”
“A Game-Changer Idea: Make $1000 a Day with NO University Degree and NO Skills”
Ring a bell? When it sounds too good to be true, well, it is. We have been bombarded with this nonsense from time immemorial, from newspapers to billboards, from TV channels to OTT platforms, and from our favorite blogs to social media. No platform has been spared. No stone has been left unturned.
Companies use a range of tactics to fool us into buying products. They even spend billions of dollars on advertising every year to do so. In spite of our best efforts to avoid being tricked, many of us still click on the ‘Buy Now’ button and throw money at them for nothing in return.
Read ahead to discover how we are gullible and how companies play on our vulnerability to get filthy rich.
Human Emotions and Gullibility
The whole concept of marketing is based on taking advantage of human emotions. There are thousands of books and blogs that have been written on the ‘art’ of marketing that describe ways in which marketers can appeal to the emotional side of our brains to get to us. They often tend to target our desires, fears, sufferings, and insecurities.
Research has proved that our emotions can make us more prone to marketing strategies. A study found that people feeling sad were more likely to make spontaneous purchases than people with neutral feelings. Another study demonstrated that anxious people were more vulnerable to buying products that promised to reduce their anxiety, even if they had no data to support their claims.
The next time you are feeling lonely, sad, or anxious, try to avoid going on a buying spree. Take a deep breath and say no to temptation. You will thank me later.
Foolproof Marketing Strategies
Marketing strategies are foolproof in the sense that there is proof that fools exist. And the best proof is how millions of people are fooled every day into buying things that they don’t even need.
Let’s have a look at some of the major tactics used by marketing gonzos.
Tactic # 1: Use of Buzzwords
In the examples of taglines at the beginning of this article, you might have noticed the words, ‘miracle’ and ‘game-changer’. Marketers use such meaningless words or phrases that sound extraordinary but don’t actually mean anything.
Such words, also known as buzzwords, are included to create an illusion of superiority and to make the product seem more attractive than it is. The problem with buzzwords is that they are mostly meaningless and do not add any value to the product. The overuse of these words makes them lose their impact over time. Some other examples of phrases with buzzwords include “groundbreaking discovery”, “revolutionary product”, and “cutting-edge technology”.
The use of such words also influences the brand value of the firm negatively, making it harder to sell their products or services, since it leads to questions on their credibility and transparency.
Here are a few examples of misleading or meaningless taglines used by companies that were penalized by the FTC and had to pay millions of dollars in compensation:
- L’Oreal used the phrase “Clinically Proven” without any scientific research. (2014)
- Red Bull has been using the tagline “Red Bull gives you wings” for decades only to get sued in 2014 for its false claims and had to make an out-of-court settlement.
- In 2010, Kellogg misadvertised its Rice Krispies as having “Immune-Boosting Properties” only to have the FTC order it to take off air all its advertisements that made any false claims. It also had to incur a loss of $5 million in compensation to customers.
Tactic # 2: Use of False Sense of Urgency and Fake Scarcity
In their calls to action, advertisers often use phrases or counters that create a false sense of urgency making the customer buy the product right away without thinking twice. They also use terms or fake statistics that indicate that the product is scarce and that it will be only available for a limited time which is often not the case.
Phrases like “Limited Time Offer”, “Only Till Stocks Last”, “Last 2 Days”, and “Few Seats Available” are commonplace in such advertisements.
Marketers use these strategies without a second thought. There are numerous articles and tutorials online on how to use fake scarcity as a marketing tactic without any ethical considerations.
Tactic # 3: Use of Social Proof
Another strategy of marketing is to use fake reviews and made-up testimonials from fictional users to convince us that the product is very popular.
Additionally, companies are known to spend millions on celebrity endorsements to reach a wider audience to sell their products, and in such cases, it is highly unlikely that the celebrities use the product themselves.
Another trend has skyrocketed since the past decade where companies sponsor influencers on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to popularize their products, a strategy that has given rise to a booming influencer economy and wealth inequality in society.
The influencers go to vast lengths to make themselves visible and ‘influence’ their followers. Several influencers use any means necessary to get more ‘followers’, ‘views’, and ‘likes’ on social media. Over the past few years, influencers have used the practice of click-baiting (a marketing practice of using sensationalized and misleading headlines to get more engagement), advertised inferior products and harmful drugs, endorsed events that never took place, and have been involved in multi-million dollar scams.
Tactic # 4: Use of Fine Print
One more strategy used by advertisers to evade the consequences of ambiguous offers is to use fine print (small letters) for displaying terms and conditions and other not-too-appealing information about the product or service. The huge letters used to appeal to the customers often deceive them by making them assume that the offer is more beneficial than it already is until they read the fine print, which they do not in most cases.
As per Wikipedia, “Fine print is controversial because of its deceptive nature. Its purpose is to make the consumer believe that the offer is really great. Though the real truth about the offer is technically available to the consumer in the smaller print of the advertisement — thus virtually ensuring plausible deniability from claims of fraud — it is often designed to be overlooked.”
Why We Fall Prey to such Tactics
One of the main reasons we are fooled by these tactics is that we often don’t realize we are being fooled. Advertisements are designed to be credible-looking, and they often use subtle and subliminal cues to influence our judgment. We are also prone to trusting the advertisers believing that they have our best interests at heart.
Moreover, we are so used to looking at screens all day long and bombarded with advertisements everywhere that we are not able to filter out the fake ads from the real ones. This is a form of cognitive bias that occurs due to our nonstop interactions with screens and content.
It is often that we make instant decisions based on our emotional makeup at the time and superficial information, such as an attractive tagline or appealing images, instead of reading more and researching the product in a rational way.
How to Spot and Avoid Marketing Scams
The best way to separate an authentic story from a fake one is to be aware of unethical practices used by advertisers. Look out for buzzwords, fake scarcity, and social proof, and take the time to research a product before buying it. Be wary of advertisements that make unrealistic promises or use fear or shame to sell their products.
Full Fact is a non-profit organization that actively keeps a tab on false information and provides valuable advice on how to spot any fake information online. Here is what they say, in a nutshell:
- Check URLs for misspellings.
- Read more than just the headline.
- Check the credibility of the facts provided.
- It is very easy to fake videos, audio, and images these days.
- Be aware of the overuse of buzzwords and emotional words, and statistics that are too good to be true.
Consumerist Behavior
Consumerist behavior has taken all of us captive in a way that we have become blind to reality and made us puppets in the hands of corporations. We are enticed to buy more and more, often at the expense of our financial well-being and the environment. The constant pursuit of new and better products creates a culture of unnecessary wastage, leading to environmental degradation and contributing to climate change.
It does not matter how rich we are or how many possessions we have, but rather who we are. Even research has shown that people who prioritize materialistic values, such as acquiring material possessions and consumerism, tend to have lower levels of happiness and satisfaction.
As said by Cheng Yen, one of the most influential Buddhist nuns in Taiwan and the founder of Tzu Chi, a humanitarian organization, “Happiness does not come from having much, but from being attached to little.”
Final Words
The main motto of several businesses is to maximize profits at the expense of society. They go to great lengths to achieve their motto and use any means necessary such as selling substandard products, lying to their customers, proliferating wrong information, making false claims in advertisements, and appealing to their users on an emotional level.
We often give way to our desire for accumulating possessions and fall prey to marketing gimmicks. We must be conscious of our spending and be aware of false advertising strategies so that we don’t get deceived by them and lose money in the process.
Remember what John Kenneth Galbraith said about advertising in one of his books, “Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless.”
References
- Bauer, M. A., & Wilkie, J. E. “Behavioral influences on consumer satisfaction with hedonic experiences”. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15(3), 256–266.
- Belk, R. W. “Extended self in a digital world”. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(3), 477–500.
- Kasser, T., & Sheldon, K. M. “What makes for a merry Christmas?” Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(4), 313–329.
End Note
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