Red and Yellow Strategies
What Pops Into Your Customers’ Minds?
Availability Heuristic
It’s Wednesday, and it is time for the ‘Customer cognitive biases’ column.
If potential customers are aware of your products but prefer those of your competitors, the availability heuristic may be the reason.
The availability heuristic is “a cognitive bias that occurs when people rely on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision.”
An idea that comes to mind first seems good.
A product whose name pops into a customer’s mind seems more attractive.
People often buy branded goods not because they are better but because they look familiar.
Our brains are programmed to save precious energy, so they tag ideas or things that are easier to recall as better or more reliable.
Products more frequently mentioned in the press, social media, advertisements, or even in private conversations often seem more attractive when people see them on store shelves or online.
Want to sell? Make your product familiar to customers.
It doesn’t mean that every ad sells.
It doesn’t mean that familiarity is the key to all doors.
But never lose a chance to mention your product this way or another.
Contemplation questions:
[1] How can you make your products more familiar to your clients?
[2] What information channels could you use?
[3] How could you evaluate the ROI of such investments?
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Read also: Strategic Roots: Why Goal Trees Fall Short and Processes Matter
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