Consumer Psychology, Competition in Marketing
Having a competitive spirit is second nature to consumers. It can fuel behavior and drive them to act. Competition is also a psychological element that offers value to brands.
To help dissect the thoughts of brain science experts on competition, we’ve taken quotes shared in Quikly blogs and broken down why they matter and what you should take away from this information.
1. “The key [benefit] is that you get people emotionally invested. It’s one thing to get impressions on eyeballs — I’ve seen your ad 700 times, but if it isn’t visceral, if it isn’t emotional, it’s not likely memorable.” - Joseph Michelli , Ph.D., licensed psychologist
Consumers don’t put their emotions to the side when it’s time to shop with a brand. If anything, it’s their feelings toward a product, service or campaign that helps them decide if moving forward is the right choice. Competition leverages emotion by immersing consumers in campaigns and highlighting their desires to reach a goal, feel special and focus on something positive.
Michelli explained that competition doesn’t have to include big rewards that intimidate consumers. You can offer rewards that are beneficial to your customers (double points, a free product, early access) without costing them anything. It’s a chance to engage consumers in something fun and memorable that they’ll be interested in again and again.
2. “The push is always to get the early adopters to try out the product or service. They get a lot of social capital out of being experts.” - Dante Pirouz, consumer psychologist
It’s one thing to get a compliment after doing something good, and it’s another to be the first person getting the compliment.
Feeling smart and being responsible for a positive outcome is a major selling point for consumers learning about a new product or service. Their ability to impress others and gain benefits from connecting with a valued brand gets them tons of cool points — or social capital — with their peers.
According to Pirouz, brand advocates and new customers alike enjoy the thought of getting ahead of the crowd and being the first to discover something others will deem interesting. It can even encourage customers who may be hesitant to try a new product.
Consumers are naturally competitive, and when that quality is nurtured by brands, campaigns increase in memorability and value. Refer back to these expert quotes when considering adding elements of competition to your campaigns.
