Do We Care What Others Get? A Behaviorist Approach to Targeted Promotions. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), Aug2002, Vol. 39 Issue 3, p277, 15p, 6 charts, 3 graphs; (AN 6989133).
Do What Others Get Have an Affect on the Way Consumers Buy? How This Affects a Company's Approach to Targeted Promotion.
Series of experimental testing by marketing experts suggests that consumer's preferences for a firm were affected strongly by an overall set of prices they offered not only to them, but, other groups of potential purchasers as well. This was found to be largely caused by a betrayal effect that strikes the consumer when a firm offers promotions to switchers as opposed to their loyalty to the company. They found that consumers also prefer their favored firm less if another firm offers promotion or price decreases to their loyal customers causing what is called a jealousy effect. These findings strongly suggest that consumers focus on not only the prices that they are getting but on what someone else is getting as well. These effects can ultimately cause a consumer to feel betrayed by the company they have chosen. These consumers are classified in a group called "Aware Customers". These groups of customers have been ruled out as only a small percentage of the market and the rest are really not aware of what the guy next door is getting. However, it was found that even a small number of aware customers finding out about other's deals could affect a firm's best strategy toward their marketing.
Aware customers are becoming more important to a company's business because their numbers are growing and they have more affect on other customers by word of mouth. More companies are switching their promotional strategy to a more long-term approach. Companies are discovering that marketing to any one given group of customers, for example, "switchers" as opposed to "loyals" does not coincide with most desirable long-term effects of their marketing.
