Why we’re all buying—and selling—cool
I have a horrid confession: I wore Daisy Dukes in middle school. It didn’t have to do with the TV show or Catherine Bach…honest. Rather, it represented rural New Hampshire social capital of the day: the more ragged the cutoffs, the better.
Most of us like to think we left peer pressure behind when we left middle school (or graduated from high school). But when it comes to benefits, in the marketing sense, there’s one that always comes out on top: enhanced social standing. In fact, as far as the brain is concerned, it can be as good or better than cash.
Buying involves juggling multiple considerations, price and quality being perhaps the most obvious. But fMRIs of the brain suggest that when we’re making buying decisions, the most important factor is how the product will affect our social standing. Or, as neuropsychiatrist Joshua Freedman puts it, “who you are and what you represent in the context of how others see you.” We just want to be cool, and not only as kids picking out shorts, but also as adults choosing seemingly innocuous stuff like peanut butter.
We can’t help it. It’s the work of our mirror neurons, which are central to empathy—and to many neuromarketing reactions. They explain social validation, which I blogged about last year. Mirror neurons fire when we see others do something, prompting us to do that thing too: yawn, laugh, drink Coke (when we like Pepsi better), line up for an iPad . . .
Just how powerful is social approval? It’s right up there with money. Researchers say the two activate the same reward circuitry in the brain (not surprising when you stop and think about how money is all tied up with status). We seem to weigh one against the other, and status often tips the scales.
The upshot: social status is like money in bank—for your customers and for you.
Tips for using social status in marketing:
1. As a general rule, don’t be too obvious. Show you are cool; don’t say it. The iPad is cool because Apple does cool stuff—not because Apple says that it is cool.
2. Get testimonials. Most people turn to their peers to see what is cool. Again, don’t promote it yourself. Kanye West is seen as cool because he actually makes good music—it has nothing to do with his self-absorbed antics.
3. As always, know your audience. What’s cool with one group can be an embarrassment to another.
4. Develop rituals. Customers can appreciate being part of a “club.”
5. Recognize your best customers or donors in a public way. My local independent movie theater lets big donors name a seat, for example.
6. Charge more. A higher price can cultivate a perceived benefit of social status … assuming you have a quality service or product to begin with.
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Social Standing Is Number One
Why we’re all buying—and selling—cool
Most of us like to think we left peer pressure behind when we left middle school (or graduated from high school). But when it comes to benefits, in the marketing sense, there’s one that always comes out on top: enhanced social standing. In fact, as far as the brain is concerned, it can be as good or better than cash.
Buying involves juggling multiple considerations, price and quality being perhaps the most obvious. But fMRIs of the brain suggest that when we’re making buying decisions, the most important factor is how the product will affect our social standing. Or, as neuropsychiatrist Joshua Freedman puts it, “who you are and what you represent in the context of how others see you.” We just want to be cool, and not only as kids picking out shorts, but also as adults choosing seemingly innocuous stuff like peanut butter.
We can’t help it. It’s the work of our mirror neurons, which are central to empathy—and to many neuromarketing reactions. They explain social validation, which I blogged about last year. Mirror neurons fire when we see others do something, prompting us to do that thing too: yawn, laugh, drink Coke (when we like Pepsi better), line up for an iPad . . .
Just how powerful is social approval? It’s right up there with money. Researchers say the two activate the same reward circuitry in the brain (not surprising when you stop and think about how money is all tied up with status). We seem to weigh one against the other, and status often tips the scales.
The upshot: social status is like money in bank—for your customers and for you.
Tips for using social status in marketing:
1. As a general rule, don’t be too obvious. Show you are cool; don’t say it. The iPad is cool because Apple does cool stuff—not because Apple says that it is cool.
2. Get testimonials. Most people turn to their peers to see what is cool. Again, don’t promote it yourself. Kanye West is seen as cool because he actually makes good music—it has nothing to do with his self-absorbed antics.
3. As always, know your audience. What’s cool with one group can be an embarrassment to another.
4. Develop rituals. Customers can appreciate being part of a “club.”
5. Recognize your best customers or donors in a public way. My local independent movie theater lets big donors name a seat, for example.
6. Charge more. A higher price can cultivate a perceived benefit of social status … assuming you have a quality service or product to begin with.