Brands like Five Guys succeed by focusing on one core offering. Psychological studies show that adding extra, less significant benefits can reduce a customer's belief in the primary, most important benefit. This is known as the "goal dilution effect."
Known as the "Pratfall Effect," admitting a small weakness can make a brand more human and trustworthy, thus increasing overall appeal. Guinness masterfully reframed the slowness of its pour as a testament to its quality, turning a negative into a powerful positive.
This is "present bias." In an experiment, 82% of people chose a chocolate bar for immediate consumption, but this dropped to 51% when choosing a snack for the following week. To sell healthy products, target consumers when they are planning for the future (e.g., online grocery shopping), not when they are about to eat.
Consumers use price as a proxy for quality. In one study, people rated the same wine 70% higher when they thought it cost $45 versus $5. A premium price creates an expectation of a premium experience, which can become a self-fulfilling prophecy for the user.
Consumers determine value by comparing a product to similar items. Red Bull used a tall, thin, smaller can to differentiate itself from standard, cheaper sodas. By changing the "comparison set," they broke the expected price anchor and successfully commanded a much higher price point.
An explicit purchase limit (e.g., "maximum 4 per person") acts as a powerful signal of scarcity and value. It suggests the deal is so good the store might sell out or lose money. An experiment showed that adding a purchase limit to a beer offer increased the perception of it being a good value by 57%.
Known as the "Keats Heuristic," we conflate beauty and ease of processing with truth. In an experiment, people rated rhyming aphorisms ("Woes unite foes") as 17% more believable than non-rhyming counterparts ("Woes unite enemies"), even though they contained the same information. The fluency of the rhyme makes it feel more true.
This "labor illusion" taps into our heuristic that effort equals quality. Dyson constantly highlights James Dyson's 5,127 prototypes to signal the product's superiority. Similarly, artificially slowing down a travel search site and showing the "work" being done makes the results seem more comprehensive and valuable.
Because AI can generate content in seconds, it is perceived as low-effort. This violates the "labor illusion," where effort signals quality. A study showed that when a poster was labeled "AI-powered" instead of "hand-drawn," purchase intent dropped by 61%. Brands using AI must reframe the narrative around the effort of building the system.
Named after a doctor whose life-saving hand-washing theories were rejected, the Semmelweis reflex describes the tendency to ignore new evidence that conflicts with existing paradigms. Accepting the new idea would force an admission of past error, which is psychologically difficult. This is a crucial barrier to overcome when selling new ideas internally.
A 1972 study found people remember concrete phrases ("a white horse") four times better than abstract ones ("basic truth"). Brands like Apple and Red Bull use this by translating abstract benefits (memory, energy) into visualizable concepts ("songs in your pocket," "wings") to make their messaging stick.
People are more motivated to avoid a loss than to acquire an equivalent gain, a principle known as loss aversion. In a study selling home insulation, framing the pitch as "if you don't, you'll be wasting 75 cents a day" had a 50-60% higher response rate than "you'll save 75 cents a day."