Are we manipulable?

Are we manipulable?

by Günter Faltin (excerpt from "David versus Goliath" )

The categorical answer: “No, absolutely not. We cannot be manipulated.” It must not be. Our ability to criticize, our self-esteem are at stake. We are rational beings, living the spirit of enlightenment. It goes without saying that we are occasionally exposed to attempts at manipulation. That we might also be defeated one day. Even the most pious of pilgrims commit small sins. But all in all we are rational, reason-led subjects following our own interests.

The test: how we taste quality [1]

There are three types of wine to choose from: simple, medium and high quality. The test participants are asked to give their opinion on the three varieties. What makes the test special: Not only is the test subject's verbal judgment queried, but the taste centers in the brain are also scanned. You want to prevent the participants from saying something that is not in line with their sense of taste. You want to measure their actual feelings, not just their verbal expressions.

The result is as expected. The test persons recognize the differences in quality between the types of wine. As the price increases, so does the quality. Not only in the opinions expressed by the subjects; the relevant brain centers also report back that the more expensive wines actually taste better.

This wouldn't be anything special if it weren't for one small thing: in the test, it's the same wine three times!

So it's the pricing information that causes test-takers to taste differences. What's more, the corresponding centers in the brain also report the differences in quality. The people concerned actually experience that they like the wine with the higher price better.

What a research result! With a resounding consequence for practice. As an entrepreneur, I have to raise prices. Because this increases the value of my product in the eyes of the customer. Obvious, isn't it?

And quite different from what economics students read in textbooks: that the quality and price of a product are the deciding factors. Experienced marketing people have known for a long time what is being demonstrated here in the scientific test. A high price signals high quality to the buyer, while a low price fuels the suspicion that cheap goods are being sold. In the back room of our brain it says: Caution! – cheap can also mean particularly inexpensive. However, the prevailing pattern of interpretation is: expensive means good, cheap, on the other hand, indicates low quality.

Psychology is more important than product quality. The more I can make customers believe that my product is of high quality, the better for me. As an entrepreneur, I have to spend my money on image and branding and drum it up vigorously. It is therefore a serious mistake to invest a lot in product quality and only a little in marketing.

The test shows: we can be manipulated and easily cheated. And it's completely legal.

Now we understand why so much is invested in marketing, why the creative people, why the scientists are in demand. It's a lot of money. Raising prices and investing in branding – that's the ideal business model. A perfect system. Now we understand why marketing has become so important and is still growing in importance.

water in the wine

A tester, I thought, was someone who selects the best possible quality, who uses their expertise and experience to ensure a really good product - without tricks, cunning, deceit. This is also what the texts that we read on the product packaging say. "This product was selected for you from the best raw materials by our experienced testers after careful examination."
The tester as a guarantee of quality, expertise and authenticity. That's what I thought. You probably think so too.

How naive we are.

Ever heard of the "quality edge"?
Using wine as an example: If I dilute wine with a little water, nobody will notice. As I add more water, there comes a point when you realize something is wrong with the wine. It is called the edge of quality. A good tester is someone who can taste this edge exactly. [2]

In other words, the quality does not decrease linearly, but abruptly from a certain point on. At least that's how our sense of taste reacts. Objectively, the quality naturally decreases from the first drop of water, but subjectively we react differently. [3]

The fine art of product poetry does the rest. The shopper is presented with the image of a high quality product, painted with beautiful words, beautiful images and sophistication. Advertising poetry as if written by Rilke himself. And unfortunately such misleading advertising statements and labels are quite legal and therefore the rule rather than the exception in the supermarket. [4]

Christian Kreiss, Professor of Economics at Aalen University, says: “With modern advertising, lies have become commonplace. It can't be good when children grow up in a world where lying is the norm." [5]

Climb to the lower floor

If there is no shortage on the surface, marketing must dig deeper – in the subconscious. Fragrances are pure emotion. Especially if they come from a situation that was experienced very intensively and positively. If you smell the same scent again later, it puts you in a positive mood. [6] "Fragrances work in the subconscious, because the chemical signals are transformed by the sensory cells and transmitted directly to the brain," says Klemens Störtkuhl, fragrance researcher at the Ruhr University in Bochum.

Scent marketing agencies use this trick unabashedly. "It works really well just below the threshold of perception," reveals Jens Reißmann, Managing Director of the Reima AirConcept fragrance agency in Zwickau. According to Alan Hirsch, medical director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, you can earn up to 45 percent more money with scented slot machines. [7]

Experts speak of »corporate scent« or »air design«. A job with a future – become an air designer. Manipulate with scents.
*
Let us have no illusions. Manipulation is the order of the day. Manipulations with the intention of selling more. Not because sales managers are bad people, but because manipulation works and leads to more sales. We are more manipulable than we think, and we are manipulated more often than we realize. If we look at these connections, it becomes understandable why Ford and Duttweiler did not become role models for generations of entrepreneurs. Marketing and manipulation are the easier way to win.

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At the Entrepreneurship Summit 2020  - from October 9th to 11th in digital form for the first time - our experts will show how to lead your startup to success without manipulating your customers and consumers with unnecessary marketing. Together we unmask unnecessary marketing costs, marketing lies and illustrate which paths we can and must take together to create better, fairer and more sustainable products and services. #WeCanEconomicsBetter

 

[1] A study with 578 participants, conducted by psychologists from the British University in Hertfordshire (cf. https://www.welt.de/wissenschaft/article13184570/Wer-teuren-Wein-kauft-betriebt-Selbstbetrug.html).

[2] He will then also set a safety distance so that you don't accidentally slip over the edge during production

[3] It's just the beginning. The beginning of a process of continuous product deterioration. At the end of this process are products such as analogue cheese, tomatoes that taste like water that has been made sliceable, pressed ham that nobody knows what's in it, or types of bread in which only experts can follow the development of the enzymes with which the "bread" is made. will be produced. Almost nothing is real, authentic anymore.

[4] According to Lena Blanken from the organization Foodwatch, in: Kröger, Michael: If only the fat comes from the chicken. In: Spiegel Online, September 2, 2014 (accessed June 6, 2018)

[5] Kreiss, Christian: Advertising no thanks, Europa Verlag, Munich 2016

[6] from: Bittner, Uta; Koch, Brigitte: "Fragrances in retail: Buy with your nose". In: FAZ of May 7, 2012

[7] Ibid