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The price communicates. Much! So much so that numerous studies support the so-called placebo effect in marketing. Without a doubt, it is a very interesting question to analyze and keep in mind when design the marketing plan of a company, service or product. This is how we do it at Uzink and this is how we want to share it with you today in our article.
The placebo effect in marketing. What does it consist of?
This terminology, applied in the world of medicine, describes the psychological relief that a person experiences after taking a non-curative substance. The patient has an expectation regarding the medicine and the brain does the rest. Something very similar happens when we talk about the price of a product or service. A recent study, published in the summer of 2017, confirms the placebo effect in marketing.
El experiment, conducted by experts from INSEAD and the University of Bonn, measured the brain activity of participants while they tasted identical wines labeled with different prices. The researchers found evidence showing that higher priced wines reported greater pleasure to customers. As with medical placebos… The consumer has an expectation and his brain is conditioned to fulfill it.
It is not a new finding. Neuroscience applied to marketing had previously measured how the external agents of a product (vision, smell, taste, sound...) predetermine our experience.
The price strategy: placebo
We should not stay only in the anecdote. The placebo effect in marketing affects all levels. Positive expectations regarding the price affect equally to a product and a service. And, of course, they are equally important. at home and in business. Therefore, this knowledge must be taken into account to know how to define the price, develop a promotional policy and, of course, maintain a coherent and competitive strategy in the market.