Category Agencies
Automatic Triggers, Fixed Action Patterns and Odd Number Pricing. Turning Browsers into Buyers.
By Tom Polanski
Recently, I came across some information about pricing. Researchers at Cornell University believe you’re better off pricing your products with an odd number than with an even number (for example, $39.71 vs. $40.00).
The researchers found that odd numbers cause buyers momentary confusion. Confused, people fall back on associations. And people associate odd numbers with discounts. Hence, odd numbers in a listed price equal a discount.
The Cornell report caused me to think about automatic triggers. This is a term I first came across in an enlightening book written by Robert Cialdini, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”. A must read for all marketers. The premise is that we’re all inundated with too much information, that we suffer, to different degrees, from a form of cultural ADD and that we fall back on automatic responses.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Agencies, Growing a Business, Home Based Business, Marketing, Small Business on June 13th, 2008
Does Search Need a New Business Model?
David Berkowitz wrote:
ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni suggested as much in his opening day keynote at MediaPost’s Search Insider Summit this week. He stressed that marketers are realizing so much more value from search than they’re paying for, and that means there’s money being left on the table. Here’s some of his analysis as to why (read more stats in my blog’s coverage of the session):
• One-third of ad dollars are focused on brand building, which is the reverse of traditional media, so we need to figure out how to use search and display to increase branding value.
• There are three components of how search drives buying: direct online effects (16%), latent online effects (21%), and latent offline effects (63%), so 84% of the value isn’t being monetized by search engines, and marketers aren’t generally measuring it.
• Enquiro did a study that showed a 16% brand lift when a brand was advertised in the top sponsored and organic results, so even without a click, there was value.
• ComScore’s data shows that only about 5% of Google’s paid links result in a click; the other 95% of ads are really “unpaid links,” yet they deliver value to advertisers.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Agencies on May 21st, 2008
The Importance of the Customer-Centric Model in A Down Economy
By Tom Polanski
I’m happy to report that eBrand Media clients and partners continue to realize significant revenue increases in 2008 despite downbeat messages about “economic challenges facing consumer’s as a result of higher gas prices, lower home values and a jittery stock market.” In my opinion, a tighter economy will potentially create greater profitability for online retailers as more people look to the web for savings and convenience. These consumers will augment those who already use the internet as their first choice for commerce.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Agencies, Customer Centric, Relationship Marketing on March 27th, 2008