Irresitablility

The passage first proved that your expectation can shape your actual experience and then went on to show how strong this influence can be.

The beer, coffee, and coke experiments proved that the expectation strongly influence the processing of the information in the brain, thus affecting the resulting judgment. A participant's body (mouth) first sensed a particular product (taste of beer, coffee, coke), brought the sensory back to brain and brain processed the information during which their expectation intervened. This intervention influenced the handling of the information taken-in, and as a result expectation put its direct imprint in judgment on whether the product was “good” or “bad”.

But that wasn’t it. Turns out, expectation does not just affect how people process sensory stimuli. It is strong and active enough to drive people into actions even when the stimuli are insignificant or absent.

Compared to experiments mentioned, the experiments involved in math test and scrambled-sentence were much more performance-focused. In these cases the expectation of participants drove them to act certain way. For example, look at participants who read the old words. After reading these words, they did not just felt old but they actually went on to act like old people and walked slowly. Important thing to realize is that when they walked slowly to home, they were not responding to any kind of outside stimuli. There were no “because” or “in-response-to” in these actions. Simply, their expectation continued to drive them to act like old people. Similarly, women who were reminded that they are Asians did not just “felt” confident when informed of the math test but actually went out to perform at high level as well.

In summary, expectation not only affects the processing of information taken in but also brings out actions in people.

And how does this relate to marketing?

Now we are finally getting to the meat of this discussion. Ok, the summary that you just read, it’s freaking important to marketing. It is so sooo freaking important. So I’m gonna say it one more time.

In summary, expectation not only affects the processing of information taken in but also brings OUT actions in people.

Just think about it. You can like a product but still not buy it. What this passage is saying is that expectation or assumption is powerful enough to stir people into action. If you translate this in a marketing terminology, strong positioning or imaging can make a product irresistible to not purchase. It is almost like the product is a strong magnet in the center and it attracts people towards it. That she could not sit home still, has to get into the car to go to the mall just for that one store where the product sits, left her young kid home alone but she swears it will only take 5 minutes, walks straight into the store once inside the mall, knows where exactly the product is within the store, picks it up, pays, holds it up next to her face and she lets…..

a bigggggggg sigh of relief at last.

This lady probably will go on stare at her newly purchased perfume or nail painter for at least next 48 hours. While she is only a persona that I created, we all have had similar experiences like her. Once, I spent sleepless nights thinking about an Express jacket. When I first saw it, I fell in love at first sight. High-class looking but also perfectly jazzy. The diamond design in black and grey was, ahh, speechless. I went back every day to look at it since it was too expensive. Then finally one day, I took out all of my courage and fortune to go buy it. I distinctively remember the moment I walked out. I held up the bag, feeling like Alexander the Great raising his sword to signal the victory.

Psychology that went through my mind prior to purchase was something like this: “Oh man, I am gonna look so good on it. I will look fly with this jacket”. Today, I do not worship this jacket like I used to. I still think it is an excellent cloth, but it has lost that “expectation” value. Before the purchase, I expected myself to look perfect with this jacket. Between today and yesterday, nothing about the jacket itself has changed: still same design, same quality, and same comfort level. But it was my expectation that made the all the difference: it is still likable jacket today, but it was irresistible jacket yesterday.

So going back to the first point I made: you can like a product a lot but still not buy it. Important lesson learned and needed to be incorporated in marketing is that quality alone cannot sell a product. As marketers, we want to help customers project and visualize the interaction between the product and them. We need not only emphasize the function and quality of the product but more importantly, the relationship between the customers and the product.

Look at hair-dye example from our class. The product sales dramatically increased in mid 1900s when advertising started to focus on the massage that women with dyed hair are beautiful AND high-class. It was not just about quality of the hair-dye. There was also a relationship; that the product was going to let these traditional women to make bold statement to the world that they are not afraid to express themselves. Similarly, I thought the jacket was going to make me like , in high school terminology, a “pimp”. Advertise so that customers will think they will have a good time with the product. If we can guide them to expect that the product is the perfect fit for their lives, then we just made a good product into a magnet product.

Oh and I want to add one more point for the sake of thoroughness. There was also a point in the passage which I thought was old cliché but nevertheless very important: that perception determines the experience. This point we heard over and over in marketing classes. “Perception is the reality”, “How you see it is how you feel it”, or “Imaging is more important than quality” etc. The lesson here is that we have to make good impressions to our customers. If they think what we offer is good, then they are more likely try to validate themselves and their minds will try to convince that their experiences with our product are positive.

I remember eating at a Chinese restaurant called Ming’s Cafe. They served my food with a paper dish. Man, I didn’t even want to tips after seeing that. I automatically assumed that this place offers a crappy Chinese food intended for non-Asians. The food, of course, did not taste good. A few months later in a party, and I was hungry, I saw huge plate full of chickens. When I put them in my mouth, the feeling was satisfactory. The dish, of course, came from Ming’s Café. Sounds familiar anyone? Perception is powerful, y’all.

My top 10 revealing traits

I am a young, fun, and sometimes dangerously attention-loving but most of times deeply humble person. Now I know that last part sounds a bit strange, but believe me it's true. These are some, but not all, of Z's core definition. A marketer with a good insight would be able reach to these aspects after correctly analyzing my hint characteristics. To help you develop into that insightful young marketer with full of bright future ahead, I will sacrifice myself and do something that will make me feel very naked. I will list 10 traits of me that can guild you to my core values. OK, I'm ready to take off.

The Sunglasses
Let's first take a look at the sunglasses that I am wearing in my facebook profile picture. (http://www.facebook.com/RikQQQQ?ref=profile) It is aviator sunglasses that are popular these days. But what's special about this item is that it has a bright white frame that instantly catches people's eye. The style of the glasses can lead you to think that first, I am fashion-conscious. It also says that I want to be different from the group since they are unlike other aviators. And finally the striking appearance of sunglasses tell that I like the attention.

The Picture
Also the picture itself is self-revealing. I am holding a protest sign and the description of picture reads “Protested Iranian election for no passionate reason. Call me Riqqim” (my nickname is Rik QQ) This picture is the first thing that people will notice when they visit my website. In other words, this is how I want to introduce myself to my internet friends, suggesting what kind of person I am. Nothing offensive to my Iranian friends but I went protest out of utter curiosity. And I was the only one smiling in a very angry crowd. I stood out because I didn’t quiet look like Iranian, nor American in their sense.

Family
I am not gonna lie, I love to hang out with my mom. My dad is also a cool guy and we have four dogs in my family as well. These days when I go home for the weekend, I would stay at home all the time. It is not because my friends and I are not cool anymore. I just like my home more than ever now. So yeah, I go to mall with my mom all the time. Feel like it's back in the middle school.
My Odyssey
Bought in 2001 when our family migrated to America , I now drive this dark green van. Segmentation-wise, this will confuse marketers because they can’t put me into a young group who likes sports cars or fancy performance items, even though I am sensitive to the trends. Anyway, what's visually striking about this car is that the left side is extremely dented from a pig that basically ran into it and tackled my car as if he was in football field. Also, if you examine closer, it is composed of different greens, predominantly dark one mixed with oddly lighter one, because we used wrong green to paint the scratches from pig-attack. The final blow came in when the sound system broke down a few years ago. And I drove this car to go celebrate 3 year anniversary with my girlfriend.

Bo 'Ai Elementary
The school was built by an American in heart of mountain villages that is out of nowhere in China. I went there twice already to teach English. Condition-wise, it was terrible, especially for those girls who didn’t prepare for their periods and growing armpits. But I loved the every single seconds of the no-shower, no-meat, not-so-great-sleeping life I spent there. This is where I actually recevied oppotunity to experience how rewarding it could be to pass on something to other people. I am now organizing group to go back next summer.

EU
That is my goal. Bo Ai' was what stirred my passion of serving others and this is where I hope to be one day. It sounds strange for a marketing major, but I want to help people in third world country one day as a doctor. I always tell my friends that when I am too old and can’t work anymore, I will come back to U.S. , sit in the office and collect my $$$.

Homeless
That is what’s happening to me right now. Homeless with my cousin, sleeping at friends’ place. I get horrible sleep at nights and pray everyday that school doesn’t get any busier. Now why I go through this? It is because the good deals are opening up since the school started. People would normally pay $700 or so for their own rooms but now you can rent the entire apartment for that amount. So yes, I like good deals, and I can tolerate a lot for it. And, I would not tell this to my cousin because he would kill me, even though the living is a bit terrible, it is also an exciting experience to move around and live with different friends every 4 days.


Free samples
I am the kind of person who appreciates a good free sample. Not just a wimpy sample that lets you try only a whiff or a crumb of the goods but one that really lets you experience it. It is just so much fan trying different things at store like HEB. I do try to avoid the crowd and go during late night since it does not look very good to some people. I feel like it makes me more confident when buying something because I have tried it and know I will like it. Free trials, samples, and demos usually turn me into a loyal customer. My favorite free sample is honey-roasted peanut butter.

Shopping
I love shopping. I don’t think this makes me feminine or anything, I just happen to care about how I look and have great confidence in my style. I don’t understand how most guys I know are content to wear the same generic t-shirts and jeans everyday. I can relate more to the cultures in Asia or Europe where girls and guys are encouraged to be expressive with their fashion. To me, style is reflective of my identity and personality. When I shop, I always look for things that are unique. If everybody wears it, or it can be bought in any store, I usually reject it. It has to have a special design, interesting color, or some other quality that catches my eye.

Diet
I also love eating. However, I have to be careful when indulging because I have a family history of diabetes. This means I stay away from foods high in fat, sugar, sodium, and cholesterol. I also favor natural or organic foods, foods high in fiber, and lots of fruits and vegetables. The habit of eating healthy I developed has become almost obsessive these days because I look at nutritious values of everything that I put in my body and don’t touch anything that’s unhealthy. Believe me though, that this is actually a very good obsession. One thing everyone has noticed is that I eat grape fruit all the time.




So let’s take a look at my personal behaviors. I like things that are in 2 opposite spectrum of “trendiness”. At the one end, I like something that is not just trendy but also very unique even among the popular trend. On the other hand, I drive a van that can earn me prom king only if I drove it in 1950s and like to hang out with my mom. I think this tells that I like to be unique in my own and hate to be categorized into a group. To segmentate me would be a difficult task because I hate to be put into a group. Instead just I prefer the randomness of life so the best bet to appeal to me is to produce bunch of very unique items or ideas. Also I care for lives of others so if you are with organization with good cause, you will strongly attract me. On the other hand, I would never join a military to kill other people. Finally I just want to say that all I did in the blog was talk about me, me, me which made me feel like I am a rich stuck-up girl.