Selection overload is partially why customers select acquainted choices, and for this reason leveraging familiarity is usually a superpower to make your model stand out in a sea of comparable selections.
2. It modulates the way in which we understand experiences
Familiarity bias shouldn’t be solely a useful resource optimization course of but in addition an actual software that has been proven to modulate consideration, reminiscence, model preferences, donation habits, and even perceived style in the case of meals.
Let’s take an instance that hits near dwelling for me: As an Italian, my childhood afternoon snack was Nutella on bread, so at any time when I see some other chocolate unfold, I don’t even contemplate it, as all of them appear to style bizarre to me; nonetheless, my Spanish buddy Isabel grew up with Nocilla and swears by it, saying that Nutella tastes dangerous as compared.
However why does that occur? It’s as a result of familiarity may even modulate the way in which we perceptually expertise one thing, producing an affect-biased choice habits, as proven by the Wageningen College & Analysis within the Netherlands. The analysis group examined model recognition and style choice in soy sauce and concluded that if the model of the sauce was recognized and acquainted, it was reportedly appreciated extra. This style choice utilized even when individuals thought they acknowledged the acquainted model however had been incorrect. Recognition, both right or incorrect, of their very own acquainted model considerably elevated liking scores.
Whereas theories of decision-making and feelings are extra advanced and nonetheless underneath investigation, the ability of familiarity on model notion and choice has been demonstrated by a number of different research all through the previous couple of a long time (Monroe, 1976; Park & Lessig, 1981; Maria Sääksjärvi, Saeed Samiee, 2007; Ma, Wang & Da, 2021 to call just some). For instance, an iconic one by McClure and colleagues investigated the behavioral choice displayed for acquainted manufacturers by exposing individuals to a blind style check of Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola. When individuals didn’t know the model of the drink they had been tasting, the choice for one or the opposite was cut up equally within the group; nonetheless, when the drinks had been labeled, ‘model information for one of many drinks had a dramatic affect on expressed behavioral preferences and on the measured mind responses.’ In brief, each model information and cultural influences bias choice primarily based on have an effect on.
3. It makes us really feel protected
As now we have seen, the familiarity bias permits us to skim down choices and free cognitive assets to allocate to different essential duties, however what makes it so highly effective in behavioral and monetary choices is one thing extra profound – the notion of security it might probably convey.
Whereas it’s undoubtedly a resource-effective mechanism, familiarity additionally modulates how we really feel about manufacturers, particularly the perceived belief we will put in them. And it’s exactly the notion of security that may lead an off-the-cuff customer to a trusted buyer.
The familiarity heuristic has been extensively recognized in behavioral economics, with traders selecting native or home corporations as they affiliate it with much less danger. The identical appears to occur for on-line companies, too. For those who dig into the Google Search Console (GSC) queries of some international corporations, you can see that branded, location-based key phrases are bringing in loads of searches – and typically minimal click-through charges (CTRs), which is the place they may lose potential prospects who’re evaluating their affords.
