Exacting revenue

2 minute read

How often have we seen a billboard or a print campaign advertising about a new product and its features and wondered “Wow that’s an awfully precise product feature”. Be it the 54,698 open-close tests performed on a flip phone or the 9.58 inch retina display on your new tablet. The question is, do these precise numbers communicating product features have any impact on the buying process and the willingness to buy?

Some researchers tried to put this common tactic to the test in some experiments performed on a group of people divided into 2 groups. They tried to ascertain a couple of facts:

1.      Whether precise numbers related to product features have any impact on the buying process

2.      Is the result different when the product attribute being communicated is something new compared to a regular/familiar product feature

The researchers designed the experiment to test situations where a familiar product feature was tested with precise and round numbers and then they tested a new/un-familiar feature with a precise and round number.

The product they tested was a smart phone camera extension gimbal with video stabilizing capabilities (Think of a Selfie stick on steroids). The familiar feature tested was battery life (9.6 hours vs. 10 hours) while the unfamiliar feature tested was rotation ranges of the gimbal Precise - Pan: 316°/Tilt: 238°/Roll: 238° Round - Pan: 320°/Tilt: 240°/Roll: 240°.

The results of the experiment indicated a very strong correlation between precise numbers on unfamiliar features like the rotation range and willingness to purchase while finding very little correlation between precise numbers on a familiar feature like battery life and willingness to purchase.

So the next time you are sitting with your R&D and product division debating the marketing and communication plan for the awesome new product about to be launched try applying this framework while designing the copy to maximize consumer uptake.

Original research by Hanyong Park and JaeHwan Kwon

https://myscp.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcpy.1234