? As human beings, we always go for the bargain, although from an objectively austere point of view, it is not.? This paradigm is the one that reveals the decoy effect, which is also known as the asymmetric domain effect or decoy effect in English. Ever since sales psychology empirically demonstrated the existence of this cognitive phenomenon, the marketing and sales industry has been deliberately using it to their advantage. Find out below what this effect is and how it promotes the sale of products and services..
The lure effect, also known as the asymmetric domain effect , is part of the so-called cognitive biases. Like many of the interrelated phenomena within this domain, the decoy effect causes the products and the circumstances that surround it to be perceived differently from reality. This particular effect consists of using a? Distraction? (usually another product) as a driving force in influencing consumer decision-making and behavior . If the comparison between two products initially did not leave a clear winner for the consumer, adding a third item to the equation modifies the result, highlighting the supposed advantages of one of the two previous options.
The lure effect describes the direct influence that adding another alternative has on the purchase decision and consumer behavior that apparently facilitates the comparison between the first two products examined..
The term decoy , or decoy in English, is synonymous with bait or hook . These words help us get an idea of how this cognitive bias works. Introducing a third proposal, which in principle should not be purchased, significantly influences an ongoing purchase process. The lure effect is based on the fact that, as consumers, we make between 85 and 95 percent of our purchasing decisions unconsciously . These decisions can be influenced by our involuntary cognitive biases, but also by deliberate external manipulation .
American marketing professor Joel Huber and his colleagues were the first to investigate and define the lure effect in 1982. The team discovered that by introducing a third product, a "bait" product. considerably better or more expensive, they could easily get consumers to choose the desired alternative between the two initial products of different prices..
The key to making the lure work is for it to be an asymmetrically dominant product. That is, it must far outperform the products it is compared to in at least one respect. From a cognitive psychology point of view, this procedure works, among other things, because the decoy effect activates the human reward system .
There are numerous examples of the lure effect. All of them are fundamentally based on an identical and relatively simple basic principle. For the lure effect to work, it is necessary that the customer has already decided on a supplier or an online store , since this effect can only be used locally and does not work when there are several offers competing simultaneously.
Within an offer, for example a subscription, we can deliberately influence the purchase decision between the two available products with a third asymmetrically dominant bait product. Not surprisingly, the seller takes advantage of the lure effect to increase the value of the shopping cart and generate as many sales as possible.
The publishers of newspapers and magazines quite regularly bet on the lure effect, because this is a very competitive market with a dual structure inherent to its offer (print and online) that favors its use.
The choice between two wines can serve as a concrete example of the lure effect: we assume that the potential buyer finds both wines interesting. However, the customer is not sure, because product A is more expensive (from a very famous winery), but product B actually offers him something else (especially good harvest year). Since the first wine has a higher profit margin, the seller is interested in selling more of product A, although in reality Product B would be a better choice for the customer.
It is at this point that the salesperson implements the lure effect and presents a C product to the customer . This is a premium item (from a particularly good vintage year and from a renowned winery) that is even more expensive than Product A. This decoy product automatically increases the likelihood that the customer will choose Product A instead. Go for product B. In the unlikely event that he opts for product C, the seller will still benefit.
Although it may seem that the lure effect is easy to dismantle, it is actually very effective, which is mainly due to the large number of purchase decisions we make involuntarily , and not only when selling to the consumer (B2C). Seasoned business-to-business (B2B) buyers are also at the mercy of the lure effect. The effect is especially effective in sales promotion when the offer is presented to the customer in the smallest possible space. For this reason, a good time to introduce a bait product during the sales process may be when the basket is full . Depending on the products you have chosen, an algorithm, or any other function, presents the client with an asymmetrically dominant product so that they, in the final stretch, change their decision for one that generates more benefits.
In marketing, the lure effect is especially effective when combined with the anchor effect, as the anchor effect is also used to deliberately influence purchasing decisions. Both phenomena deliberately affect the perception of figures and people's ability to assess using an? Anchor? which influences intentionally in concrete figures, although that same anchor does not suppose a compelling reason, since the anchoring effect is also effective even when the figures are completely random.
The effectiveness of the lure effect can be enhanced by using other suitable effects and biases. In marketing, they are particularly useful, for example, the carry-over effect, the endowment effect and the aversion to loss. A smart combination of these effects leads to increased brand awareness and increased sales.
