How power influences what customers want
Sometimes your customers feel in control, powerful, and sometimes they don’t.
What if I told you that sense of power shapes what they want and buy?
Power and marketing are intertwined.
Use these findings to your advantage to craft campaigns & products.
1/ What is power?
Power is asymmetric control over valued resources in social relations, with a low-power party dependent on a high-power party.
Power is relative and fluctuates.
For example, you can be the boss at work but feel powerless dealing with a teenager at home.
2/ Power states can be activated by advertising
Power is not just social, it’s cognitive.
You can prime people into a state of power.
And you can do that just by asking them to recall a moment they had or lacked power.
3/ Power & action
A high-powered state is proven to increase the likelihood of taking action and taking risks.
There is an illusory sense of control that comes with high-powered states.
Think about this when you're crafting a CTA!
4/ Thinking of others
A high-power state leads individuals to be more self-oriented and less likely to take the perspective of others.
In a famous experiment, participants are asked to draw an E on their forehead.
High-powered participants were more likely to draw it as below.
5/ Power & abstraction
High-powered individuals tend to represent ideas and events in a more abstract way.
Low-powered individuals tend to focus on concrete details in their environment.
In the aftermath of 9/11, a study found that government officials tended to describe the events in more abstract terms than volunteers and victims.
6/ Power & physiology
High-power states have an impact on physiology as well.
It has been proven to induce a higher level of testosterone and a lower level of cortisol.
7/ Spending on self vs. others
A high-powered state is correlated with buying more for yourself than for others.
In this experiment, high and low-powered individuals are asked to purchase chocolates.
In one case they purchase for themselves and in another for others.
8/ The value of what you own
Higher-power individuals tend to put more value on what they own.
Here are the results of a famous experiment gifting a pen to participants and asking them how much they think it’s worth.
9/ Acquiring and displaying status
There are objects that indicate one’s place in the social hierarchy to others.
Low-powered individuals are willing to pay more for such objects, especially if those objects can be consumed publicly.
10/ Power and size distortion
Power states influence how large we see objects.
In an experiment, participants were asked to draw a set of poker chips of $1, $10, and $100.
All poker chips were of identical size, but low-powered individuals drew larger chips for higher value chips.
11/ Preference for performance vs. status
Ìn a high-powered state you tend to focus on object quality and performance rather than status.
In an experiment, participants are asked to generate slogans for a BMW ad.
Thanks for reading!
Badis
If you enjoyed this piece you should join my newsletter for a marketing case study like this 2x a month in your inbox.
All references in this article can be found here.
