Want someone to buy that product? Tell them it’s all wrong for other consumers
A new study from FIU Business finds that if you want to persuade target customers to buy a product, telling other consumers the product is not for them is the way to go.
Contrary to conventional marketing wisdom, the research, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, shows that what the researchers call “dissuasive framing” – messages that highlight who a product is not for – can outperform traditional persuasive messaging when aiming to connect with a defined audience.
The study challenges a foundational belief in marketing: that persuasive messages aimed directly at target customers are the most effective.
Jaclyn Tanenbaum, associate teaching professor of marketing and logistics at FIU Business, collaborated with Karen Anne Wallach of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Sean Blair of Georgetown University on the study. The researchers found that, across a broad set of experiments, the opposite is true. In a series of eight experiments involving products ranging from coffee and salsa to mattresses and toothbrushes, they discovered that dissuasive framing can be more persuasive to those who are in the target group or market.
For example, consider two versions of an ad for dark roast coffee. One reads, “If you like dark roast coffee, this is the coffee for you.” The other says, “If you don’t like dark roast coffee, this is not the coffee for you.” Most marketing professionals surveyed said the first version would be more effective. But the second one performed better among consumers who prefer dark coffee.
“What makes this research so interesting is both messages are essentially saying the same thing,” Tanenbaum said. “But the way we say it is different. What the dissuasive frame focuses on is the potential mismatch of consumer preferences and the product attributes.”
Tanenbaum says it comes down to what she and her colleagues call “target specificity,” a new marketing concept introduced in this research.
“When people see a product framed as not being for everyone, they infer that it’s more specialized,” Tanenbaum said. “That makes the product feel like a better fit for those with product preferences that match the product offering.”
The effect held across numerous product types and messaging formats, including a real-world Facebook ad campaign for a toothbrush company. In that campaign, the dissuasive version of the ad resulted in higher click-through and engagement rates than the persuasive version, even though both used the same image and copy, aside from either the persuasive or dissuasive wording in the headline.
Tanenbaum said that the research had to carefully rule out other explanations. Could it be about reverse psychology? Wanting what you can’t have? Feeling excluded?
“We tested those theories and ruled them out,” Tanenbaum said. “What consistently drove consumer response was how targeted they felt the product was.”
The findings reframe widely taught marketing practices and offer a simple but effective tactic for brands trying to reach specific audiences in crowded marketplaces.
“Dissuading the wrong people doesn’t mean you’re turning customers away,” Tanenbaum said. “It may actually help the right ones feel like your product was made just for them.”
The takeaway for business leaders? Sometimes, saying “this isn’t for you” might be the best way to reach the customers who will love what you’re offering.