Chapter 10 of PSYCHOMarketing by Roger Nichols
We live in a world of Consumer Reports, eOpinion, Cosmo, health magazines, and countless other resources, which continuously feed us needed and, at times, gratuitous information on what to buy, how to act, and, of course, what society requires of us. This information helps us decide which products to buy. There are times when this thirst for information is only to satisfy our pleasure of knowing. Our desire for information has led economists, managerial psychologists, and other players in the commercial world to come up with what they call the “Information Gap Theory.”
The Information Gap Theory is a method for analysis, planning, decision, and design in the face of uncertainty. Yakov Ben-Haim developed this theory in the 1980s; it seeks to help people make decisions under ambiguity. His theory rests on three models, each of which builds on the one before it, like steps on a ladder.
In the first “rung,” we find the uncertainty model, where some information is unknown. It takes a best-guess and then an assumption of being wrong, and evaluates the various outcomes with this error included in the anticipated result.
With the uncertainty model in place, the robustness/opportuneness model takes over to determine the best and worst-case scenarios. It leads to calculating the minimum outcome for each decision, and then attempting to calculate how uncertain each can be, to assure that minimum. This is called the “robustness” of the decision. Equally, a desired maximum is called the “opportuneness.”
At this point, the third, decision-making model kicks in to optimize the information from the robustness/opportuneness model. It leads to seeking answers to the questions, Which of the decisions can stand the most uncertainty? and Which decision demands the least uncertainty for the desired outcome to be achieved? With no answer in sight, it moves to a best guess. Kinda like guessing how many jellybeans there are in a jar.
Applying the Gap Theory
The Information Gap Theory provides marketers with an idea of the level of uncertainty necessary for a particular product to achieve robustness and opportuneness. That gives them a sort-of confidence—though not so much bold faith—in what can be sacrificed to optimize profit where there is uncertainty.
Marketers apply this theory to increase their sales by taking note of the following:
Using captivating headlines
Many people don’t read materials when they don’t find the headlines attractive. Accordingly, when designing sales material, marketers use headlines that will attract customers, by using words they will easily remember.
Make the content valuable
It is not enough to use a captivating headline, because the effect the marketer is seeking to achieve is not a one-time-for-all experience. If the content of the information passed to the consumer is not valuable, he will most likely not pay attention to other promotions and advertising in the future. Also, it can cause him to perceive their information as having little value, which will hurt their brand.
Create room for feedback
It is particularly important that online marketers offer consumers an opportunity to interact with them. This can be done with comments, e-mail replies, and any other creative manner. It enables consumers to gain confidence in their marketing, which will translate into more sales. In general, marketers attempt to respect their audiences. Even if a consumer makes a snide remark, it is their job never to respond with harsh words and to show, always, respect and courtesy. After all, we only buy from those we know, “LIKE,” and trust.