The concept of winning customer confidence has received much attention among various stakeholders such as customers, shareholders, investors, and the government as they strive to establish whether their interest is being taken into account. Companies use multiple tactics to convince potential and existing consumers concerning why their products stand out from that of other competitors. Various customer confidence winning strategies such as celebrity and expert endorsement, attitude changing, low involvement, and high involvement approaches to make the advert more appealing, hence, this helps in boosting sales. Companies invest a substantial amount of resources in employing these criteria to keep the targeted audience hooked, in turn, this aids in increasing sales as well as the market share. Despite being costly, advertisers find it worthwhile to apply these techniques, i.e., celebrity endorsement since it helps to boost sales and it allows customers to make it a point of reference. Many of the methods apply psychological concepts to change the perception of buyers and to make them believe that their product is superior compared to that of competitors, hence this gives them a competitive edge.
1. Expert Endorsements
The expert opinion criteria involve the benefits realized by an individual when a company uses a person with vast experience in a given field. It is mostly used in products that are technical and whose information is not readily available from a layperson. According, the use of expert’s increases credibility of the advertisement since people have trust in the expert and thus they tend to prefer the product against those of rivals in the market. For instance, it is easy for a doctor wearing a lab coat to convince the public about the effectiveness of a newly launched medicine than it is for sales representatives. The prominent physician will increase the credibility of the advertisement since people have trust in him or her due to their experience. Experts may also be used to give a testimonial that is convincing to both existing and potential consumers. Therefore, combining the use of experts and testimony allow customers to access and provide their opinion on the product, hence, this helps in making choices among various alternatives available in the market. It is essential to use an expert from a relevant field to enhance the efficiency of the advertisement.
2. Attractive Models
The common notion among markets and advertisers is that beauty sells and this explains why they use attractive models, spokespeople, and celebrity endorsers in advertisements. The physical attractiveness of a person used to endorse products increase the believability on the audience side, and this increases the willingness to purchase. Moreover, it improves the attitude of potential consumers towards the product, which increases the conversion rate as it makes buyers to make the actual purchase decision. The use of attractive individuals to promote products is used in the online advertisement such as through YouTube channel and Facebook, print media, televisions, purchase displays, and face to face communications. One of the most intriguing YouTube advertisement using an attractive individual is the 2017 Super Bowl Ad titled the cleaner of your dream. In the Ad, Mr. Clean flexes his muscle as he squeezes the sponge on the hardwood floor, and this makes him attractive among the target audience who are mostly women but also men who perform the household chores. The white muscle shirt with the bodybuilder physique makes the man appear as an attractive person who is admired, and this makes people buy the products. The slogan that you will love a man who cleans resonates well with most ladies and some men, and this motivates them to buy the product. Therefore, it is evident that the physical attractiveness of the individual promoting a product has a significant effect on the purchase attitude towards the goods and this influences the actual buying decision.
3. Celebrity Endorsements
Companies in the entertainment industry have been using celebrities to endorse their products because it increases message recall, credibility and also improves the appearance and likeability which enhances the conversion rate. Individuals who view advertisements featuring famous individuals increase their purchase intention, hence, this makes celebrity advertisements popular among significant companies. For example, Adidas has used David Beckham to advertise its sports gear while Tiger Woods popularly is featured in Nike’s golf advertisements. The celebrities are paid massive amounts to endorse the products, in turn, the company gets paid back due to the return on investment being usually extremely positive. The approach works well where the target audience forms a reference group, and they are striving to remain relevant in the group by creating a sense of belonging. Accordingly, many celebrities are used as a role model and opinion leaders, many individuals tend to copy their taste and preference for them to incorporate a sense of identity. In a prominent iPhone 7 advertisement dubbed x Siri on point dominated its popularity among viewers. Moreover, the advertisement had generated close to 250 thousand views as it features a favorite film star Dwayne Johnson is commonly known as “The Rock”. Apple combines the skill of the celebrity with Artificial Intelligence voices, which increases the probability of potential buyers to purchase iPhone 7. Thus, companies will invest a substantial amount of money in order to associate their brand with specific public figures since the strategy works well in increasing sales. Therefore, a match between the brand and the celebrity is needed to enhance the effectiveness of the advertisement.
4. Low Involvement
Low involvement is a buyer behavior attributed to everyday purchases that do not require an intensive search of product information. Furthermore, the consumer is used to buying the item, and thus the decision to purchase it is automatic. For instance, a person who is used to drinking Coca-Cola to refresh themselves after working in the sun may not have time to compare the product with those of rivals since any time he thinks of refreshment a Coca-Cola enters their mind. Most of the products considered to be low involvement are cheap, and thus, the risk involved in their purchase is low, and therefore, the buyer is not afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes low involvement is associated with impulse buying, for example, a person may see a Pizza and remember that he is hungry, making him make a purchase. Likewise, the sight of fruits in a grocery store may remind you that you need to purchase fruit. The 2017 YouTube Budweiser Super bowl advertisement embark on describing the foundation of the company by showing the story of a young man emigrating from Germany to a complex American community that is unreceptive. The advertisement shows a rich history of beer, and this makes it easy for consumers to purchase it. The individuals who regard Budweiser as their favorite drink have an easy time making a choice since they do not require any comparison as they are proud of the taste, quality and history, hence, giving them a sense of belonging in the community.
5. High Involvement
High involvement goods are complicated and, usually, sell at high prices. What is more, the risk involved in them is high since the lack of due diligence in buying them can lead to a negative effect on the economy and social life of the buyer. Also, they require an individual to carry out an intensive search to get relevant product information and in turn compare it with other brands that are considered both inferior and superior, hence, this helps the buyer make a more informed choice. As a result, marketers strive to provide an abundance of data through product review to make it easy for potential consumers to make comparison between existing brands. Therefore, such advertisement in print media and in social media platforms such as blogs involves the use of product review performed by independent researchers. The presented information insist on revealing both the positive and negative aspects, which in turn, increases the credibility of the ads subsequently it represents the matter as trustworthy and genuine. Such as, showing why a competitor brand is superior to your own makes consumers believe what you are telling them, hence, this increases their willingness to buy, which may eventually lead to an increase in sales. The Samsung India Service Ad is featuring a vehicle navigating the hilly roads in India to answer a distress call from a customer, the YouTube has had over 210 million views. The Ad presents Samsung products as reliable, and this help to increase buyer confidence that they will receive quality after sale service.
6. Attitude Changing Approaches
Recently, more advertisers in the advertisement industry have resorted to the use of the attitude change approach to streamline buying decisions from buyers. Notably, attitudes help in shaping the feeling, behaviors, and the thought process of the individual. Consequently, the use of images and other visuals in online platforms such as YouTube assist in creating popular perceptions regarding a product or service for the target audience. Furthermore, attitude change occurs when one changes from a positive to a negative perception; or, when one adopts positive view and opinion while initially, the individual had a negative impression of a product. The marketers apply psychological concepts such as inferential and associative processes. For example, if an advertisement is associated with a positive social program that the company supports in the community it is likely to change the attitude of the audience regarding the operation within that society. If initially, they viewed it as a causative agent of pollution and land degradation, their perception will change to that in which the company supports charitable program and environmental conservation issues. A good example of an attitude changing advert is the If you Let me Play by Nike it is featured on YouTube as a mini-movie. The irony and boastfulness involved with the little girls help in changing the attitude of the individual toward women’s involvement in sports. The advertisement led to widespread debates and conversation about women involved in sports. As a result, it brought attention to parents and organizations to support their girls’ participation in sports and to recognize the benefits associated with it such as improved health, reduction in the number of overweight girls, less teen pregnancy and enhancement of intellectual capacity. As a result, this made Nike a favorable brand among many consumers since it assists in changing their attitudes.