When Facts Don’t Matter to Consumers

Say what you will about the Smart Fortwo, but one thing is certain: it’s a small car and many people believe small cars are dangerous. So when Daimler began planning the release of its newest Fortwo it decided to tackle this perception with facts by releasing a video showing the Fortwo crashing head-on with a car twice its size.

The video relies on these facts: the passenger compartment remains intact and the crash test dummies survived without serious harm. You know what I saw, though? I saw the large car mangle the Fortwo and immediately thought, “I want to be in the larger car, that Fortwo is a death trap!”

The facts didn’t matter because my concerns with the Fortwo’s safety lie outside of my conscious, rational mind. We call these “non-conscious” associations and they influence our gut reactions. My non-conscious view of the Fortwo as a dangerous car has been built up over a long time and is based upon hundreds of different impressions of and messages about small cars in general, the Fortwo specifically, and larger cars.  A lifetime of interactions means that one single interaction, even if completely true, did little to change my mind.

What’s more, when Smart decided to address this perception directly, they may have unintentionally reinforced negative stereotypes that small cars, including the Fortwo, are dangerous. I fell victim to “confirmation bias,” focusing on the facts that supported my ingoing assumptions and ignoring information that didn’t.

This isn’t a rare occurrence, either. Think about these statements. Do these “facts” change your mind or reinforce your existing non-conscious associations?

• Wendy’s is a healthy place to eat because it offers salads.
• A t-shirt from Target is high-end because its designer has name recognition.
• United Airline’s food is a culinary treat because it has been created by a world-class chef.

so what?^®

First use research to understand the nature of consumers’ perceptions and then create the messaging strategy to fit the type of stereotype at play.

• If the perceptions are largely based on rational perceptions then using facts is a good approach.  For example, show that your car is more fuel efficient than competitors by presenting the government MPG ratings.
• However, if consumers’ perceptions are based largely on non-conscious associations then you must approach things indirectly and with a great deal of patience. Rather than changing perceptions in a single commercial that screams “these are the facts!”, you must use indirect messages and settle in for the long run. For example, by consistently highlighting innovative safety features (without explicitly saying this makes the car as safe as a full size sedan) and associating the Fortwo with other things we consider safe, Smart will slowly start changing consumers’ brand stereotype and, eventually, facts will matter again.

Your consumers aren’t dummies. Understand how they came to their conclusions to help them come to yours.