Marketing messages can’t just convince people that it is possible for them to take the reins. That message doesn’t reach the millions who don’t believe they are personally capable of doing a task. Therefore, enhancing consumers’ cognitive control —the control of what we know— through education can increase the chance that consumers will adopt a brand.
Cognitive control is critical in a marketing context. The more complex a product or service, the more discomfort a consumer may experience. A 2001 study of 103 undergraduates measured their need for cognitive control using an online banking program. The college students were asked to imagine that it was one year after graduation, they were employed, doing fairly well, and hoping to manage their finances more effectively.
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Participants responded to a survey measuring their perceived cognitive control, interest in and satisfaction with the service. Analysis showed that the cogni¬tive control scale positively correlated with levels of satisfaction and the likelihood of adopting the banking service. Students with high ratings of perceived cognitive con¬trol expressed little trepidation towards the technology and expressed significantly higher levels of interest. In contrast, students who felt they had no cognitive control over the new product were dissatisfied and significantly less likely to adopt it.
Therefore, when introducing complex, multifunctional technologies, like an iPad, marketers and designers must be certain to mitigate complexity by clear instructions and intuitive functioning.
Lessons learned from a United Airlines project:
1. Don’t oversell control. Customers know when they are not in control.
“Feel in control” is a classic marketing false promise. The juxtaposition of United telling a passenger, “You’re in control,” while surrounded by a thousand factors the passenger can’t affect produced a disconnect.” Seeing the word “control” elicits an unintended, ironic response from the majority of knowledgeable travelers. Intended to give peace of mind, “Be in control” mocked the traveler.
2. In some situations, reassurance is all the control customers want.
Infrequent travelers were consistently unsettled by the “control” idea. Thrown into an unfa¬miliar and stressful environment, infrequent travelers don’t feel they can be in control. What they need is assurance that their experience will be easier than expected. Their control needs are assuaged not through affirmations that they can seize control, but through messages that appeal to cognitive control — the traveler’s awareness that the trip will be manageable.
3. While the idea of “control” elicited some concern with some respondents, the idea of “choice” was more acceptable.
Choice narrows the control experience. You can’t be in control, but you have the choice to alter the experience to your benefit. The presence of options raises the perception of control and positively affects even travelers who decide not to act on those options. This point illustrates the relative strengths of the “customize your trip” platform.
4. Choice is a virtue.
Make sure your message is one of choice. Frequent fliers stick with an airline because of its predictability. Communication is a crucial lever of control. While businesses can rarely give customers complete control, they can allow customers to acquire degrees of control through “levers” of control – reassurance, choice, and communication.
Travelers want to feel some sense of control and recognition. One simple, but rarely used, action is to continuously communicate with customers. Airlines should rarely keep customers delayed without conveying the reason. Policies such as texting/emailing people about flight status or allowing them to listen to air traffic control in-flight help fliers feel less frustrated with their lack of overall control.
The lesson for companies which hope to empower consumers via control is clear: Don’t emphasize control when consum¬ers know you can’t give them autonomy. Offer the three credible levers of control that consumers can use according to the situation: Reassurance that the experience is predictable and manageable; choices that give them some control over the process; and ongoing communication so that consumers are not left in the dark. Not knowing what is happening is the ultimate lack of control.