As reported by AMA (American Marketing Association), a research realized by Stanford and Columbia University (published in the American Marketing Association’s Journal of Marketing Research) shows that one important factor that determines whether consumers perceive an offer as a good deal is the degree to which it appears more valuable than presumably intended by the marketer. The offer is more attractive if consumers believe it fits their preferences without the marketer’s explicit intent. Authors Aner Sela, Itamar Simonson, and Ran Kivetz say that “the findings show that consumers evaluate marketing offers based on a rather sophisticated analysis of their interaction with marketers”. They also say that: “Marketers should realize that, although describing offers as designed ‘especially’ for consumers may lead consumers to perceive the firm as investing more effort and better matching the consumer’s preferences, such explicit customization often undermines the extent to which the offer is perceived as a bargain”. Because explicit customization signals better fit – we read in the AMA website -, it can be an effective strategy when consumers are uncertain about the product’s fit for them personally, such as when buying a fiction book, music or clothes. Implicit customization, on the other hand, is more effective when consumers’ uncertainty revolves around the deal’s value, such as when buying a car or an appliance.
