2000% increase in sales after free sample This is the seventh of 20 daily THOUGHTS examining emotions in marketing.It might seem entirely irrational, but human beings are not rational beings. Indeed, up to 80% of all human decisions are made almost entirely without rational input and many of the other 20% are influenced by emotions […]

2000% increase in sales after free sample This is the seventh of 20 daily THOUGHTS examining emotions in marketing.It might seem entirely irrational, but human beings are not rational beings. Indeed, up to 80% of all human decisions are made almost entirely without rational input and many of the other 20% are influenced by emotions – often despite us thinking that we are being very rational. A significant emotional driver of consumer behaviour is ‘obligation’ – where the consumer feels an obligation to make a purchase, such as in the case of a child selling a school raffle ticket, a disabled person selling badges to raise money for their cause, a friend starting in a new job, or responding to positive behaviour towards them. The latter is often referred to as ‘reciprocity’. One US study found that giving away free samples of a product can generate almost immediate sales –…