Should You Market for Social Norms?

I started reading Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely (@danariely) recently which has actually been on my reading list for some time. For those that don't know, this book uses behavioral economics to explore the forces that shape our decisions. I realize that may not be for everyone but it is a good read so far and does not go into long, technical explanations to illustrate the point but uses interesting examples instead.

I will try to post a full book review later but I was reading the chapter on "The Cost of Social Norms" and wanted to discuss a concept that Ariely touches upon and that's how companies have tried to market themselves as social companions. He uses the State Farm campaign "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there" as an example but goes on to say that companies may spend billions to create social relationships but they don't really understand the risks.

I read this and immediately thought about how start-ups, and companies of all sizes for that matter, need to really think about the implications of taking this approach to marketing as more and more companies jump on the social networking bandwagon. And more importantly, should they even bother to take this approach at all or stick with marketing their value proposition?

Before I continue let me step back for a minute and explain what is meant by social norms. Ariely states that "social norms include the friendly requests that people make of one another" where instant paybacks are not required such as helping a friend move. Social norms are all warm and fuzzy compared to market norms which are not. Market norms are where you get what you pay for and "imply comparable benefits and prompt payments" or paying movers to help you move.

What I hope you can see is that the approach you decide to take must be carried throughout your entire organization in support of your brand. If you want to create a social relationship with your customers and prospects then do it but realize that you can't then switch and make it about business all of a sudden.

The example Ariely gives is when a customer bounces a check. If the bank is following market norms it will charge a fee and the customer will likely just pay it. However, it the bank has tried to build a social relationship, then a response should be a call from someone at the bank to explain the issue and likely waive the fee. If a fee is charged in this scenario, then the relationship would be damaged or killed and the money invested in marketing for the social norm will be lost.

The lesson I took away from Ariely that I wanted to share was that start-ups need to think long and hard about how they use social media to portray themselves. Social networking has quickly become a major part of many marketing campaigns as it's a great way to build these relationships with your customers. But you need to understand the pros and cons of it so you don't harm your brand when things get tough. 

Building these social relationships with your customers can be extremely valuable but realize they will expect social norms to carry through going forward. Switching to market norms once a social relationship exists could damage or kill it and the customer is likely to share this negative experience with family and friends doing additional damage to your brand. Sometimes is may make sense to stick with market norms as there won't be the same expectation.

What's your approach and why?

Comments

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