2 FREE Ways To Prevent Customer Dissatisfaction Using Psychology

I was skimming through Reddit this week (doing some use-case research for a client) when I stumbled on this gem of a post:

It's a long read, so I'll summarize it for you...

The original poster points out that the decadent frosting that previously graced the top of ​Crumbl Cookie's​ products was currently less than satisfactory.

They went on to propose that Crumbl was "holding out" on purpose -- perhaps because the brand wanted to pleasantly surprise customers by displaying less frosting in their advertising and delivering more frosting on the physical product.

(In theory, this should mitigate customer expectations and deliver that elusive "surprise and delight" marketers talk about so much...)

Sounds logical to me, but these customers were skeptical.

With so many people complaining that the brand was missing the mark when it came to frosting rations, it got me thinking:

Crumbl might be missing the mark, but there's 2 science-based, psychology-backed tactics they could implement today to help reduce customer dissatisfaction before they even make a purchase...

And it's something they could do for FREE.

Wanna learn what it is?

Let's dive into it...

That's The Way the Cookie Crumbles...

If you've never eaten a Crumbl Cookie, let me explain to you the amazing sugar-coma you're missing out on: these cookies are the absolute bomb. 🤤 They're dripping with sticky frosting, coated in sparkly candy, and loaded with chocolate, strawberries, caramel, cookie crumbles, sprinkles, lemon drizzle, and all kinds of other confectiony goodness.

Crumbl's cookies are a cookie-lovers fantasy.

And that's where the problem starts...

Psychologically-speaking, consumers have a hard time being objective about things that are built to be subjective. AKA: customers can't take the emotion out of anything.

For Crumbl, the one thing their customers want is a cookie that will blow their socks off. But being an online brand comes with online problems.

Before their cookies ever land on a customer's doorstep, Crumbl's has to pass them through dozens, if not hundreds of people. All that product shuffling makes it difficult (if not impossible) for Crumbl to deliver a consistent mind-blowing experience.

So what's a cookie brand to do?

One Smart Cookie

If you take nothing else from this email, please...take this, write it down, commit it to memory:

It is 10X easier (and cheaper) to improve customer perception than it is to improve their physical attachment to your brand.

While most marketers would look at this problem and go straight for discounting, bundling, or other product-focused solutions, I like to be efficient (lazy 😅) and utilize psychological tactics first.

There's 2 ways Crumbl could go about reducing customer dissatisfaction using psychology. Let's dive into them one at a time:

1. They could introduce a weird ritual. Back in the day, another large-scale cookie brand named Oreo (maybe you've heard of them) had the same problem. Customers liked their cookies, but Oreo needed them to do more than just like them - they needed customers to obsess over them.
   
   Oreo began introducing a psychological tactic that would help their customers become emotionally attached to their consumable product. Customers were already twisting the two halves of their cookies apart before enjoying them...why not make this a part of the brand?
   
   Oreo started featuring this simple "cookie twisting" ritual ​in their ads​, and the concept took off. Customers loved the ritual, and sales rose.
   🧠 Crumbl could capitalize on this "ritual" psychology hack by introducing a simple ritual for their customers to participate in. Could be as simple as creating a "cookie affirmation" -- something customers could repeat to themselves before eating the cookie, like, "in cookies we trust."
   
   The science behind this: Recent studies show ​customers were 74% more likely to purchase and enjoy products​ when they performed a ritual during their consuming experience.
   ‍
   
2. They could start using ​unrealistic images​ in their ads. Humans are highly visual creatures, which comes with some flaws. Context is everything here. Our brain can quickly tell the visual difference between food that's fresh and food that's rotten, but try and have customers decipher between the health benefits of two different styles of images (say a cartoon and a photograph)...and the outcome will be less cut and dry.
   
   Crumbl could start using graphic images within their ads to help their customers see the experiential benefits of their products and reduce the need for precision within their fulfillment line at the same time. Going this route wouldn't cost them anything but time, and would better influence the perceived value of their products over time.
   
   The science behind this: In one recent study, scientists found that using unrealistic images for a cupcake product generated a 36.9% increase in how healthy consumers perceived the product to be. Meaning: customers thought the cupcake was pretty healthy when they saw a cartoon ad before consuming it.
   
   Oppositely, using photographs instead of graphic images for a multigrain bread increased the perceived "healthiness" by 17.7%. Meaning: customers thought the bread was much healthier if they saw a photograph of it before consuming it. In other words, products are judged based on how they are presented.
   
   Both positive and negative attributes are affected by whether you choose to display a graphic version of your product, or a realistic one. 😅

How to Reduce Your Customer's Dissatisfaction (Using Psychology)

1. Start a ritual and make it fun. Watching behavior is one of the best ways to identify hidden opportunities, so start by taking a look at how your customers currently behave with your products. Make note of any odd things you notice, especially if it's a common behavior for your audience. Then take those behaviors and build it into your product experience, preferably right before your customers consume/use it.
   ‍
   
2. Start using graphic images to reduce negative product features, or photographs to improve your product's positive ones. There's literally no downside to this. Try swapping your presentation this week. Track the data closely to see how your customer's perception changes (ad comments are a good place to study.)

‍