The backfire effect refers to the phenomenon where people’s beliefs become more strongly held after they are challenged with counter-evidence. In other words, attempting to correct someone’s false beliefs can actually make them more likely to hold onto those beliefs.
Here are some ways to leverage the backfire effect in different areas of your business:
1. Counterargument Advertising
Counterarguments in advertising involve anticipating and addressing potential objections or negative perceptions about a product or service, and highlighting its unique features and benefits to overcome these objections. This approach can help make the product or service stand out from its competitors by demonstrating its superiority and differentiating it from the competition.
Example: A new car brand is entering a market dominated by well-established competitors, it can use counterarguments in its advertising to differentiate itself. The brand can address common objections or negative perceptions about new car brands, such as reliability concerns or a lack of brand recognition, and highlight its unique features and benefits to overcome these objections. This could involve showcasing its rigorous testing and engineering process, offering a comprehensive warranty, and highlighting its fuel efficiency, spacious interior, and advanced technology compared to its competitors.
2. Contrarian Messaging
Using a messaging strategy that goes against the norm can make a product or service stand out and create a sense of uniqueness by surprising and catching the attention of the audience. This strategy can also create a sense of relatability and authenticity, as it goes against the typical messaging used by competitors.
Example: A weight loss program that emphasizes the importance of indulging in treats, rather than strict deprivation.
3. Contrarian Content Marketing
Using content that goes against the norm can make a product or service stand out and create a sense of uniqueness by highlighting its unique features and benefits.
Example: A financial services company that creates humorous and relatable content, such as memes and videos, to educate and inform customers about financial literacy. By creating relatable and humorous content, the company differentiates itself from competitors that typically create dry and boring content and highlights the importance of financial literacy in an engaging way.
4. Reverse Psychology Advertising
Reverse psychology advertising involves using a counter-intuitive approach in marketing to create interest and generate engagement by highlighting a product or service’s unique features and benefits. This approach can be used to make the product or service stand out in a crowded market and create a sense of uniqueness by challenging the expectations of the target audience.
Example: A luxury watch brand that uses advertising that emphasizes the importance of simplicity and minimalism, rather than just promoting their watches. The company uses the slogan “Less is More” to encourage people to focus on the simplicity and elegance of the watch, rather than just the prestige and luxury of owning a luxury watch. By using this approach, the brand differentiates itself from competitors that typically use advertising that emphasizes the prestige and luxury of owning a luxury watch and emphasizes the unique features of their product, like the simplicity and elegance of the watch.
5. Provocative Branding
Provocative branding involves creating a brand that stands out by pushing boundaries and challenging societal norms in a bold and daring way. This approach is used to differentiate the brand from its competitors and communicate its unique features, values, and benefits to the target audience.
Example: A vegan food brand that uses provocative branding and messaging to challenge societal norms around meat consumption and animal welfare. The brand uses slogans like “Meat is Murder” and “Go Vegan or Go Home” to make a bold statement and differentiate itself from traditional meat brands.
6. Contrarian Service Development
It refers to the strategy of creating a service that is different from what is typically offered in the market. This can be achieved by going against the norm or industry standards in terms of the service’s features, delivery, or approach.
By going against the norm and offering something unique, a service can create a sense of relatability and authenticity, as it shows that the company is willing to think differently and challenge industry standards.
Example: Instead of offering a traditional delivery service that relies on cars and trucks, a company could offer a delivery service that uses electric bikes and cargo bikes. This approach would reduce the company’s environmental impact, making it stand out from other delivery services that rely on gas-powered vehicles. This unique feature would appeal to customers who are environmentally conscious, and who are looking for a more sustainable delivery service.
7. Contrarian Pricing Strategy
This refers to offering a pricing model that is different from the typical pricing models used by other brands.
Example: Instead of the typical monthly or annual subscription-based pricing model, a SaaS company could offer a pay-per-use pricing model. This approach would make the service stand out from other SaaS companies and attract customers who are looking for a more flexible and cost-effective pricing model. Instead of paying a fixed monthly or annual fee, customers only pay for the features and services they use. This would be more cost-effective for customers who only need a few specific features, and it could potentially attract a new set of customers who might not have been able to afford the subscription-based pricing model.
Some other cognitive biases that are similar to the backfire effect,
Confirmation bias – This bias refers to the tendency of people to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms their pre-existing beliefs and attitudes. Confirmation bias can also cause people to ignore or reject evidence that contradicts their beliefs.
Motivated reasoning – This bias refers to the tendency of people to evaluate information in a way that supports their goals and desires, rather than objectively evaluating the information.
The sunk cost fallacy – This bias refers to the tendency of people to continue investing resources into a decision or action, despite the evidence that it is unlikely to be successful, because they have already invested a significant amount of resources into it.
The illusory superiority – This bias refers to the tendency of people to overestimate their abilities and performance relative to others.
Citations
“The backfire effect in persuasion” by Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler in the Social Science Computer Review. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0894439311418252)
“The Backfire Effect: The Psychology of Why We Have a Hard Time Changing Our Minds” by Kate Baggaley in The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/the-backfire-effect-the-psychology-of-why-we-have-a-hard-time-changing-our-minds-103741)
“Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises” by Raymond Nickerson in Review of General Psychology (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1998-07122-011)
“Motivated reasoning and attitude change” by Dale T. Miller in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065260108602051)
“Sunk Cost Fallacy: A Review” by David Gal and Derek Rucker in Journal of Behavioral Decision Making (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bdm.757)
“The egocentric bias in availability and attribution” by David E. Kanouse and Herbert H. Kelley in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065260108602063)
