Placebos Effect! Are we tricked by marketers?

What makes consumers believe that a high-priced branded product or one with an upscale packaging is better? It’s the placebo, with the brain deriving more pleasure from extraneous factors which will not be directly linked to the intrinsic quality of the merchandise.

Whether we are conscious of it or not, throughout our life, we been treated with a placebo and it has probably worked. The placebo phenomenon occurs when the brain expects a substantive real outcome supported a belief then physically manifests symptoms of that belief that don’t actually exist.

Placebos are an engrossing and absorbing phenomenon that demonstrates the facility of our minds to shape how we perceive reality. A patient who is given a sugar pill rather than an actual pain reliever can feel an equivalent decrease in pain as if they were to receive a medicine that blocks the pain receptors at the cellular level.

“One explanation of the Placebos is that we tend to experience what we expect.”

If you expect to hate a restaurant, you almost certainly will.

If our known hints that the movie you’re close to watch received great reviews, you’ll probably enjoy it.

Our expectations are often so strong; they will create feelings that contradict the particular reality.

“Novices player plays with better sports kits once they have a equipment from expensive brand, research shows brand names of  products alleviate some performance anxiety but brands haven’t any effect on better players”`

“You get what you pay for” – universal belief. Price as shorthand for quality: when something costs more, expectations are higher.

Business has played on this notion for many years. The empowered consumer may know that budget and up market retailers share suppliers but this bias is tough to shake. People assume that the costlier products are going to be superior when two otherwise identical products are compared. You pay more, you expect more.

Marketers can take these insights and use it to enhance the important experiences of consumers by creating an environment of positive expectations. This will be visually appealing packaging- top quality bags are kept in an aesthetically designed box. Or by helping raving customers share their satisfaction through various social media channels. It is often hinting to an opportunity that your company was awarded for nice customer satisfaction.

Now the question is how exactly can consumers guard against the placebo effect?

Answer is gather information, compare the effectiveness of rival products and take informed decisions.

Dr. Arun Kumar Singh
Professor & Director (GIMS)