Knowledge and Consumers

I'd like to ruminate a bit about a theory of knowledge acquisition and the way in which this influences consumer behavior - which is to say that this will likely be tedious, but I have the sense that it's worthwhile as I have never seen a brand approach its target market in quite this way, and I expect it may be useful to do so.


Kinds of Knowledge

One way to consider knowledge is by considering the method by which it is gained - whether it is based on experience or inference, and whether it arises from ourselves or from others, resulting in four basic types:

• Experience - Knowledge that is gained from personal experience, in which the data is as accurate as sensory perception and memory, but which may be reinterpreted in arrears
• Witness - Knowledge gained from an experience that does not affect an individual personally, but directly witnesses the experience of another person - which is likewise as accurate as perception and memory and is subject to greater variances in the process of interpretation afterward
• Inference - Knowledge for which there is no directly corresponding personal experience, but which is derived from various memories (of similar experience) and abstract logic.   This knowledge is unproven, but seems plausible given an individual's own reasoning.
• Allegation - Knowledge that a person gains from other people, regardless of whether it is based on real experience or sound reasoning, but which is accepted because it seems plausible and whether they regard the source as reliable.

These four types or knowledge are listed in their order of credibility, though this may be subject to argument - as there are instances in which a person may doubt his own inference, or even his own experience, if he gives sufficient credibility to the allegations of others - however, this should be unusual, to the point that I would be reasonably confident in asserting that any instance in which the order above is compromised represents a logical defect.


How This Ties to Marketing

The connection to marketing is fairly straightforward: the methods by which a person has and accepts knowledge for consumer products is identical to the methods by which a person has and accepts knowledge in general.  The same schema, and the same principles, apply from one to the other.   With this in mind, consider the methods of marketing that correspond to the kinds of knowledge:

• Experience - First-hand experience with a brand is the strongest and most credible source of knowledge about the brand.
• Witness - The knowledge gained from witnessing others use of a brand, while subject to inaccuracies of perception and interpretation.
• Inference - The beliefs that are formed based on comparing the brand to memories and experiences of a similar nature
• Allegation - The information that is received from other sources, and which is taken to be credible based on whether the claims seem plausible and the source seems reliable.

Considered thus, the most popular method of disseminating information about a brand (advertising) is also the weakest and least credible.  And for that matter, word-of-mouth promotion falls into the very same category, and is superior only by virtue of the increased credibility of the source.

Taken together, this would suggest that the approach to marketing which traditionally receives the greatest support in terms of resources and budget is likely the least effective method - and that further consideration should likely be given to the other three categories, attempting to establish as vivid and credible a connection as possible.


Knowledge Versus Belief

An afterthought: I am likely neglecting the distinction between knowledge and belief - but the more I consider it, the less relevant that would seem to be.   "Belief" connotes information that is not known (factually) but merely accepted as true.    But ultimately, belief is not a separate thing from knowledge, but an assessment of the reliability of knowledge: the degree to which we are willing to accept as fact something we suspect to be true.

So whether belief is weak knowledge or knowledge is strong belief, the threshold that is of the greatest interest is the point at which there is sufficient faith in knowledge/belief that an individual is prepared to apply it to a predictive model, and use it as a basis for behavior.