Trustworthiness Trumps Intelligence

I've been reading a bit on social psychology, and stumbled upon a concept related to interpersonal relationships that I think has a great deal of applicability to brand marketing and customer experience design.   The general notion is that people do not wish to engage with others because they are intelligent, but because they are trustworthy - and moreover, intelligence can be a liability.  And I think the same goes for companies as well:

Trust in Personal Relationships

Assessing the degree to which we can trust other people is fundamental to every human relationship, and a necessary survival skill: we assess whether another creature poses a threat before we begin to consider if there is any possible value in interaction.   While we are drawn to others because we recognize the efficiencies gained by collaborative effort, and while we must often depend on others due to the differentiation and specialization of labor, our first question is merely "will this person do me harm?"  That is, we are distrustful immediately, and develop trust afterward.

Only once we have satisfied ourselves that the other person means no harm can we consider whether working cooperatively with them will be beneficial to ourselves, or if it is merely a one-way street in which we are being manipulated into serving the other party's interest rather than our own, or even to the detriment of our own.   It doesn't take very much experience to recognize that not everyone is truly collaborative, and pretensions of altruism are often a method of deception.

At this point, intelligence works both for and against our willingness to trust in others.   We feel confident that the outcome of cooperation is positive if the other party has the intelligence to formulate a sound plan (though realistically, this is more in terms of insightfulness - their ability to perceive something we do not - rather than intelligence, because it is our own intellect that is used to assess the plan they are proposing).  On the other hand, we have the distinct sense that clever people use their intelligence to deceive others, which causes us to question the confidence we have in a plan that seems intelligent, but may merely be clever.  It is for that reason that we value intelligent people, but are reluctant to trust them.

After the initial encounter, trust has less to do with our gut reaction to a person, and more to do with our experience dealing with that individual.   If previous engagements have, indeed, been mutually beneficial then it is out expectation that future engagements will follow in the same line - and we spend less time scrutinizing the person and their plan and place greater faith that this time will turn out like the last time.   Even so, we remain apprehensive to some degree, until we have had sufficient experience with a person to take it for granted that they are likely to be fair with others.

Trust in Brand Relationships

The way in which we relate to brands and companies is entirely analogous to the way in which we relate to people and groups (respectively), with one marked difference: we are well aware of our interests and theirs.   The customer has a need or aspiration that he wishes to address, the brand or company offers him a promise to serve that interest while meanwhile having its own interest in receiving money in exchange.

The customer is well aware of the primary risk that he is taking on - that the product he is being offered will fail to meet his needs, and that in spite of consumer protectionism and any guarantee or warranty the seller might intimate, he stands to lose the amount of money he gave to the seller - which is significant only in that its loss will prevent him from purchasing an alternative product that would have been successful.  In certain instances there are secondary risks, such as having to take on the disposal cost to rid himself of the product or the damage that may be done to him or his property in the course of using it, but these tend in most instances to be relatively minor.

Germane to this topic, however, the problem is not that companies are unable to convince their intended customers that their products are capable of addressing their needs in a cost-effective manner.  This has been the thrust of advertising and sales promotion all along, and while its success rate is dismal, this is likely the best that can be done given that most of these messages take the intelligent approach and fail to build trust.

That is to say that customers are aware that, in order to get money out of them, companies wish to give them the impression that their products are capable of meeting their needs at a price that's comparable to or less than other alternatives.   But until trust is established, these claims are not regarded as being truthful or reliable, but instead as subterfuge offered by a party whose primary interest is in getting what it wants from others, and doing as little as possible for them in return.

While companies often engage in "brand marketing" or public relations campaigns in order to build trust, it is with some sense of irony that it can be observed how little of the marketing budget is devoted to these initiatives - the majority is spent on promulgating claims that no-one will believe rather than investing in developing the trustworthiness for those claims to be believed.  Hence, the dismal success rate for promotional and product advertising.

Afterthoughts

A few topics came to mind during this meditation, but I set them aside to avoid clouding the fundamental issue:

• Experience - The degree to which past interactions cause us to give trust to someone without as much consideration of their present proposal
• Reputation - The degree to which we grant trust to an unknown person because other people have positive opinions and share anecdotal evidence
• Groups - The degree to which the behavior of some members of a group causes us to regard the entire group
• Cross-Wiring - The degree to which a person is similar in incidental ways (they have a similar appearance, voice, etc.) to another whom we have positive or negative experience

There are likely other topics as well, as trust is a very complex issue, but a critical one for customer engagement.

Human Behavior and Organizations

I recently read A Manager’s Guide to Human Behavior, a book that’s draws attention to several areas in which the psychology of individual employees (perception, cognition, and motivation) is critical to the effectiveness of a commercial organization, but which stops short of offering much in the way of useful information about the topic of behavioral psychology itself.  I found this highly annoying, yet likely necessary given the scope of the topic.

In essence, a commercial organization, or any other form of organization, is a system of people who collaborate toward a common goal.   The buildings, equipment, materials, and all other resources that are listed as “assets” on a balance sheet are largely inconsequential to the value that the firm creates – even the extreme instance of a fully-automated production facility where all labor is performed by machines depends on people to design the machines, keep them running, monitor their operations, provide their inputs, and sell their outputs.

But in order to collaborate toward the common goal that is proposed by the firm, there must be motivation on the part of each employee to achieve it.   The simplistic view that people work only for compensation, and are indifferent to the nature of the duties placed upon them for that sake, is an entirely nineteenth-century concept that presumes that both people and jobs are commodities – that anyone would be equally happy with any activity, any job can be satisfactorily completed by any able-bodied worker, and the only difference between one job or one worker and the next is the amount of compensation provided.

There likely remain many instances in which that is true, on the lowest levels of present-day society: there are people who don’t much care what they do for a living so long as they make the income they require, and jobs that are so facile that anyone is capable of doing them with a few hours’ instruction.   But such instances are rare: even the most menial minimum-wage job requires some level of knowledge and skill, and even the lowest orders of human society require some level of engagement and motivation in their work that stems from non-economic needs.

As to the identity of those non-economic needs the book could only provide a vague notion along with a small handful of well-trodden theories of motivation – and that’s likely where it falls short.   A “guide to human behavior” should likely go into greater depth on that topic, and as such this is more of an argument as to why human behavior should be considered important – but likely that’s not as marketable a title.

Loyalty and Sales Promotion

I read a rather damning case-study about Groupon and the way in which participating in this program (which offers discounts of more than 50% off of regular price when a sufficient number of people indicate an intention to take advantage of a deal) will create a very brief spike in sales, but have a long-term negative effect on customer loyalty.   Not only do those who show up to take advantage of the deal fail to become loyal customers, but the deal itself and the flood of bargain-seekers makes existing loyal customers feel cheated.

I couldn’t disagree with the premise of the study, but it does not seem entirely fair to single out one company for consternation.  Nor does it seem entirely fair to suggest that Groupon is to blame for the problem – but instead it is the retail establishment, desperate to drum up business, that leverages this service that is likely most to blame – just as we do not blame the automobile or the alcohol for an incident of drunken driving, but the individual who failed to exercise good judgment and self-restraint.

Long before the internet came into existence, retailers used sales promotions of various types to bring in the hordes: coupons, sales events, direct-mail offers, and other similar tactics had the very same effect, just on a smaller scale and over a longer period of time: they brought in people who were only interested in an advantageous offer, for only as long as the offer was valid, who would not later be willing to consider purchasing the product at its regular price.

Likewise, long before Groupon came into existence, retailers bewailed the manner in which they were hoist by their own petard: those who held regular weekly sales events found their shops empty on dates when they were not offering deals, and those who offered coupons regularly found that no-one would order their product unless they had a coupon.   That is to say that customers had no loyalty to the retailer, and only came looking to take advantage (in every sense of the phrase) of a discount offer.

Not only does sales promotion attract shoppers who have no loyalty, it also diminishes the loyalty of customers who are willing to shop the retailer for reasons other that price.   After all, it seems foolish to pay full fare when a discount is available, or would be available in a very short time – and in that situation anyone who is loyal to the brand feels that they are being punished for their loyalty, whether it is the financial loss they feel they have incurred by purchasing at full price or the shame they feel at having been so easily deceived.  (It is in fact quite common for these very same brands to include copy in their promotions that is very insulting to those who pay full price.)

It is in that way that brands that bemoan the loss of customer loyalty but continue to discount merchandise as a matter of course that seem rather foolish – as their own behavior has done much to discourage and destroy loyalty to their brand, to drive away loyal customers in catering to the demand of bargain-seekers, and thereby to ensure that no-one purchases from them except in instances where they have set themselves up to as an attractive mark for the kind of person who seeks to take advantage of them - and they get exactly what they worked t ogain

So in the end, it would be just to suggest that retailers who smother loyalty by offering special deals are getting what they deserve –they are reaping exactly what they have sown and have worked hard to earn the low grade of customer that they have chosen to pursue.

Tell Me Where it Hurts

A speaker at a customer experience conference remarked that website designers should react to customer suggestions in the manner of a parent whose child has walked into the room, announced that he has leukemia, and needs a cookie or he will surely die.   As much as I loathe metaphors that compare customers to children or animals (in that they fail to show the proper degree of respect for the most important party to any business transaction) I have to admit she makes a very good point.

Customers, and internal stakeholders for that matter, are fond of demanding a specific design solution when they do not understand the nature of the problem, even to the point of misrepresenting the actual problem in order to get what they want.   It would be as irresponsible of a designer to pander to their child's every desire without pausing to consider whether it's appropriate to do so.

Particularly when it comes to customer complaints and executive directives, a suggestion is not proof that a problem even exists.   It is not uncommon for people who want something to invent a reason it should be given to them.  To the original metaphor, the child simply wants a cookie, and is grasping for some reason that you must cater to this desire - to be a good parent means denying the request, particularly because giving into it would have negative consequences to the health of the child if he were given junk-food on demand.

In the same way, implementing a solution without considering the possible negative side-effects simply to accommodate a suggestion is very bad practice.   Sometimes, you can tell right away that it's a bad idea and should push back immediately - other times, it might seem to have some merit, but usability testing or a champion-challenger test in production will bear out that it does more harm than good.

Of course, sometimes you can't help it, particularly when the suggestion comes from a ranking officer in your own organization.  There's a distinct difference between giving a cookie to a child simply because he asked for it and giving a cookie to a child who's holding a loaded pistol so that he will put down the pistol (which itself is an excellent metaphor for certain executive personalities).  The first is inadvisable pandering, the second is necessary for survival.

On the topic of survival, the problem with implementing a suggestion without due consideration is that ultimately you will be held responsible, and rightly so.   Being a professional means exercising judgment and developing sound tactics, rather than acting upon random and unsound ideas from other sources.

And so, whenever someone suggests a problem exists, your first inclination should be the investigation of the problem rather than the hasty implementation of a solution.   When the child says he has leukemia, ask him to tell you where it hurts.   Listen, observe, and diagnose to make sure that you know what the problem is.   Exercise your own judgment in determining whether the problem is real or imaginary, and in deciding the course of action to take.

Unfortunately, all of this caters to the arrogant school of design, in which the designer fancies himself a maestro who doesn't have to listen to anything that anyone else has to say - but that extreme is just as wrong-headed.   Consider the metaphor of a doctor who ignores a patient's obvious wounds and instead decides (without even examining the patient) that because of their age, gender, weight, and so forth that they fit the profile of a patient who has hypertension.  That may well be, but it isn't the biggest problem of the moment, nor the reason they are seeking treatment.

As in many things, there is a balance to be achieved, and no shortcut to the solution.   You must pause to ask the questions to diagnose the problem rather than accepting the suggested solution, and you must give fair hearing to the complaint and deliberate over how the problem can be effectively solved - by the suggested means or otherwise.   Very often, people do know exactly what is wrong and have a pretty good idea for how the problem can be solved - but "very often" is neither always nor never.

The "always" and "never" of dealing with customer complaints are this:

• Always listen to suggestions
• Never implement them without due diligence

Ultimately, it's just as simple as that ... which is to say it's painstaking and difficult to have to constantly use your intelligence and judgment.  But because others don't, it falls to you as the gatekeeper who is charged with the decisions of what is done and what is not.

The Desire for Tedium

I recently received a direct-mail promotion for a house cleaning service, the thrust of which was that the service would rescue me from the tedious tasks of cleaning my own home.   I think that copy point might resound with most people most of the time, but at just that moment, it struck me as something that was utterly unappealing and even undesirable.

Perhaps it was the state of mind I was in at the time, or my own perverse habit of busying myself with menial tasks at the end of an unproductive day to gain some sense of accomplishment.   There are many days, and sometimes entire weeks, in which my activities at work have been so frustratingly unproductive that I came home and set myself to some chore that would give me the satisfaction of having done something: I may have spent nine hours in back-to-back meetings in which people merely chewed the cud without making any real decisions, but after thirty minutes effort the kitchen floor is clean, and it was the only productive thing I had gotten done all day.

In that sense, their offer to relieve me of my tedium struck me as wholly unappealing – in that it would rob me of the opportunity to engage in a task that would give me a sense of accomplishment.   Granted, housework is menial and not generally regarded as particularly enjoyable – but like most menial tasks it conveys a sense of satisfaction in being able to take action and immediately perceive the benefits.

I also have the sense that this may also be true of the tedium of certain commercial interactions: that in some instances individuals expect to invest a fair amount of unpleasant effort in obtaining something that they need, and that the product is a reward for the acquisition process.   I don’t expect this is universal, and for most low-cost and low-involvement purchases a tedious or unpleasant acquisition process would cause them to reject the offer as requiring too much cost (in terms of effort rather than price).    But when a given product comes at a high cost and high involvement, there is the expectation that effort will be required.

Moreover, simplifying the acquisition process diminishes the value of the product as a reward for the effort of acquiring it – much in the way that a person who rides a cable car to the top of a mountain does not have the same sense of satisfaction as someone who climbed the mountain.   It could even be speculated that making the process easier makes the goal less appealing simply because it is effortless to achieve.

The example of mountain climbing takes this meditation on an odd turn, in considering that most recreational and leisure activities are undertaken for the satisfaction of accomplishment.   The person who bakes a cake from scratch feels they have done something, while the one who uses a boxed mix enjoys the same benefit (though quality is arguable) at less effort, and does not feel a sense of achievement (or if they do, the first individual would consider that to be unwarranted – having done nothing, they have no right to claim their work is a valid “accomplishment” afterward).

To shift back to the commercial realm, this is likely the pleasure in shopping.   The customer who finds the perfect outfit for an occasion is pleased to have the outfit, but the effort she put into shopping for it accentuates the value of the reward.  Compliment her on the outfit, and she will tell the story of the various stores she visited and the other effort she placed into finding it.  The achievement is more important even than the item that was obtained.

My sense is that this grants a certain trophy-value to possessions that are difficult to obtain, but also diminishes the emotional attachment to those that are easy to obtain.  In the clothes-shopping example, the outfit itself causes less satisfaction than the experience of obtaining it.  Had the shopper found the outfit in the first store she visited, she would have no story, and regard the outfit as just another set of garments – perhaps clothing that was “appropriate” for the occasion but not “the perfect” because achieving perfection requires effort.

It may merit further consideration, or research to support this hypothesis, but I have the sense it would bear out – and as such it begs the question as to whether making something cheaper or easier to obtain might be counterproductive to creating customer satisfaction, and that the assumption that cheap-and-easy is always better should likely be abandoned in favor of a more deliberate consideration of the degree to which a customer is not only willing, but also quite interested, in experiencing tedium or difficulty for a given purchase.