You Tried Hard. I Like You.

The Avis tagline "We Try Harder" might be more than just a clever advertising slogan. Research at the University of Southern California has proven that customers reward companies that are seen to go the extra mile—even if they don't personally benefit from that effort. In fact, customers are willing to pay more for a product, frequent one store rather than another, and, in general, have a more positive impression of a company or brand that is perceived to put in more effort.

Why? "Consumers recognize that effort is a controllable behavior, and as a result, feel gratitude toward firms that uphold their moral responsibility to work hard, even when they are working to market their products," claims the author.

According to the researchers, customers can view a company's outstanding efforts as either general or personal.

• When the company's actions, such as creating new product displays, benefit the universe of customers, they are considered to be general.
• Specific actions on the part of the company to benefit a specific customer (such as rewards, or stellar customer service) are deemed personal.

And in the great scheme of things, personal wins. Although customers are positively motivated in both instances, when they see a company's efforts as personal, they are grateful, and feel indebted to it.

The Po!nt: Go the extra mile. Even if it doesn't make your product better, consumers will appreciate and reward you for your effort.

Source: "Giving Firms an 'E' for Effort: Consumer Responses to High-Effort Firms" by Andrea C. Morales. Journal of Consumer Research, 2005.

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