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Th3truthhurts t1_j23wgwg wrote

So test driving leads to buying?

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uselessartist t1_j2429n5 wrote

Yeah that part is already well researched. It’s the reason why so many products beg to be touched and tried. Subconsciously you start to take ownership.

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Mr_Mumbercycle t1_j2441gu wrote

An old tried and true sales technique is to hand the customer the item/object, start in on your pitch, then take it back while you continue talking about it. It can create a sense of loss or longing once the person starts to take that ownership and you remove it from their possession.

Sauce: 20 years ago I had one of those awful gigs selling steak knives out of a roll up bag

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culnaej t1_j26rz6e wrote

Did door to door fundraising, and this was part of the pitch. Put the tablet with our little slideshow of the nonprofit and the issues into the person’s hand, wait for them to stop swiping, and then hit them with the ask.

Problem is, most people didn’t know it was a slideshow (and the script didn’t mention it), and it’s not like they get to buy/keep it, so it really didn’t incentivize anyone to join the cause. But the higher ups definitely took their notes from Cutco and the like

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memorialmonorail OP t1_j254hsh wrote

It's not quite that simple. In this study, the test drive reinforced a personal symbolic meaning - specifically, the test-driver's self-perception as a user of new gadgetry - and that reinforced identity was the ticket to intention to buy. The study found two other self-perceptions were not reinforced - being an environmentalist or an authority on cars. And the test drive also reinforced the prospective buyer's sense that the car would be a status symbol - but that symbolic meaning was not associated with intention to buy.

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xratedcheese t1_j267e5c wrote

> the test-driver's self-perception as a user of new gadgetry

It's a shame so many people want that feeling. Too many gadgets are replaced before their time just because people feel good about wearing a "user of new gadgetry" badge.

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DevilsPajamas t1_j28rrn0 wrote

Driving an EV is such a different experience than an ICE car, it is no surprising that when someone experiences something new they might want one. Not having those gear changes results in really smooth driving/acceleration.

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