Convince Consumers to Indulge for Their Own Good

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  1

  chris jablonski

  07/09/08 | Report as spam

  In the grand cosmological scheme of things, why not

  I often wonder why some try and execute on their dreams and desires while others absolutely do not. Sure cost is a barrier, but it is also the solution, or the means. At the end of the day, who wants to be on their deathbed contemplating the ifs and regrets?

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  2

  jselman

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Convince Consumers to Indulge for Their Own Good

  I think you guys hit the nail on the head with what is wrong with our country. Other species went extinct so I guess it's our turn. To bad we're taking so many others with us. Being sorry because someone thought something over and made a good decision should be a good thing not an object of remorse.

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  3

  chris jablonski

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  Clarification

  My thought was not necessarily in line with the post's context around indulgence, but rather realizing dreams and goals that are not just about material gain, and instead removed from greed, consumption, and excess.

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  4

  sfrlkgc

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Convince Consumers to Indulge for Their Own Good

  I'm dubious of the premise that those who succumb to the Influence of the Immoderate rarely regret their actions. I'd like to see how Anat Keinan and Ran Kivetz arrived at that conclusion.

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  5

  bsbnyc

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Convince Consumers to Indulge for Their Own Good

  booooo. Maybe we should indulge in some adjustable rate mortgages while we are at it. Those who indulged in those (as home buyers or institutional investors) sure aren't regretting that now, right?
  
  Given the likelihood that a buyer will be financing a luxury item such as the above, this doesn't seem ethical.

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  6

  gba@...

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  tsk, tsk...

  Bad idea...Please I consider BNET generally to be a pretty good source of info. This article made me squirm. Havard grads are coming up with these ideas? Must be a generational thing. I'm sure glad I won't be around to see all the economic destruction from those credit card bills.

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  7

  ToniMac

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  The Buddha was right

  Ah, here is the living proof that the Buddha was right. There are three great human failings - attachment or greed; aversion or hatred; delusion or ignorance. All of the above are demonstrated in this blog. Americans will surely win the race to hell in a handbasket and take the rest of the planet with them. "Greed is good" still rules in the home of the brave and the land of the free! When are you people going to get it!

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  8

  ToniMac

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  PS An Afterthought

  If you want to get a glimpse of an alternative way of being in the world, try: www.kiva.org
  Maybe start doing something useful with your money instead of self-indulgence!

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  9

  Aimee333

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  two things

  There are two things you NEVER talk about- politics and religion...Can we end this blog? It's interfering with my self-indulgent job of selling to wealthy Americans that invest in their future by bettering their lives for their families.

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  DeniseCorc

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  Manipulative marketing - when will it stop?

  First, I have to question the findings of the study. I have undergraduate and graduate degrees in math & statistics and can tell you anyone skew the findings of any study to the conclusions they want. I really question whether those findings hold for the general population. I know I don't fit their sample findings. Plus I would love to know how the researchers tested whether their subjects did not have later regrets with extravagant purchases. Did they check in with them 10 or 20 years later?
  
  Second, assuming those findings are correct, there is the more important issue that the researchers are recommending manipulative marketing. There is a fine line in what is ethical vs. exploitive marketing tactics. Any of the latest findings in neuromarketing or behavioral science will tell you that consumers make more buying decisions because of advertiser's fear tactics or greed than any other reason.
  
  When such tactics are use, a different part of the brain (the reptilian brain) kicks in that overshadows the logical brain. Consumers are being brainwashed and don't even realize it to make purchases that they would not normally make if their logical minds had any say in it.
  
  I would venture to say that most impulse buying (and hence most of consumer debt in this country) comes from manipulative marketing -- such as the researchers are proposing. When will it stop? Why not take the high road and empower consumers in their choices rather than exploit them?
  
  Denise Corcoran
  The Empowered Business

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  11

  javaid_omar@...

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Convince Consumers to Indulge for Their Own Good

  such theories seems good when seen in context of profitable returns that might yield out of them, by please see the other side of picture, see how the struggle to become wealthy and rich to own state of the art luxurious life style has ended up putting the entire nation in a spiral of debt. the huge lendings and the interests on them has now made it impossble for the american nation to pay it back even in the next 500 years. (In classical sense debt results in economic slavery) the lust for luxuries is the key driving element of this debt based system, the ultimate result is a bankrupt economy and a crashing dollar.
  think about it, think what is the social responsibility of every individual in this nation, should we think selfishly and live a life driven by our own greed or we should expand our horizon of thinking and feel our social responsibility for the sake of bettement of our childern and their childern.
  think about it
  OJ

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  12

  yellowj

  07/10/08 | Report as spam

  Why does everyone hate this idea so much?

  I think it's funny that so many people find this article offensive. The Harvard Business Review is a very credible source for business knowledge and Anat Keinan and Ran Kivetz have simply identified a trend among consumers to allow marketers to better show how their product or service is a good purchase. There is no deception involved and I don't feel that it is unethical. I've spoken to many college alumni - and most wished they had studied less and spent more time playing, traveling and having fun. Same idea.
  
  Jason Shen
  jasonshen.com

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  Graeward

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Convince Consumers to Indulge for Their Own Good

  At the end of a long and fruitful life, the poet John Beyjeman was asked if he had any regrets; Oh yes, he replied, there should have been more sex!

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  Aimee333

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  I'm all about it!

  Regret is only one of many tactics that can be used. Envy,and desire are used regularly. I really don't see the difference-If you're in Sales...you pull all the tricks out of the hat! As the saying goes, "if not now, then when?"

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  hongell

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  Regret?

  Personally, I don't believe in regret. There are too many things to live for than to get wrapped around the axle about any one thing. If someone believes in regret vice opportunity, they will soon realize there is something missing; basically they have been conned or are a sucker. If neither and probably both, they are (still) ignorant. Unfortunately, there are too many ignorant people in our country and the "business elites" take advantage of them all the time. Yes, this article is a case in point.

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  Aimee333

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  I might add

  There are many other HUMAN failings. And if you're in Sales...you use them to your advantage. Sorry, but I think you used this blog to personally attack Americans. The point was regret is a powerful emotion, just like "loss"...it is the SALES way, not just the American way.

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  17

  Lou Giordano

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  "B" stands for Business right?

  Why is everyone turning Business Network into Bhudda Network? The reason you read this is so you can increase sales. So why does this upset you? You can choose to sell frivilous luxury items or not but if you do sell them - in order to feed your family - you should learn how to market them in a down economy.
  I think the thing the article misses is that people who buy $500.00 boots don't feel guilty because they never feel guilty about anything.

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  18

  ToniMac

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  No I'm not a sales person

  The reason I read this blog was because i thought from the headline it was a satirical joke. Imagine my dismay when I found out it was for real!
  As for another comment about it being the sales way and not the American way ... is there any difference? Didn't marketing begin in America at the beginning of the 20th century?
  And no, it wasn't an attack on Americans ... but on the self-serving, over-indulgent, my way or no way approach of the American culture which unfortunately has spread like an insidious virus to the rest of the world, capitalising on the three basic failings of human nature - greed / hatred and ignorance! Finally, my response was not about religion, as another respondent pointed out, it is actually about human nature - the Buddha just happened to be the first well known psychotherapist!
  May you all come to see the error in your thinking and achieve real Joy in your lives.
  With much metta

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  19

  hongell

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  B stands for

  B stands for Be Ethical. It is not a lost profession or lifestyle.

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  20

  beulahdiane

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Convince Consumers to Indulge for Their Own Good

  I was relieved to read the comments of those debating the thinking behind this "newest" (though, not so new) approach to marketing. Indulging for one's own good, "affluenza", over-consumption, conspicuous consumption, consumption for the sake of consumption is at the core of this marketing guise. As a marketer, I understand the strategy but can honestly say it plays ("preys") on consumptive behavior that is already out of synch with our environment, our economy and, as many have already stated, our social/spiritual well-being. As an entrepreneur, I understand the need to find new ways to market products and services. But I have to wonder at what point will companies and marketing departments begin to take responsibility for the impact "waste-filled" strategies have on our society and our environment. "Socially responsible" companies do take that responsibility . . . unfortunately, there are simply not enough of them.

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  21

  beulahdiane

  07/11/08 | Report as spam

  Another thought . . . .

  If the market to which this strategy is targeted is as insightful and aware as the respondents to this blog, this approach could ultimately backfire.
  
  "a peaceful space"

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  22

  smalltimepro

  07/14/08 | Report as spam

  Fallacy in the premise

  The premise of the whole argument has probably come to such an illogical conclusion because it is based on a very limited portion of the societies around the globe.
  Life spent in chastity will lead to a sense of achievement as opposed to regret to a religious believer. An atheist may, understandably, feel regret. Regardless of whether religious belief holds any truth or not, hope of fulfilment in the afterlife affects consumer behaviour.
  The researchers at harvard must broaden them approach before coming out with such ridiculous conclusions.

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  23

  LoriJ521

  07/14/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Convince Consumers to Indulge for Their Own Good

  After reading the report, I think that perhaps the two researchers have revealed something valuable, however, the words used to describe it are definitely sensational. To say that a good marketing tatic would be to convince people that they would feel guilty if they don't spend is where they are trying to hard to make the point.
  
  I happen to agree that sometimes people hold on when they should let go and vice versa. The report actually sayst that guilt is a good motivating factor when it is appropriate indulgence. The example of the family vacation is makes the point clear. Who would feel a little guilty about taking that cruise when all the finincial pundits are saying we're going down fast. In this situation, the parallel truth is that the kids are growing up fast too. Perhaps a person would feel guilty and tapping into that feeling could help them put first things first. So going ahead and taking that nice family vaction that you planned for instead of keeping the money in the bank would be appropriate indulgence. On the other hand, I don't feel that just having more stuff is going to make that big of a difference at the end of a person's life. A Timex tells time just as well as a Rolex. I never heard anybody say I wish I had spent more of my savings on expensive watches and stuff on the deathbed. So if you really don't have the money to buy a Rolex in good times, you probably don't have it when the economy is down.
  
  I don't think the research was advocating throwing all good sense to the wind but just not holding on when it is appropriate for your situation to spend more. It's not a perfect solution but I can't see the harmful side when people allow appropriate guilt to guide.

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  24

  Nirgun

  08/16/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Convince Consumers to Indulge for Their Own Good

  I feel this theory of working on the guilt works very well since the marketing executives are telling the customers to live luxuriously in the present than wait for the happiness later.
  All of us at old age repent that we have money at a time when we are not able to enjoy it. Neither can we eat better, have real SEX ( Spiritual Energy Xchange) travel to adventurous trips, by the time we have excess money!!
  So market 'luxury' that "Lay on the guilt" of having not lived in the present to encourage "living in the present", the essence of all religions!!