Ryan Stephens Marketing

The Importance of Clues

28
September

In determining whether or not they want to purchase your product, customers rely on clues. These clues send signals (often subconsciously) that influence their decision.

There are three types of clues: the way the product works (functional), the sensory presentation associated with the product (mechanic), and behavior and appearance of service providers (humanic).

For an iPhone the functional clues are probably the most important. But your experience at a restaurant is largely dependent on all three, the taste (functional), the smell of the food and aesthetic of the restaurant (mechanic), and the service of the wait staff (humanic).

The clues each play a different role in consumer experience; they affect various calculative and emotional perceptions in a distinctive fashion. One type of clue typically can’t stand on its own. Most products and services need all three to be successful.

But which is the most important?

For most companies, humanic clues are the most important.

Yes the product has to work, and yes the food has to taste good, but consumers expect that. Where your brand and your company can set itself apart is by enhancing your customers’ experiences via humanic clues and exceeding expectations.

This is why service recovery is such a great opportunity to acquire a lifetime advocate. This is why great salespeople can sell anything. And this is why I write a whole blog geared towards relationships.

Your other clues might entice a one-time purchase, but it’s your humanic clues that keep people coming back for more – building affinity and loyalty.

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Posted on by Ryan Stephens

4 Comments

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  • http://www.owlsparks.com/ Carlos Miceli

    The thing is that humanic clues are hard to change. This means that if you have great humanistic value, you’re going to do great, even with some functional or mechanic bumps along the way. but if your humanistic aspect sucks, then you’re doomed.

    It’s a culture thing, and that’s the hardest thing to improve in a company, by far.
    .-= Carlos Miceli´s last blog ..The Wave Myth =-.

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  • http://fiwk.blogspot.com Royce

    Interesting post Ryan, I had never even heard of humanic clues before. Now that I hear them described that way it makes perfect sense. I’d agree with Carlos that in one sense they are the hardest to change, beacuse they are based on perception, but on the other hand they can be the most available for manipulation because a shifting of ‘corporate culture’ or whatever can immediately reverberate throughout the brand.

    I think this concept is particularly interesting when applied to personal brands. How can someone change the perception other have of them with simply managing their visible footprint in social settings?
    .-= Royce´s last blog ..The Dutch like the bathroom more than sex =-.

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  • http://www.marketingclimber.com Thomas McMillan

    Ryan – You might enjoy reading one of the books that Dr. Leonard L. Berry has written about service marketing. He is a renowned scholar on the subject and really gets it.

    His books are a little older but still good.

    I’d suggest “Discovering the Soul of Service: The Nine Drivers of Sustainable Business”. He’s still a prof at Texas A&M but also is on the Board of Directors for Lowe’s, Darden Restaurants, and Genesco.
    .-= Thomas McMillan´s last blog ..Walmart: Highlighting Value during Recession – Family Night Style! =-.

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  • http://www.lionslinger.com Walter

    I definitely agree with you. Human touch is the most important aspect in any business endeavor. Unfortunately, some businesses treat people like automatons and fooling us in the process. :-)
    .-= Walter´s last blog ..Finding myself beyond my identity =-.

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