Induce Any Sensation During Product Usage

Some products have uncertain results.

How can you tell if a lotion is truly working?

Well, add a physical sensation

Researchers tested two herbal balms.

The only difference? One tingled.

Sure enough, the tingling balm seemed better: Only 33% of people bought the regular balm, whereas 58% of people bought the tingling balm after trying it (King et al., 2024).

Same with other products. Customers were willing to pay:

• $13.03 for a regular headwrap
• $20.71 for a headwrap with a cooling sensation

Sensations imply that a product is working:

...[sensations] improve consumers’ ability to perceive an inflow of (otherwise invisible) benefits from the product to their body, giving consumers a metacognitive sense that the product is improving their body (“The tingle tells me that the product essence is now flowing to my body”; King et al., 2024).

In fact, this enhancement is so extreme that it changes behavior.

Researchers gave participants a muscle-enhancing gel. Participants who felt a tingle could hold a 5 lb. weight for a longer duration (King et al., 2024).

When possible, help customers infer that your product is working by adding sensations:

• Sensory feelings (e.g., tingling, cooling, warming)
• Sounds (e.g., buzzing, humming)
• Attachments that "click" into place

Placebo Sensations

Can't add a sensation? Try describing events that will happen anyway.

After applying the sunscreen, it should:

• ...feel slightly cold
• ...feel moist
• ...disappear fully

Frame these expected outcomes as evidence that your product is working.

Digital Sensations

Imagine clicking an important button:

• Transfer money
• Delete data
• Submit job application

Sure, you might see a "thank you" message. But did it really happen? How can you tell?

In these scenarios, loading screens can be useful. Even if you don't need them.

For example, TurboTax shows a lengthy animation after you submit taxes:

It becomes a tingling sensation. You believe that something is truly happening during this moment, so you feel confident in the accuracy and efficacy of this action.

• King, D., Auschaitrakul, S., & You, Y. (2024). Felt something, hence it works: Merely adding a sensory signal to a product improves objective measures of product efficacy and product evaluations. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1-19.