Avoid Meaningless 100% Claims

Doesn't 100% feel enticing?

• 100% organic
• 100% guarantee
• 100% effective

And sure, those examples are likely persuasive.

But consider these claims:

• 100% juice
• 100% milk
• 100% tasty

Some marketers inject 100% claims into questionable phrases:

...the term “100%” is sometimes coupled with an otherwise informative attribute (e.g., “juice” or “tasty”) to create a claim that, upon closer inspection, is meaningless—because the concept of perfection is not well defined with respect to the focal attribute (Munichor & Levontin, 2024, p. 720)

Are customers persuaded by these pseudo claims?

Turns out, no. They actively resist them (Munichor & Levontin, 2024).

In fact, they preferred 99% juice to 100% juice.

They even scorned people who bought 100% juice, believing them to be less successful, intelligent, and high status.

Takeaways

• Stick to Relevant Claims. Don't needlessly insert 100%.
• Shift from 100% to 101%. Ironically, this framing — a number that seems even less relevant — can be more persuasive. Customers preferred a hotel with a 101% (vs. 100%) satisfaction guarantee (Munichor & Levontin, 2024). Still unclear why.

• Munichor, N., & Levontin, L. (2024). The effects of pseudo‐relevant 100% claims. Psychology & Marketing, 41(4), 719-733.