When you search for a product you want to buy on Amazon, and you’re almost set on purchasing it, but as you scroll down to look at the feedback, all you see are 5-star reviews. While that sounds positive, it may look a little too good to be true. Generally, if the reviews are around 4 stars or somewhere along that line, a person gets convinced that the product is good and reasonable to buy. However, if it’s all 5 stars you start to question whether the reviews are fake or manipulated. Researchers have found that too many good reviews can backfire and harm businesses’ bottom line. They dubbed it as the ‘Positivity Problem’. This is just one of the many instances where the ‘Pratfall Effect’ is put to use in real life.
The Pratfall Effect in simple language says that mistakes make us more likable. This concept does specifically work for individuals who have a reputation for not making mistakes or a competent person. If the same mistake is made by someone who is an average individual or is prone to making mistakes, these mishaps can end up making them less likeable. It’s very commonly known as the ‘blemishing effect’ and is a useful technique in marketing fields.
This technique has heavily been used by brands to ‘humanize’ the brand’s image. One of the funniest examples of this is when Tesla turned what could be a huge setback for them into a meme, and ended up increasing their sales. When launching their Cyber Truck, Elon Musk had so much faith in its ‘unbreakable armour’, that he asked one of his employees to test it on the spot by throwing a steel ball right at it– and the glass ended up breaking. Instead of controlling the damage made by a press release or improving the quality of the product, he released a t-shirt souvenir with an image of the shattered glass and sold it. The meme went viral, their sales increased and they not only acknowledged the pratfall but also profited from it.
To conclude, the method can be risky if not executed properly, but if it’s received as planned and carried out well, mistakes can turn out to be good for you.
Sanskriti Khattry
XI H
