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A new study from Michigan State University published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science shows that leveraging “consumer arrogance” might be a marketer’s most effective strategy for promoting their brands and products.  Arrogance is when you broadcast your superiority to others; consumer arrogance is broadcasting your superiority to others via consumption. Whether it’s, ‘I got a better deal on a product than you,’ or, ‘Look at my new car,’ it’s all about showing others how great a consumer you are, and “how much better you are than them.”

Companies spend billions of dollars advertising products, services, and experiences, but word-of-mouth, which is the information consumers share about products, deals, brands, or anything that is consumption related, is an invaluable promotion tactic that is driven by consumer arrogance.

Some experts predict that in 10 years, the conventional world of marketing will disappear and we will rely only on word-of-mouth marketing — especially for those of the younger generation who do not trust marketing messages from companies and rely on influencers, recommendations and other forms of word-of-mouth communication. This is why the social phenomenon of consumer arrogance is critically important to understand.

In an era of “oversharing” one’s consumption practices and triumphs, the researchers wanted to find out what role consumer arrogance played in word-of-mouth sharing - for better or worse.

In five studies, they showed how consumer arrogance drives word-of-mouth communication.  Indeed, they confirmed that if you can trigger people’s sense of consumer arrogance, they’re more likely to engage in word-of-mouth communication.

However, they still faced the question: “is that always good for marketers?”  As frequently happens in marketing, the answer is: “It depends.” The study found that such a tendency can be a double-edged sword for marketers.

While most consumers prefer to engage in positive word-of-mouth communication and talk about their consumption triumphs, the study found that consumer arrogance fuels both positive and negative word-of-mouth communication.

Consumers brag about their consumption triumphs out of self-enhancement motives. Such triumphs portray them in a positive light as successful consumers to others. And, if their sense of consumer arrogance is triggered, they will brag significantly more; however, triggering this sense of arrogance will also lead consumers to share negative information if they regard their consumption experience as a failure. In such cases, negative word-of-mouth communication would help them reaffirm their sense of superiority, especially if the failure occurred in the presence of others.

The “bragging culture” in which we live rests upon consumer arrogance - showing others what you have that they don’t, how you got it, or where you’re doing it. And this culture is shifting how companies reach their consumer bases.

The research emphasizes the uniqueness of consumer arrogance as a social phenomenon that drives word-of-mouth communication. The findings provide marketing managers with a strategic mechanism to add to their arsenal of managerial options for how to engage in the marketplace, particularly on social media.

References
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, June 11, 2020, “Consumer Arrogance and Word-of-Mouth,” by Ayalla Ruvio, et al.  © 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Part of Springer Nature.  All rights reserved.

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https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-020-00725-3