Consumers more motivated when cosmetics don't work | Cosmetics & Makeup

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Consumers more motivated when cosmetics don't work

Fear of failure is a stronger motivator than hope of success when it comes to attaining youthful skin, and marketers of anti-ageing products should change their strategies accordingly, says latest research. Individuals using anti-ageing formulations are more motivated to continue use if the treatments appear to have not yet started to work, say researchers at the University of Bath, UK.

This is motivated by a negative future image that individuals hold of themselves - a 'feared self' - in this case a wrinkled and old self, according to Professor Brett Martin.

Individuals who want to avoid their 'feared self' tend to become less motivated to continue treatment when products begin to work, and the feared self becomes less of a realistic future.

Conversely, those that hold positive images of themselves are more likely to stop using products if they show no positive benefits, and to continue treatment if some degree of success can be seen, says Martin.

The study interviewed 297 females aged between 27 and 65, and found that women who were using creams, supplements and plastic surgery to look younger were trying to avoid a feared negative future image of what they might become.

Out of the participants, 73 per cent of those that felt the treatment was not working were motivated to continue using it compared to only 45 per cent of those who believed the treatment was giving a beneficial effect.

"When people dwell on a negative future, they are motivated by fear, yet as they move away from this feared state - say a wrinkled skin or flabby body - they become less motivated to carry on using the product or service" said Martin.

Far from advising manufacturers to create products that do not deliver the goods, Martin says that marketers should take into account the effect of product success and failure on more positively minded subjects.

He notes that when a product or service begins to have a positive effect, self esteem may increase. Individuals with more positive mindsets react in the opposite way, according to the research, being de-motivated by failure and motivated by success.

These findings are of particular interest to those marketing appearance enhancing products and Martin and his colleague Dr Sobh claim to have devised performance measurers to ensure marketers achieve the optimal balance in their communications with consumers and keep them motivated.

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