Psychology of Selling and Marketing
When happy customers and happy employees don’t add up: How investor signals have shifted in the social media age
A new study finds that simultaneous increases in customer and employee satisfaction are linked to lower stock returns in the social media era, reversing a long-held assumption.
Correcting fake news about brands does not backfire, five-study experiment finds
New research across five experiments finds that correcting brand misinformation with fact-checking labels does not backfire, but restoring brand reputation remains a harder challenge.
Should your marketing tell a story or state the facts? A massive meta-analysis has answers
A sweeping meta-analysis of over 300 studies finds that storytelling outperforms facts in written marketing, but the real winner may be messages that blend both approaches.
When brands embrace diversity, some customers pull away — and new research explains why
New research reveals why diversity initiatives sometimes drive existing customers away and identifies practical strategies brands can use to promote inclusion without triggering backlash.
Smaller influencers drive engagement while bigger ones drive purchases, meta-analysis finds
A meta-analysis of 135 experiments finds that influencer size shapes marketing outcomes in surprising ways, with smaller influencers driving engagement and larger ones driving purchase intent.
Political conservatives are more drawn to baby-faced product designs, and purity values explain why
New research across nine experiments finds political conservatives prefer baby-faced product designs more than liberals do, and purity-related moral values appear to explain the connection.
Free gifts with no strings attached can boost customer spending by over 30%, study finds
A new study finds that giving customers a free gift before they buy anything can boost spending by over 30% and strengthen loyalty, even when the gift costs very little.
New research reveals the “Goldilocks” age for social media influencers
New research finds that social media influencers who appear middle-aged often outperform the youngest creators, challenging the long-held belief that youth always sells.
What today’s shoppers really want from salespeople, and what drives them away
New research reveals which salesperson qualities matter most to today's informed consumers, how those preferences shift across retail, direct-selling, and complaint scenarios, and which traits drive negative reviews.
The salesperson who competes against themselves may outperform the one trying to beat everyone else
New research reveals that salespeople driven to beat their own past performance may outwork and out-help those focused on beating colleagues, with major implications for hiring and management.