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Digital Marketing – Pavlovian Marketing
Lots of digital marketing articles have been written around special offers and reward programmes; in which ratio schedules, interval schedules and continuous reward schedules, have been compared. Every schedule has a completely different rate of decay. A decay rate is the rate at which customers stop interacting with the company, once the promotional offer ends. In the last quarter of the year, these reward schedules become extremely relevant, mainly because of the upcoming holiday season.
You may have often heard of ‘Pavlovian Marketing’. Well, the digital marketing principle of ‘Pavlovian marketing’ originates from the decay rates of reward schedules, wherein the digital marketing programmes of some brands actually train shoppers to buy only when they are sure that they will receive a discount. At a recent retailer conference, it was noted that retailers fear launching regular promotional offers, because they usually notice a decrease in profit margins, as customers wait for a discount offer to be announced, before making a purchase.
The term ‘Pavlonian’ is derived from the last name of Ivan Pavlov, a scientist who demonstrated that animals can be trained to respond in a particular way, to a certain type of stimulus. One of his experiments involved training a group of dogs to salivate when they heard a bell ringing. During the training process, the ringing of a bell was always accompanied by the doling out of treats. Hence, the dogs learnt to expect food whenever a bell was rung, and would automatically start salivating.
Other scientists researched Pavlov’s theories further, and discovered that some behaviour becomes so conditioned, that it takes place only when the stimulation is given. Meaning, they trained dogs to salivate only when a bell is rung.
The Pavlonian concept is used in the digital marketing field, to refer to a unique type of retailer behaviour. When a company continuously doles out digital marketing coupons to users, not only do they offer customers a stimulus for making a purchase, but they also teach customers to wait for coupons before making a purchase.
While most digital marketing professionals say this is the main aim of discounted coupons, there is also a negative effect that companies should be aware about. If coupons are offered as part of a continuous reward schedule, individuals will be trained to shop only when they get a coupon. This can prove to be a disaster not only for sales margins, but also for digital marketing brands.
Qudos Digital is a leading digital marketing agency, and can be contacted on 0845 388 5583 or info@qudosdigital.co.uk.
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