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The decoy effect

Posted by mwelch April 10, 2007 02:24 PM

Source: Seth Godin's blog

Seth Godin talks about the power of the decoy effect. That's when "there are two wines for sale at dinner: $9 a bottle or $16 a bottle. Which one do you order? Now, imagine that there are three, and the third is $34. Are you more likely to buy the $16 bottle now? Most people are." When marketing products or services, this kind of triangulation is used to drive people toward particular choices. It doesn't just work for consumers. Godin points to this Washington Post article that describes how the decoy effect can sway voters. That article gives some good advice: "be wary if a difficult choice suddenly feels simple."

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/04/triangulation.html

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