Can Virtual Big Gulps Line Your Pockets??

You’ve stopped at the gas station for gas and got a drink. Can virtual “big gulps” line your pockets?

Many people, just go straight to the largest cup they have called the Big Gulp. There is more to it than just being thirsty, people carry those big, clumsy drinks with pride.

Compare that with the mega launches of super-expensive products that boast about how heavy the packing box is.

“You Get 32 CD’s, 22 DVD’s and 3 Big Manuals of 250 Pages Each! This package weighs a whopping 15 pounds, delivered to your door!”

Bigger is better for more than one reason.

As marketers, we think that bigger is better, even when it’s not. After all, more of anything seems like a better deal to the customer than less of something, right?

But thanks to a new study, we now know that “more” of a product is also more of another thing. Not only does “more” sound better, but it can also be a status symbol for the customer.

Take for example the Big Gulp drink which is 30 oz of sticky sweet carbonated beverage. Does anyone on the planet NEED 30 oz of sticky sweet carbonated beverage?

While some might say they do, the fact is it’s a flood of empty calories. Empty calories with a bevy of negative health effects, yet they sell like gangbusters.

It makes the buyer feel better.

And believe it or not, they can actually make the purchasers feel BETTER about themselves. No, I am NOT advocating you run out and buy one of these things.

But instead, I’m suggesting you SELL these things, in digital form. Follow this closely.

This is from the Journal of Consumer Research and it concerns a series of experiments. These experiments were carried out by Derek Rucker of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

In the first experiment, volunteers looked at photos of people holding drinks of different sizes. Then they were asked to rate the STATUS of the people they saw in the photos.

The results came in and were shocking.

Tabulated results showed that the bigger the drink, the higher the status score each photo rated. No, I’m not kidding, and it gets weirder.

In the second experiment, half of the volunteers were asked to remember a time when they were bossed around. The other half were asked to remember a time when they were in a position to boss others around.

No surprise here, the volunteers who remember being bossed around felt the least powerful. (Yet another example of how the thoughts you choose determine how you feel.)

Those who felt least powerful chose bigger.

Okay, here comes the surprise, next those same volunteers were offered a drink in 3 different sizes. There was no choice on what KIND of drink, only of what SIZE drink they could have.

Those who felt the least powerful CHOSE THE BIGGEST DRINK. In other words, even in something as ordinary as choosing the size of a drink, it’s more involved.

It’s not based solely on how thirsty the person is, but rather on how much power they feel they have.

Now take it to the world and economic situation.

Now let’s compare the micro to the macro, the worldwide economy. It becomes a reasonable conclusion that as people feel powerless to control what’s happening, more and more super sizing will be taking place, and not just in food.

Now then, here’s how to use this in your marketing.

Make your product appear larger and more valuable.

First, when you can make your product appear larger, do so. For example, you might take each chapter of an ebook and separate it into a report.

12 reports look like more than one ebook. If you are shipping audios or videos, place them on 12 discs rather than 4 and so forth.

Second, offer a super size version of your product. That is, you might have your regular product and a second version that offers more information, more promises, more benefits, etc.

Create a fancy name that sounds prestigious.

Third, offer them power and prestige. For example, if you’re creating a membership, don’t make it just any old membership.

Give it a name like The Exclusive Gold Club for Star Class Members or something that conveys the power and prestige so many people are lacking in these uncertain times.

Fourth, don’t forget to add an OTO to your offer. OTO’s are like supersizing the fries and drink.

They’ve already decided to order, now it’s just a matter of offering them more, and many times they will jump at the chance to upgrade to that virtual Big Gulp.

There is no need to feel guilty about your offer.

One more thing. Don’t feel guilty about up-selling your customers.

People want to feel they are in control, that they have power, and that they do matter.

Now they have a choice between buying a few Big Gulps that are going to rot their bones and pack on the fat, or your new product that can actually HELP them.

It makes sense and you’ve got a duty to offer them that product and let them decide for themselves.

Create a product that has a lot of value, an OTO, and a prestigious name.