People, more often than not, trade their dollars for products or at locations that they feel comfortable with. Reduce potential customers’ uncertainty about your product or location and you may be able to reap huge rewards.
When people are uncertain about a product, idea, or person, there is a general discomfort that is felt toward the target which creates a slight to serious aversion to it. Uncertainty Reduction is the process of removing this discomfort by creating a familiarity through regular exposure and increased information flow.
Along with uncertainty reduction is the Mere Exposure Effect, which “…refers to the fact that people, other things being equal, prefer and choose what is familiar to them – what they have seen or experienced before” (Pfeffer, 2010). In other words, “familiarity produces preference.” The more a person is exposed to a particular idea, the more they tend to feel comfortable with it (Miller, 1976).
Examples of people who are averse to things of which they are unfamiliar with is not lacking in examples. Every time you have ever heard someone say that they do not like a particular “exotic” food that they have never tried is a textbook example of an an unfamiliarity causing aversion. This can even extend to barber shops or auto mechanic garages where people are known to avoid locations that they are unfamiliar with and may even attribute negative qualities to them.
It is partly due to this uncertainty that habits are formed around particular products or locations. In his widely popular book “The Power of Habit,” Charles Duhigg explains that while these habit loops are difficult to interrupt, there are ways that it can be done effectively.
Along with this is the years of Diffusion research which are perfectly distilled in Everett M Rogers’s book “Diffusion of Innovations.” Rogers describes how time, as an element of diffusion, affects how we feel about a new idea or product. The increased duration of exposure directly correlates to the increased comfort with the idea or product.
How do these tie in with uncertainty reduction and why is it important for your business? As a person is continuously exposed to a new idea or product, their discomfort with it begins to fade away as they become more familiar with the it. Once this happens, they will be more likely to accept the idea or purchase the product for themselves.
Your product, service, or even business location should be continuously advertised as much as possible, highlighting its details and advantages to every potential customer. The more they see it and the more familiar with it they are, the more likely that their uncertainty about it will be reduced and they will risk their dollars for it.
Miller, Richard L. “Mere Exposure, Psychological Reactance and Attitude Change.” The Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 2, 1976, pp. 229–233. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2748207. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.
Christopher Padilla 
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