Evening Chat: Psychological Insights to Asynchronous Communication

Tauhid Nur Azhar

Most of us would agree with the statement that many aspects of applied psychology are used in various marketing strategies or new product development. This is emphasized by Idawati Raharjo, a psychology alumna from Gadjah Mada University, who works in one of the leading FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies in Indonesia. In her writing, she discusses the insights that psychology can offer in the context of new product planning and marketing processes.

Although some theories she discusses are considered old, she argues that approaches like the Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory, introduced by Richard L. Oliver in 1980, remain highly relevant to today’s marketing dynamics.

In this expectancy disconfirmation theory, the level of customer satisfaction can be measured by the difference between pre-purchase expectations and post-purchase perceived performance. In simpler terms, a situation where a customer has an exceptionally positive experience during the purchasing and usage process, far exceeding their initial expectations or assumptions before the purchase.

If this condition occurs, it is almost certain that the customer satisfaction rate will increase sharply.

I personally experienced this not long ago, and I have already mentioned it in one of my previous writings before this one. My experience with a high disparity between expectations and experiences happened when I stayed at a unique hotel in the heart of Solo city. The small hotel named Petite Boutique advertised a very affordable room rate with a product value that far exceeded my expectations. As the young people say now, “its price is out of this world, and the product is really cool, it makes you keep thinking…”

Located in a very strategic location, with comfortable room conditions, and above-average service quality, I am extremely grateful and happy. I think the key is not to offer anything that is over-valued and to work smartly and sincerely to provide product quality far better than the initial perception. I hope that in the context of national leadership or representative competition, this theory can also be implemented.

Another personal experience I had was when I stopped by to buy Ponorogo chicken satay located on HOS Cokroaminoto Street in Madiun. Initially, I had no intention of buying satay, as my main goal of going to that street was to visit the legendary Yu Gembrot pecel rice shop, but when I was walking, my sense of smell was struck by the intoxicating aroma of grilled satay, which then made me fall under the spell of the taste of Ponorogo satay. And it turned out that…the aroma did not lie. The taste was heavenly. The extraordinary balance between the umami effect of the peanut sauce, soy sauce, onions, and chilies blended perfectly with the soft smokey effect from the grilled chicken breast and liver with the right heat of charcoal. The lontong was incredibly soft, as if it was coated with a moisturizer that could soften any density of the surface.

The second psychological aspect in Bu Ida’s marketing insight is cognitive dissonance theory, which was introduced by Leon Festinger (1962). In simple terms, this theory states that there is a possibility of feeling uncomfortable due to doubt or guilt after purchasing a certain product or service at a certain price that is deemed not suitable with the price paid.

Fear of overpricing, simply put. Overpricing, in cool language. For example, when we pay a certain amount of money for food, there is always a concern in our hearts about the taste quality that might not be worth the price we paid.

Perhaps an example from real life is what was experienced by one of my former students. He paid quite a lot for dinner at one of the leading Japanese restaurants in our city, and he couldn’t even finish his first appetizer, sashimi, because he was allergic to seafood.

However, this cognitive dissonance can be overcome if the product or service obtained falls into the category of being worth consuming or buying. A real example that I have experienced is when I invited my family to spend the end of last year’s holiday by enjoying two different genre resorts. One in a hilly area with a rural atmosphere and one that offers a beach atmosphere.

From the information I could get, there was a deep doubt in my heart. There were many considerations. After all, in one family, there are many tastes and interests. Then, the end of the year prices also increased quite significantly. So, armed with the preparation for disappointment, I set off with my family with a lot of cognitive dissonance worries.

But, thank God, the product offered exceeded our expectations and the label “worthed” was affixed. Of course, I was saved.

The final psychological insight in marketing discussed by Bu Ida is social identity theory. This theory, proposed by Henry Tajfel and John C. Turner (1979), is now becoming the mainstream in the context of digital marketing.

The concept of influencers, endorsers, and identities as celebrities or YouTubers represents a new model in the social engineering concept that can steer the construction of public and personal opinions. The rapid and nearly unlimited penetration of information through digital channels has given birth to a new marketing communication model that was unimaginable in previous eras.

The presence of the internet as an enabler or facilitator for asynchronous communication has given birth to several social role models as benchmark identities.

Trendsetters in behavior and lifestyle. Because in the context of asynchronous communication that can be accessed anytime, the existence of digital content with actors as its objects can become a continuous and ongoing feast, correlating with the associative effect as planned.

The subliminal persuasive effect produced from the repression of dominant hegemony in the media and digital platforms will become part of the memory construction process that correlates with the decision-making system located in the frontoparietal network, which consists of the prefrontal cortex, limbic system, and thalamus.

This dynamic and open-access feast will become a determining factor in the formation of our social identity concept.

A real example is the role of food vloggers or culinary YouTubers in reconstructing taste and classifying the deliciousness of food that is offered, although the concept of delicious and tasty is qualitative and personal, right? Taste is selfish because it is individual with preferences that come from the experiential concept. But it has been proven that ratings and comments as well as reviews given by food vloggers are now considered the most accurate barometer by food lovers and hunters.

Such is a short writing on this rainy and romantic afternoon. As a picture, I write this relaxed writing on a train that is approaching the legendary Kali Brantas bridge after Kertosono station towards the east, where the train tracks split into two. Towards Malang and Surabaya. Two sister cities that don’t always have friendly relationships, sometimes there’s a lot of drama, but strangely, they can never stop loving each other.