How sentence structure affects consumer behaviour

New research reveals we are better off talking about a product’s users than the product itself when sharing a statistic. Here’s why.

Let’s say you are marketing a (fictitious) face cream called Oils of Soils.

You can either say:

• “Oils of Soils face cream improved the skin of nine out of 10 people”; or
• “Nine out of 10 people improved their skin by using Oils of Soils face cream”.

The nine out of 10 stat is the same, but how we talk about it is different.

In the first case, we make the product the subject of the statement, emphasising that Oils of Soils improved the skin of nine out of 10 people. 

In the second, we instead make the users the subject of the statement, sharing that “nine out of 10 people improved their skin”.

Does varying the subject of the statement make a difference in how persuasive the message is?

Turns out, yes. Dramatically.

How sentence structure affects persuasion

Researchers were interested in how syntax – the structure of a sentence – affects consumer behaviour.

Using Google Adwords, they created two ads for a dating site and monitored click-through rates across around 20,000 impressions. 

The first ad read: “[Brand Name] succeeds for 87% of clients”. This is the product-subject condition and it received a click-through rate of 0.53%.

The second ad, the user-subject version, read: “87% of clients succeed with [Brand Name]”. Its click-through rate was 0.78%. 

That’s an almost 50% improvement just from varying sentence structure.

Now, let’s say you are selling a face mask that doesn’t work for all people all of the time.

Are you better to say it’s because: 

• some people fail to reduce the risk of contracting flu-like illness when using your mask; or 
• the mask fails to reduce the risk for some people?

Again, it turns out the mask is viewed more favourably if we focus on the users, rather than the product. 

And what about a loyalty program? In this case, the researchers tested the likelihood people would join a retailer’s loyalty program.

In the user-subject condition, they were told “according to this program, consumers who accumulate $1,500 of purchases receive a $150 cash bonus”. In the product-subject condition, they were told “this program requires consumers to accumulate $1,500 of purchases to receive a $150 cash bonus”.

People were not only more likely to join the program if it was user-centric, they also perceived the program as requiring less effort.

Why you should focus on users first

So why do statements focussing on users have a more powerful effect on customer behaviour than a sentence emphasising the product?

Two reasons.

The first is the idiosyncratic fit. In other words, how easily people see themselves fitting the product. When we talk about users, it’s easier for your customers to imagine themselves using it.

The second is responsibility. When we read that the dating website doesn’t work for 13% of people, we blame the people, not the website. When the mask doesn’t work, it’s because other people didn’t use it properly, not because the mask itself was bad. We don’t tend to imagine ourselves failing, so we blame the people, not the product.

However, there’s one important caveat before you apply the “user-first” rule to your communications.

It doesn’t seem to work if you use celebrities or high-status users as the reference point. When we’re comparing ourselves to someone of high status, we can no longer believe ourselves to be better than average, and therefore can’t shift blame for product failure to the users.

But in general, when you are communicating a message about product performance, lead with the users, not the product itself. 

Bri Williams is a behavioural science expert.