Why Do Consumers Choose Competitor Brands When Ours Wins in Preference Testing?

You’ve conducted blind tests, and your product consistently comes out on top. It’s better. It’s proven. So why do consumers still prefer your competitor?

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You could try to tell them—again—why your product is superior. You could increase sampling efforts, letting them experience the quality firsthand. Yet despite your best efforts, they don’t budge.

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The problem? Consumers don’t make rational decisions.

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The Science of Decision-Making: System 1 vs. System 2

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Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman’s groundbreaking book Thinking, Fast and Slow introduced us to the concepts of System 1 and System 2 thinking. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional. System 2 is slow, deliberate, and rational.

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When we explain how much better our product is—its superior taste, innovative design, or advanced features—we’re appealing to System 2. Even when we sprinkle in emotional language or appealing visuals, our pitch often remains fundamentally rational.

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Here’s the catch: Most purchasing decisions aren’t made in System 2. In fact, most consumers operate in System 1, relying on instinct, emotion, and habit.

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The Elephant and the Rider: Emotional vs. Rational

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Jonathan Haidt, in The Happiness Hypothesis, uses a powerful metaphor to explain this dynamic: the Elephant and the Rider. The Rider represents our rational self, the logical decision-maker seemingly in control. The Elephant is our emotional self, powerful and far less logical. While the Rider might steer the Elephant on the surface, when the Elephant decides to go in another direction, the Rider has little power to resist.

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Chip and Dan Heath expand on this metaphor in Switch, adding a third element: the Path, or the environment. The Rider may see a clear Path and logically understand why it’s better to follow it. But if the Elephant isn’t convinced—if the emotional side isn’t engaged—the Rider can’t force the decision.

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This is where brands often falter. They focus on persuading the Rider through rational arguments or improving the Path with trends like sustainability, celebrity endorsements, or convenience. But without speaking to the Elephant—the consumer’s emotions—the effort is in vain.

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Consumers Need to Want Your Product

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For consumers to choose your brand, they need to want it. They need to believe it will make their lives better or bring value to their family. Both want and belief are emotional, not rational.

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While System 2 might tell the consumer that your product is superior, System 1—their intuitive, emotional Elephant—acts on desire and feelings, not logic.

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Why Targeting the Rider Isn’t Enough

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It’s tempting to focus on the Rider, crafting logical arguments about why your product is the best choice. It’s easier to articulate features and benefits than to dig into the emotional drivers of your audience. But this approach misses the mark.

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Consumers aren’t rational beings. Most decisions are made instinctively in System 1, driven by emotions rather than deliberate thought.

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If you take the time to understand the Elephant—your consumers’ emotional drivers—and learn to speak its language, everything changes. When you connect emotionally, consumers begin to believe your product is better, not because you told them, but because they feel it is better. They want it.

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A Challenge for Your Next Brand Plan

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As you put together your brand strategy or write your next communication brief, pause and ask yourself:

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????????????????? ??????????????? Are you truly speaking to the Elephant?

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Understanding and engaging the emotional side of your consumers is harder than appealing to logic, but it’s the key to lasting success. The brands that win aren’t just better in rational terms—they’re the ones consumers feel good about choosing.

By learning to speak to the Elephant, you can create marketing that truly resonates, building emotional connections that drive loyalty and growth.

If you liked this article, you can read more here

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Chris Lukehurst is a Consumer Psychologist and a Director at The Marketing Clinic:

Providing Clarity on the Psychological relationships between consumers and brands

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