Launching 4th generation Bphone, how cleverly did Bkav and CEO Nguyen Tu Quang use the “decoy effect”?

What is the decoy effect?

The decoy effect is also known as Asymmetric Advantage. The decoy effect does not force customers to choose between A or B, but the Decoy Effect will offer 3 options A, B and C. However, the asymmetrical state between the additional plan (decoy) will adjust. target customers to products that manufacturers want to boost sales.

This “subtle” sales effect can be summed up in one sentence: When faced with so many options, customers are often happy to choose a higher-priced product / service without even knowing that they have just been “hook”.

It sounds like a myth but in reality it is. If there are only two choices, better products / services at higher prices and inferior but cheaper products / services, customers tend to convince themselves to choose cheaper products. This is clearly a wise result of personal finance but at the same time a result that no sales person wants.

That is why “bird of prey” was born. Instead of having only two choices, the appearance of a decoy would upset the customer’s decision in a way that was more beneficial to the seller.

How was the decoy effect applied by Bkav and CEO Nguyen Tu Quang?

With previous-generation Bphone lines, Bkav usually only gives customers 1 or 2 options, this year, Bphone has 4 different versions for the first time including Bphone B40, B60, B86 and B86s. Can you guess in these versions, what will be the decoy and what is the “nail” that Bkav and CEO Nguyen Tu Quang target?

Firstly, let’s look at some specifications. Because of the mid-range and cheap segment, B40 and B60 are inferior to B86 in many points:

– Bphone B40 and Bphone B60 are only equipped with Snapdragon 636 and Snapdragon 660 chips, respectively, for worse performance than Bphone B86’s Snapdragon 675 chip.

– Bphone B40 and Bphone B60 only have a single camera of 12MP f / 1.8, instead of dual cameras like Bphone B86, so it is impossible to take photos of “freeze moment”.

– Bphone B40 and Bphone B60 do not support eSIM.

Next, look at the selling price. If only two versions are B40, priced at 5.49 million and B86, priced at 8.99 million, customers will most likely choose B40 to save 3.5 million. But Bkav has skillfully installed the B60 with the role of a bird in the middle to bridge the gap between the low and high price models, and helped customers realize just 2 million more (compared to B60), they Can own a smartphone with much more modern technology.

And yet, with two low-cost models, users will have to wait for a period of time – namely, until June 17, 2020, the new device will start selling. Meanwhile with B86, customers will receive the device from 5/17, which is about 1 month earlier.

A device that is not more expensive, possesses more modern technology, and does not have to wait so it is clear that B86, priced at 8.99 million dong, is the product Bkav wants users to target.

Another interesting point is that in this case study, Bkav not only offered one bird of prey (B60) but also had two bird of prey, increasing the ability to persuade customers to choose B86. Take a look at the highest priced model, B86s. In fact, the B86s have the same configuration and features as the B86, from the chip, the screen, the camera cluster, the device size, etc. The only difference is that the B86s has 128 GB of internal memory, which is larger than the internal memory. 64 GB of B86.

At this point, the buyer will begin to analyze and realize: It is not necessary to spend an additional 1 million just to increase the memory capacity. If they like, they can choose B86, save 1 million, and then if necessary, buy an external memory card to increase capacity.

Thanks to the addition of 2 “birds of prey” B40 and B86s, B86 is obviously a more economical and reasonable choice for customers, in accordance with the direction of Bkav and CEO Nguyen Tu Quang.