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Imagine you are searching for a new mattress online and find something surprising. The retailer displays an ad featuring a Mattress Comfort Scale running from 1 (soft) to 10 (firm), followed by the message that if your firmness preference is at either end, this mattress is not for you. Wait . . . what? A retailer telling someone not to buy its product? No way! Why would a company tell potential buyers that the product might not suit them? Our team of professorsKaren Anne Wallach, Jaclyn L. Tanenbaum, and Sean Blairexamines this question in a recently published article in the Journal of Consumer Research. Marketers spend billions trying to persuade consumers that a product is right for them. But our research shows that sometimes the most effective way to market something is to say that it isnt for them. In other words, effective marketing can mean discouraging the wrong customers rather than convincing everyone to buy. We call this dissuasive framing. Instead of saying a product is perfect for everyone, a company is up front about who it might not be for. Surprisingly, that simple shift can make a big difference. We ran experiments comparing ads with dissuasive versus persuasive framing. For example, one coffee ad said, If you like dark roast, this is the coffee for you. Another said, If you dont like dark roast, this isnt the coffee for you. Most marketers assume the first version would work better. But for people who prefer dark roast, the second message outperformed it. Across different products, from salsa to mattresses, and in a real Facebook campaign for a toothbrush brand, we consistently saw the same results. The dissuasive ad drove more engagement and clicks, making the brand feel more specialized and its product more appealing for the right customers. Why? You might think its about fear of missing out, or reverse psychology, but we ruled out those explanations. Instead, we found that what really drives the effect is the perception of a stronger match between personal preference and product attributes. When a message signals that a product may not suit everyone, consumers see it as more focused on a specific set of preferences. This sense of focus, which we call target specificity, makes the product feel like a better match for customers whose preferences align with it. For others, it feels less relevant, which helps companies reach their goal of attracting those who are most likely to buy. Our results show a clear trend: When companies set boundaries in their messages, products appear more focused. This messaging strategy makes the intended customer feel like the product is a better match for them. People assume that if a product isnt meant for everyone, it must be more specialized. That sense of specificity makes those in the target audience feel the product was designed just for them. Why it matters These findings challenge one of marketings most enduring assumptions: that effective marketing comes from directly persuading customers that a product matches their needs. In todays crowded marketplace, where nearly every brand claims to be for you, dissuasive messaging offers an alternative. By clearly signaling that a product may not be right for customers with different preferences, brands can communicate focus and specialization. Consumers see this as a sign that the company understands its own product and who it will best serve. Our work also helps explain how people make what psychologists call compensatory inferences. This means consumers often believe that when a product tries to do too many things, it ends up doing each of them less well. Think of an all-in-one tool that can cut, twist, open and filebut few would say it performs any of those tasks better than the dedicated tool. From a practical standpoint, dissuasive framing helps marketers communicate more effectively by defining the boundaries of their products appeal. In doing so, brands can build trust, strengthen connections with the right customers, and avoid spending their marketing dollars on those unlikely to purchase. What still isnt known Our research focused on products with clear attributes, such as taste or comfort, and on consumers who already knew their preferences. Future work could test how this approach works when people are less certain about what they like or when choices reflect self-expression rather than product fit. Even with these open questions, one conclusion stands out. Defining whom a product is not for can help the right customers see that it truly fits them. By focusing on preference matching rather than universal appeal, brands can make their messages more targeted, more efficient and ultimately more effective. In other words, telling the wrong customers This isnt for you can actually help the right ones feel that it is. Jaclyn L. Tanenbaum is an associate teaching professor at Florida International University. Karen Anne Wallach is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Category:
E-Commerce
China and the European Union said Monday they have agreed on steps toward resolving their dispute over the blocs imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles. A guidance document released by the EU on Monday gives instructions for Chinese EV manufacturers on making price offers for battery EVs, including minimum import prices and other details. The EU had imposed tariffs of up to 35.3% on Chinese EV imports in 2024 following an anti-subsidy investigation. The EU said that minimum import prices must be set at a level appropriate to remove the injurious effects of the subsidization. Chinese EV manufacturers’ plans for investments within the EU will also be considered, it said. The European market is open to electric vehicles from all around the world, provided that they have come here according to that level playing field, said European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill. If those conditions are met, then we can look at price undertakings in a serious way. The EU said the European Commission would assess each offer in an objective and fair manner, following the principle of non-discrimination and in line with World Trade Organization rules. This is conducive not only to ensuring the healthy development of China-EU economic and trade relations, but also to safeguarding the rules-based international trade order, a statement by Chinas Commerce Ministry said. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU welcomed the move, which it said would bring about a soft landing in the EV standoff. The EUs anti-subsidy probe and tariffs on Chinese EVs had strained ties between China and the bloc. In late 2024, the EU imposed countervailing tariffs of 7.8% to 35.3% on Chinese battery EV imports for a five-year period. As low-priced Chinese EVs rapidly entered the European market, EU officials said Chinas EV makers — with massive support from the Chinese government — benefited from unfair subsidization which threatened economic injury to EU auto manufacturers. Mondays announcement also came after the EU said last month it had opened a review into whether a price undertaking offer by Germany-based Volkswagen group’s Chinese joint venture could potentially replace the EU’s anti-subsidy tariffs applied on its China-built EVs. The minimum prices offer Chinese brands probably some comfort to continue their exports long term … while avoiding higher import tariffs,” said Rico Luman, a senior economist at the Dutch bank ING who focuses on transport, logistics and the automotive industry. Im convinced the inroads of Chinese brands will continue. EU manufacturers depend heavily on Chinese made batteries, rare earths materials and computer chips. That requires “a balancing act to avoid frustrating the trade relationship” with China, Luman said. Stephen Chan, an associate director at S&P Global Ratings, said some European demand of China-built vehicles could be constrained if the approved floor price under the new guidelines significantly narrows the gap between Chinese BEVs (battery EVs) and European rivals. Chinese car brands are expected to gain more market share in Europe over the next few years, analysts said. China-manufactured cars rose to 6% of sales in the EU in the first half of 2025, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and S&P Global Mobility, up from 5% in the same period of 2024. EU-based manufacturers represented 74% of total EU car sales in the first half of 2025, the ACEA said. Germany still produced about 20% of cars sold in the EU, followed by Spain, Czechia and France. By 2030, Chinese automakers are likely to double their European market share to about 10%, according the consultancy AlixPartners. Chan Ho-Him, AP business writer Associated Press writer Sam McNeil contributed to this report.
Category:
E-Commerce
A leader of the Canadian government is visiting China this week for the first time in nearly a decade, a bid to rebuild his country’s fractured relations with the world’s second-largest economy and reduce Canada’s dependence on the United States, its neighbor and until recently one of its most supportive and unswerving allies.The push by Prime Minster Mark Carney, who arrives Wednesday, is part of a major rethink as ties sour with the United States the world’s No. 1 economy and long the largest trading partner for Canada by far.Carney aims to double Canada’s non-U.S. exports in the next decade in the face of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the American leader’s musing that Canada could become “the 51st state.”“At a time of global trade disruption, Canada is focused on building a more competitive, sustainable, and independent economy,” Carney said in a news release announcing his China visit. “We’re forging new partnerships around the world to transform our economy from one that has been reliant on a single trade partner.”He will be in China until Saturday, then visit Qatar before attending the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week.Trump’s tariffs have pushed both Canada and China to look for opportunities to strengthen international cooperation, said Zhu Feng, the dean of the School of International Studies at China’s Nanjing University.“Carney’s visit does reflect the new space for further development in China-Canadian relations under the current U.S. trade protectionism,” he said. But he cautioned against overestimating the importance of the visit, noting that Canada remains a U.S. ally. The two North American nations also share a deep cultural heritage and a common geography. New leaders have pivoted toward China Carney has been in office less than a year, succeeding Justin Trudeau, who was prime minister for nearly a decade. He is not the first new leader of a country to try to repair relations with China.Australian Premier Anthony Albanese has reset ties since his Labor Party came to power in 2022. Relations had deteriorated under the previous conservative government, leading to Chinese trade restrictions on wine, beef, coal and other Australian exports. Unwinding those restrictions took about 18 months, culminating with the lifting of a Chinese ban on Australian lobsters in late 2024.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sought to repair ties with China since his Labour Party ousted the Conservatives in 2024. He is reportedly planning a visit to China, though the government has not confirmed that.The two governments have differences, with Starmer raising the case of former Hong Kong media magnate Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late 2024 in Brazil.Trump, who has said he will come to China in April, has indicated he wants a smooth relationship with China, though he also launched a tit-for-tat trade war, with tariffs rising to more than 100% before he backed down. Bumpy relations, with Washington in the middle In Canada, Trump’s threats have raised questions about the country’s longstanding relationship with its much more powerful neighbor. Those close ties have also been the source of much of Canada’s friction with China in recent years.It was Canada’s detention of a Chinese telecommunications executive at the request of the U.S. that started the deterioration of relations in late 2018. The U.S. wanted the Huawei Technologies Co. executive, Meng Wenzhou, to be extradited to face American charges.China retaliated by arresting two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, on spying charges. While they were imprisoned, Meng was under house arrest in Vancouver, a Canadian city home to a sizable Chinese population. All three were released under a deal reached in 2021.More recently, Canada followed the U.S. in imposing a 100% tariff on electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from China.China, which is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S., has hit back with tariffs on Canadian exports including canola, seafood and pork. It has indicated it would remove some of the tariffs if Canada were to drop the 100% charge on EVs.An editorial in China’s state-run Global Times newspaper welcomed Carney’s visit as a new starting point and called on Canada to lift “unreasonable tariff restrictions” and advance more pragmatic cooperation.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that China looks forward to Carney’s visit as an opportunity to “consolidate the momentum of improvement in China-Canada relations.” Canada is also repairing ties with India Carney met Xi in late October in South Korea, where both were attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.He has also tried to mend ties with India, where relations deteriorated in 2024 after the Trudeau government accused India of being involved in the 2023 killing of a Sikh activist in Canada. The fallout led to tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats, disruption of visa services, reduced consular staffing and a freeze on trade talks.A cautious thaw began last June. Since then, both sides have restored some consular services and resumed diplomatic contacts. In November, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said the two countries would move quickly to advance a trade deal, noting the government’s new foreign policy in response to Trump’s trade war.Carney is also expected to visit India later this year. Associated Press journalists Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi and Jill Lawless in London, and researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed. Ken Moritsugu, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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