That Could Easily Backfire

Pay attention to whether you are engaged in reinforcing customer loyalty by aligning messaging with their deeply held beliefs or trying to change their minds. If you are doing the latter you are risking triggering the backfire effect. Simply put, this phenomenon occurs when individuals encounter information that challenges their existing views, causing them to resist accepting the new evidence and become even more convinced of their initial stance.

However, (there's that pesky rascal again) it's important to note that recent research suggests backfire effects may not be as robust or widespread as initially thought. Failures to replicate* these effects have led some researchers to conclude that they might be difficult to elicit on a larger group level, highly specific to certain situations or individuals, or possibly non-existent.

I smell an opportunity to do some marketing campaign testing pitting catering to held beliefs against attempts to change minds.

*Searching for the Backfire Effect: Measurement and Design Considerations Briony Swire-Thompson, Joseph DeGutis, David Lazer