Problem versus benefit focus: phrasing questions to enhance self-referencing and persuasion

ABSTRACT

This investigation adopts self-referencing as an underlying mechanism for measuring how question phrasing (problem versus benefit focus) in advertising may interact with consumer’s issue concern in determining the impact on persuasion. Research shows that issue-concerned participants were more strongly persuaded by a problem than a benefit-focused question. Those who demonstrated low concern about an issue exhibited exactly the opposite tendency. Self-referencing mediates the results. Furthermore, a variety of issue elements led to increased self-referencing and persuasion among issue-concerned participants. Emphasis on multiple benefits, however, reduced self-referencing and message influence for those low in issue concern. Finally, issue-concerned participants responded more favourably with a problem framed as perpetually unsolved, whereas for unconcerned participants, questions focusing on continued desires showed decreased persuasive effect.

KEYWORDS:

• Problem-focused versus benefit-focused questions
• issue concern
• self-referencing
• persuasion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hsuan-Hsuan Ku

Hsuan-Hsuan Ku is a professor of Department of International Business, Soochow University, Taiwan. She holds a PhD in marketing from National Taiwan University. Her research interests include consumer behaviour and marketing communication. She has published in The Service Industries Journal, Industrial Marketing Management, Psychology & Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Marketing Letters, Managing Service Quality, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, and Journal of Service Theory and Practice among others.

Chung-Yi Huang

Chung-Yi Huang holds a MBA with a specialisation in international business from Soochow University, Taiwan. His research interests include consumer behaviour and marketing strategies.

Zu-Rong Shen

Zu-Rong Shen holds a MBA with a specialisation in international business from Soochow University, Taiwan. Her research interests include consumer behaviour and marketing strategies.