What Is Availability Heuristic?

Definition:

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Availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that assumes a product or an idea that comes to mind fast is more important than an idea that is not recalled as fast. This leads to a bias towards new news over timeless truths.

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Availability Heuristic Examples in Marketing:

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Vivid Stories and Hyped Media: A dull and boring event may be more common than a vivid and dramatic event. However, our brains are captivated by stories with high emotion. As a result, you are more likely to recall those stories.

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Media publishers know this, and often exaggerate a story to make it more exciting. This can lead to an inaccurate guess at the potential likelihood and risk of an event.

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The Power of Retargeting Ads: According to CMO.com, retargeting can bring the highest lift in brand searches by 1,046%. Retargeted visitors are 70% more likely to convert compared to ones who aren’t. One reason retargeting is effective is it applies the availability heuristic to marketing.

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By showing the same ad to a potential buyer, they are more likely to recall your message over a competitor’s message. As a result, they will believe that your product is more important than a competitor’s product.

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‍See Also: Affect Heuristic, Agenda-Setting Theory, Attribute Substitution, Confirmation Bias, Gambler's Fallacy, Illusory Correlation, Representativeness Heuristic, Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy