Happy Thursday.
We wrote about today’s topic a while back. You probably forgot. We probably forgot too, honestly.
But here we are, bringing it back, not because we felt obligated to, but because it’s genuinely worth a second look. Or maybe we just couldn’t let it go.
Which, now that we think about it, is exactly what the Sunk Cost Fallacy is all about.
Reading time: 4 minutes, 59 seconds
Lift pipeline conversion by up to 118% with Contact-Level ABM
Influ2 analyzed 2M targets and found that when teams run ABM at the contact level, pipeline conversion increases by up to 118% (among other things).
But the lift doesn’t come from sending more emails or targeting more accounts.
It comes from catching the first moments of real buyer interest and knowing exactly who’s behind it.
And that’s only possible with contact-level ABM.
Want to see the details?
Sunk Cost Fallacy
Ever sat through a terrible movie because you paid $15 for the ticket?
Nothing strange. That’s the Sunk Cost Fallacy hijacking your decision-making.
We’re talking about our irrational tendency to keep pouring resources into something: a project, subscription, or relationship.
Simply because of what we’ve already invested. Not because it still delivers value.
Psychologists Arkes and Blumer demonstrated this in a now-classic 1985 study.
Full-price theater ticket holders attended significantly more shows than people who received discounts. Even when the shows were bad.
The money was gone either way. But the perceived “investment” created a psychological leash that kept full-price buyers planted in their seats.
Arkes and Blumer called it the “sunk cost effect.” Once resources feel personally invested, we irrationally treat them as recoverable. They never are.
Our brains automatically categorize sunk costs as losses.
And behavioral science consistently shows losses sting roughly twice as much as equivalent gains feel rewarding.
So we keep doubling down, chasing what’s already gone forever.
You’ve felt this pull countless times. Gym memberships collecting dust for months. Software subscriptions you keep paying “just in case.” Walking away feels like confessing defeat.
That emotional trap is powerful. And smart marketers can set it deliberately.
Three ways to leverage the Sunk Cost Fallacy
1) Encourage micro-investments early
We can build commitment by asking for small amounts of effort before the “big” sale.
This makes the user feel they have already started.
Take HelloFresh, for example.
They often have users spend minutes picking recipes and customizing boxes before showing the final price or asking for a subscription.
By the time the checkout screen appears, we feel we have invested too much “work” to just abandon the cart and start over elsewhere.
2) Use progressive onboarding to build “stored value”
Canva does this well.
Free users can create a complex design and use the premium features and images from Canva pro. But when it is time to download, they need the premium subscription.
Because we have already spent an hour perfecting the layout, the “cost” of starting over on another tool feels higher than the subscription fee.
3) Remind users what they’d lose, not what they’d save
Grammarly does this in renewal emails.
Instead of listing features, they show you exactly how many words you’ve checked and errors you’ve corrected.
That personalized usage data reframes cancellation as throwing away months of accumulated value.
Suddenly, the $12/month fee feels tiny compared to the “investment” sitting in your account.
Your move: build dashboards or emails that visualize each customer’s personal usage history.
Make the cost of leaving feel tangible and specific.
“Am I funny?” A brand test for humor in social media campaigns
8 out of 10 people are open to being converted by a joke.
The verdict? Humor sells.
Planable tested, analyzed, and laughed, sometimes even cringed, at how humor works in marketing.
The result?
A free downloadable resource, plus two expert interviews with Dan and Lianna, packed with insights and examples.
SOCIAL MEDIA: A study by Emplify shows that human speech in the opening three seconds of a Reel boosts 10-second retention by nearly 25%. Also, videos featuring a visible face in that window see a further 10% retention lift. The lesson? Simple. Human and relatable wins.
AI MARKETING: ChatGPT now lets users browse, compare, and refine product searches conversationally, no tab-hopping required. Like a personal shopper… who never upsells you on the extended warranty. Jokes aside, start optimising your product data now, before your competitors do.
REDDIT: Shopping discussions on Reddit are up 40% year-on-year, and the platform has launched Collection Ads, Deal overlays, and a Shopify integration to capitalize on it. If your audience consults with others before they buy, these new placements might be worth a test.
ICYMI, last time we looked at the Demand-Based Scarcity.
The “Sticking With It” Crew.
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