Bandwagon effect: meaning & examples

Introduction

People often tend to follow the crowd, sometimes even when it goes against their own beliefs. They simply join the "bandwagon. But what exactly does the bandwagon effect entail, and how can you strategically leverage it as an SME entrepreneur to grow your business?

What is the bandwagon effect?

The bandwagon effect is the tendency of people to adopt the behaviors or beliefs of others simply because others do (Leibenstein, 1950).

Other people's choices and social pressures make you go with the group. The best choice seems to be the most popular choice, and not our personal choice. However, not continuing to think critically for yourself can cause you to make choices that do not benefit you at all and that you later regret (Asch, 1951).

The bandwagon effect is derived from the slogan "Jump on the bandwagon," coined during the 1848 U.S. election when presidential candidate Zachary Taylor jumped on the circus bandwagon: a cart that used to carry a band through the parade. Soon people were saying that other presidential candidates should also have jumped on the bandwagon if they wanted to be more successful now.

How does the bandwagon effect occur?

There are a number of psychological processes that perpetuate the existence of the bandwagon effect.

• First, it is our tendency to conform. We don't like to stand out. The more people who participate in something, the more people "jump on the bandwagon.
• We also want to belong, to a group or event. We don't want to be left out or excluded. Think 'fear of missing out', FOMO.
• In addition, we like to be right. So we want to belong to the group that is "right," and if more people seem convinced about an idea or product, they are bound to have more information or understand the situation better (Cherry, 2020).
• Finally, the bandwagon effect ensures that we do not have to think too long about a choice. We trust the opinions of others. This saves time and energy. It is a so-called "mental shortcut.

Examples in practice

• If one restaurant is much busier than the one next door, this may convince people to choose the busy restaurant, as the food or service is bound to be better there (Van Herpen, Pieters & Zeelenberg, 2009).
• When your opinion on something is asked, you may not want to be the first to answer, but once a number of people have taken the lead, you too jump on the bandwagon. Consider discussions in Facebook groups (Wang et al., 2015).
• Your son doubts which high school he will attend, but ultimately chooses the one his friends also attend.
• When companies see competitors achieving success with agile working, for example, they implement it in hopes of similar success, even if they don't fully understand how it works or whether it's right for their business.

Using the bandwagon effect to your advantage

Entrepreneurs frequently employ the bandwagon effect for marketing purposes:

• Ratings, reviews and word-of-mouth can make you feel like you should belong, too.
• In your visual advertising, show people using the product.
• Highlight it when a product has won a certain award, has been nominated for an award or has achieved a certificate. Who wouldn't want the winning product?
• Convince interested parties by mentioning how many people have gone before them.
• Only give people a chance to become a member through an invitation from someone who is already a member.

Resources

Asch, S. (1951). "Effects of Group Pressure upon the Modification and Distortion of Judgments." P. 260-70 in Organizational Influence Processes.

Cherry, K. (2020). "The Bandwagon Effect Is Why People Fall for Trends."

Leibenstein, H. (1950). "Bandwagon, Snob, and Veblen Effects in the Theory of Consumers' Demand".

Van Herpen, E., Pieters, R. & Zeelenberg, M. (2009). "When demand accelerates demand: Trailing the bandwagon". Journal of Consumer Psychology. 19 (3): 302-312.

Wang, K. C., Lai, C. M., Wang, T. & Wu, S. F. (2015). "Bandwagon effect in Facebook discussion groups". In Proceedings of the ASE BigData & Social Informatics 2015 (pp. 1-6).