Consumer.ology

To know your customers and their expectations better, it seems only logical to ask them what they think. Unfortunately, their responses are far from reliable. Customers demand more choice; but in the store, they buy less if given more options. They say they want to eat healthy, but buy fatty, high-calorie foods, etc. In short, people believe they make purchases in a conscious and rational manner, but it’s just not true.

As a result, it’s difficult to trust market research and laboratory tests, when so many unconscious factors influence purchasing decisions. The author analyzes the various market research methods and describes their biases. For instance, focus group participants are influenced by other members of the group and often try to please facilitators by showing they appreciate the tested product. Even online questionnaires, although increasingly popular, aren’t particularly reliable because they are too remote from real purchasing situations. Finally, changing one’s buying habits is more difficult than we think when we state that we are willing to buy a new kind of yogurt rather than our usual kind.

The author advocates rather that we closely observe customers in real-life situations: watch them pass through the store, pause in front of a given item, pick it up and put it back, use a shopping list, or ignore promotional displays—all of these gestures are rich in information. Finally, he points out the five criteria that ensure that a consumer study is as reliable as possible.

This fascinating book provides a wealth of concrete examples and easy-to-understand information about consumer psychology. Readers will find it interesting both from a company perspective and as customers themselves!