Tag: consumer psychology

Don’t Make Them Go Uphill

November 26, 2010 • Blog • 1 comment


Don’t make your customers go on an uphill battle (Source)

As I was running this morning, I’ve noticed a very interesting observation at the jogging track on a little hillock near my home. This was the same place I’ve gone for my regular exercise for close to 8 years. Its a little loop which goes for about 680 m per round.

Almost everybody was going in the same direction (except me – I’ve got a thing for running against the human traffic…;)). What’s more, they were all IGNORING the directional signages painted on the track which said “START” and “END” along a certain path.

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The Push of Psychological Sways

October 19, 2010 • Book Reviews • 1 comment

Written in a style reminiscent of Malcolm Gladwell, “Sway – The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behaviour” by Ori and Rom Brafman explores how seemingly irrelevant psychological influences impact human decisions. Peppered with anecdotes and experiments from social psychology, behavioural economics and organisational behaviour, Sway tells us why much of our decision making is more often subjective than objective.

Citing fascinating examples from the Israeli Army, US’s Supreme Court, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, and the anthropological fraud known as the “Piltdown Man“, the Brafman brothers’ weave a compelling narrative in the slim volume. Backed by scientific research, the case studies help to illustrate various psychological phenomena throughout the book. They include:

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Understanding What Makes Kids Buy

July 1, 2009 • Business and Management • 1 comment

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Toys R’Us and Power Rangers – a potent kid marketing combination!

As the father of a five-and-a-half year old boy, I naturally have a deep interest in what goes into that little cranium of his.

Why is my son attracted to certain brands and products more so than others? What made his tastes in toys so different from his cousin who is merely 5 years older than him?

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From Excellence to Evidence

June 26, 2009 • Blog • no comments


Newspaper reports add credibility to one’s business (courtesy of Matt Callow)

With so much information easily available at the click of a mouse (or the tap of an iPhone), consumers are becoming more enlightened than ever before. As Mulder and Fox would have told you, “the truth is out there”, and it is now showing at an Internet-enabled screen near you. With so many websites, forums and blogs established to conduct independent consumer and product reviews, people will no longer take your word for it.

What can companies and businesses do to ride this trend? Is it enough to claim that you are able to make them taller, smarter, cleaner or more relaxed than the competition? No, it isn’t.

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