When it comes to understanding consumers it’s always important to consider the issues from a rational perspective, and then completely ignore what you conclude. Why? Because consumer behaviour isn’t, for the most part, rationally based. Recently I happened across a great example. The UK supermarket chain Waitrose has always operated at the higher end of the market, catering to customers who are willing to pay a little more for higher quality produce. Waitrose’s marketing makes much of the fact that they source their products carefully; some of their packaging will state which farm meat has come from for instance. With the economic downturn all of the supermarkets have been keen to communicate low price messages; which isn’t easy since most of them operated on a low price platform anyway. Indeed, the big two supermarkets (Asda who are owned by Wal Mart) and Tesco frequently squeeze suppliers brutally hard in order […]
Customer Satisfaction: Out of the Mouths of Babes
Continuing from yesterday’s post it seems my customer satisfaction is developing into a series. I really appreciate the questions and comments, I sense an eBook coming on! Today’s gratitude is due to babysitting maestro Lisa McLellan. You may wonder what link there could possibly be between someone who is so focused on children and babysitting, and a consumer behaviour expert. Well, as Lisa’s comment demonstrates, there is a link if you open your mind to it. Here’s what Lisa said: “I have found myself giving different answers to basically the same question depending on the wording of the question. I have also found through babysitting children of all ages, that at a particular age, (usually younger children age 2-4)children will choose the last choice they are given when you ask a question giving them a few answers to choose from. For example, you ask, “How did you get that scratch, did […]
The Psychology of Investment Decisions: Follow Up
I’d like to pick up on a long reply to yesterday’s post because I hope I can be more constructive than I was able to be yesterday. Here’s is Pam’s reply to yesterday’s post: It’s interesting to read how the rational and unconscious minds often pull us in opposite directions. Your point is well taken that people often think they want A but actually choose B because it fulfills an unconscious need, want or desire. It is good to bear this in mind. If you are looking to invest your money though, at some point – unless you choose to navigate the investment world yourself – you will likely be forced to make a choice between various options and advisers available to you. In essence, you are trusting your future to advice of someone and their investing philosophy and strategy. The question then becomes in whom do you trust and […]
The Edge of Reason: The Psychology of Investment Decisions
Perhaps some of the most interesting blog debate I’ve read recently has been on Rod’s Personal Investment Strategies blog. It’s been a while since I did any consumer behaviour research with financial institutions, but in many ways my journey into consumer behaviour and away from traditional consumer research began during a consumer focus group about pension choice, back in the 1990s. It was the fourth long and tedious group discussion with people who were considering investing in a pension scheme, during which they told me how they wanted independent advice, a range of funds and a provider with good financial security. At the end, after everyone was getting up to go, one of the group asked another, who had been a little more vociferous than the rest, where he was planning to get his pension. The reply led to several of the group soliciting the details of someone who I […]
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