Aristotle said it: we are social animals. What we do and, even, what we think is largely influenced by those around us: I was reminded of this fact today. I took the youngest to a chess tournament. Once he was settled, I sat down with my coffee and tablet, looking forward to catching up … Continue reading On contagion
Tag: Consumer behaviour
Video of talk at BCS
The video of my talk at BCS earlier this year - entitled 'Who wants 4G?' - is now available online. It is rather long and not the best sound quality, but it touches on a some key concepts and models that help us understand adoption of technological products. There were some great questions from the … Continue reading Video of talk at BCS
The downside of choice
Earlier today I was at an information session, meeting people interested in post-graduate education at the institution where I am employed, Oxford Brookes University. I was doing my best to show the potential candidates all the options that they had access to. We talked about the different modes of study (i.e., full time vs. part … Continue reading The downside of choice
When waiting is good for business
This week I came across an interesting counter-intuitive (for me) finding: slowing down service may improve the perceived quality of the product. Watching the video of Steve Souders’ presentation at Velocity 2013 (below), from about minute 3:08 onwards, I learned that: - Designers of the Blogger platform installed an artificial delay between the moment a user … Continue reading When waiting is good for business
How can we make danger more palpable?
I was clearing my e-mail inbox, and came across this link to a news article on the BBC website. It illustrates a very common marketing trick, but with a twist. The old trick Products have a mixture of tangible and intangible attributes. Tangible attributes can be seen and felt and, thus, offer a good clue … Continue reading How can we make danger more palpable?
Are you being served, yet? On waiting online
Apparently, we spend 2 to 3 years of our lives waiting for service – for instance, waiting to talk with a customer service representative, or for a meal to be served. Admittedly, this number will vary widely for the specific services accessed – e.g., private doctors vs. public health service – countries, etc. But the basic … Continue reading Are you being served, yet? On waiting online
Three questions to define the market
When I taught Principles of Marketing many years ago, I used to draw on Abell’s framework to define the market that a business was operating in. The reference is Defining the business: the starting point of strategic planning written by Derek F. Abell and published by Prentice Hall in 1980. Abell’s framework states that … Continue reading Three questions to define the market
Valentine’s is a lovely day… for marketing
It is Valentine’s day. A day for showing your loved ones that you care… right? This is a date that has been heavily commercialised, and where consumers’ behaviours (including boycotting rituals) are filled with meaning. The key meaning from this date seems to be showing that you care. But how you do it varies widely. … Continue reading Valentine’s is a lovely day… for marketing
The flawed decision maker
Noticing that I haven’t been to the gym in a (very) long time, my other half has tentatively suggested that I cancel my membership (and save some money too). This should be an easy decision. You see, even though I like some of the classes on offer at my health club, I much prefer going … Continue reading The flawed decision maker
Believing is succeeding
So, you have formulated your New Year’s resolutions and you are now considering the best strategy to achieve them. You have carefully considered the steps that you need to take to achieve those goals and the barriers that you are likely to face. You lined up a number of treats to reward yourself at key … Continue reading Believing is succeeding
Ana Canhoto 