The Truth About What Customers Want

223 Pages·2008·0.766 MB·English

by  Michael R. Solomon

Praise for
The Truth About What Customers Want
“Solomon’s 50 snappy chapters are as brisk and addictive as YouTube
videos, proving he not only knows what consumers want to buy, but also
what readers want to read.”
Joe Chernov
Vice President of Communications,
BzzAgent, Inc.
“Michael Solomon’s book is filled not only with the key truths of how to
understand and reach consumers, but also debunks some of the most
pervasive myths that exist in the fields of marketing and consumer behavior.
Chock-full of up-to-date, engaging examples, this book’s easy accessibility
belies the depths of information within. It is one of those books that will
produce an ‘Aha!’ moment every time you pick it up.”
J. Alison Bryant, Ph.D.
Senior Research Director,
Digital Research Nickelodeon/
MTV Kids & Family Group
“Michael Solomon’s The Truth About What Customers Want contains
great insights into consumer behavior and is a must-have tool for anyone
working in a consumer-driven field. His 50 truths take the guess work out of
marketing intelligence and give insight into navigating today’s technology-
driven world.”
Tim Dunphy
Senior Marketing Manager,
Consumer Insights, Black & Decker
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THE TRUTH
ABOUT
WHAT
CUSTOMERS
WANT
Michael R. Solomon
© 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Publishing as FT Press Vice President, Publisher
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Tim Moore
Associate Publisher and
FT Press offers excellent discounts on this book Director of Marketing
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Company and product names mentioned herein are Operations Manager
the trademarks or registered trademarks of their Gina Kanouse
respective owners. Digital Marketing
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be Julie Phifer
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AssistantMarketing
Printed in the United States of America
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First Printing: October 2008
Marketing Assistant
ISBN-10: 0-13-714226-9 Brandon Smith
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-714226-2 Cover and Interior
Designs
Pearson Education LTD. Stuart Jackman,
Pearson Education Australia PTY, Limited. Dorling Kindersley
Pearson Education Singapore, Pte. Ltd. Design Manager
Pearson Education North Asia, Ltd. Sandra Schroeder
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jovana San Nicolas-Shirley
Copy Editor
Solomon, Michael R. Karen Gill
Proofreader
The truth about what customers want / Michael
San Dee Phillips
Solomon.
Senior Compositor
p. cm. Gloria Schurick
Manufacturing Buyer
ISBN 0-13-714226-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Consumer Dan Uhrig
behavior. 2. Consumers--Attitudes. I. Title.
HF5415.32.S63 2009
658.8’342--dc22
2008007869
To my favorite consumers:
Gail, Orly, Amanda, Zach, Alex, and Squishy.
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Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix C
O
TRUTH 1 Your customers want a relationship, not a one-night stand . . . 1 N
T
TRUTH 2 Design it, and they will come . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 E
N
TRUTH 3 Sensory marketing—smells like profi ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 T
S
TRUTH 4 Pardon me, is that a breast in your Coke? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
TRUTH 5 One man’s goose… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
TRUTH 6 Throw ‘em a bone, and they’ll no longer roam . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
TRUTH 7 Stay in their minds—if you can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
TRUTH 8 These are the good old days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
TRUTH 9 Why ask why? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
TRUTH 10 He who dies with the most toys wins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
TRUTH 11 Your customers are looking for greener pastures . . . . . . . . . . . 41
TRUTH 12 “Because I’m worth it” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
TRUTH 13 Love me, love my avatar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
TRUTH 14 You really are what you wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
TRUTH 15 Real men don’t eat quiche (but they do moisturize) . . . . . . . . 57
TRUTH 16 Girls just want to have fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
TRUTH 17 Queer eye for the spending guy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
TRUTH 18 Yesterday’s chubby is today’s voluptuous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
TRUTH 19 Men want to sleep with their cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
TRUTH 20 Your PC is trying to kill you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
TRUTH 21 Birds of a feather buy together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
TRUTH 22 Sell wine spritzers to squash players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
TRUTH 23 They think your product sucks—but that’s not a bad thing . . . 89
TRUTH 24 When to sell the steak, when to sell the sizzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
TRUTH 25 People are dumber than robots (lazier, too) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
TRUTH 26 Your customers have your brand on the brain . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
TRUTH 27 Let their mouseclicks do the walking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
TRUTH 28 Nothing shouts quality like leather from Poland . . . . . . . . . . 111
TRUTH 29 Consider investing in a drive-thru mortuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
TRUTH 30 Go to the Gemba. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
TRUTH 31 Your customers want to be like Mike
(or someone like him) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
TRUTH 32 Go tribal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
TRUTH 33 People like to do their own thing—so long as it’s
everyone else’s thing too . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
TRUTH 34 Catch a buzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
vii
TRUTH 35 Go with the fl ow—get shopmobbed today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
TRUTH 36 Find the market maven, and the rest is gravy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
TRUTH 37 Hundreds of housewives can predict your
company’s future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
TRUTH 38 Know who wears the pants in the family. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
TRUTH 39 Youth is wasted on the young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
TRUTH 40 Make millions on Millennials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
TRUTH 41 Grownups don’t grow up anymore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
TRUTH 42 Dollar stores make good cents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
TRUTH 43 The rich are different . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
TRUTH 44 Out with the ketchup, in with the salsa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
TRUTH 45 Look for fl y-fi shing born-again environmentalist
jazz-loving Harry Potter freaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
TRUTH 46 Ronald McDonald is related to Luke Skywalker . . . . . . . . . . . 181
TRUTH 47 Sign a caveman to endorse your product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
TRUTH 48 Make your brand a fortress brand—and make mine
a Guinness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
TRUTH 49 Turn a (pet) rock into gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
TRUTH 50 Think globally, act locally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
viii
Introduction
The truth is, this book is about people like you. It concerns the I
N
products and services you buy and use and the ways these fi t into T
R
your life. First, a bit of jargon: The fi eld of consumer behavior is O
D
the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups U
C
select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, T
I
or experiences to satisfy needs and desires. Consumers take O
N
many forms, from an eight-year-old child begging her mother for
a Webkinz stuffed animal to an executive in a large corporation
deciding on a multimillion-dollar computer system. The items we
“consume” can include anything from canned peas to a massage,
democracy, Reggaeton music, or a celebrity like Lindsay Lohan.
In its early stages of development, researchers called the fi eld
buyer behavior, refl ecting an emphasis on the interaction between
consumers and producers at the time of purchase. Most marketers
now recognize that consumer behavior is, in fact, an ongoing
process; not merely what happens at the moment a consumer hands
over money or a credit card and, in turn, receives some good or
service. To build bonds with customers, you also need to have them
in mind before they ever contemplate buying your product or service
and after they’ve purchased from you. After all, there are lots of
good salesmen who can, as the saying goes, sell ice to Eskimos—but
probably not more than once.
Why should managers, advertisers, and other marketing
professionals bother to learn about consumer behavior? Very simply,
understanding consumer behavior is good business. The basic
marketing concept states that fi rms exist to satisfy needs. These
needs can only be satisfi ed to the
extent that marketers understand Understanding
the people or organizations who will consumer behavior
use the products and services they
is good business.
are trying to sell so that they can
meet these needs better than their
competitors.
ix