HOW CUSTOMERS THINK

1. HOW CUSTOMERS THINK Chapter One A VOYAGE FROM THE FAMILIAR BY : Jahangir Dehmardan

2. WHAT DO YOU SEE ? • 80% of all new products fail within six months Marketers don’t understand how their own and their customers’ minds interact

3. Managers : customers don’t know what they want Consumers : you don’t listen, so there is no point in talking to you anymore What do you see ?

4. What do you see ? Woman in the mirror or skull?

5. What do you see ? How old is this lady ?

6. What do you see ? What ethnic group does this gentleman belong to ?

7. What do you see ? What the heck is this ?

8. The need for an interdisciplinary approach • Open minded managers are extending their comfort zones to explore unfamiliar disciplines Musicology Neurology philosophy anthropology psychology

9. The need for an interdisciplinary approach • To understand what happens within the complex system of mind, brain, body, and society when consumers evaluate product • Gaining a new perspective on how their own minds work • Mind of the market : When consumers and marketers interact

10. Marketing fallacies • Some assumptions about how the world works, prevent marketers from understanding and serving customers effectively. • Espoused theory: what we say we believe • Theory-in-use: is the belief that underlies what we actually do .

11. An example • Espoused Theory: conducting market research to confirm an existing belief is a waste of resources. • Theory-in-use: 80% of all market research serves mainly to reinforce existing conclusion.

12. Six marketing fallacies 1- Consumers think in a well-reasoned or rational, linear way 2- Consumers can readily explain their thinking and behavior 3- Consumers minds, bodies and surrounding culture and society can be adequately studied independently of one another

13. Six marketing fallacies 4- Consumers’ memories accurately represent their experiences 5- Consumers think in words 6- Consumers can be "injected" with company Messages and will interpret these messages as marketers intend

14. Three categories of error 1- Mistaking descriptive information for insight “knowing that” vs. “knowing why” Customers prefer a round shape container

15. Three categories of error 2- Confusing customer data with understanding Data quantity does not assure data quality What does chronological age is really measuring?

16. Three categories of error 3-Focusing on the wrong elements of the consumer experience Attributes and functional features vs. emotional benefits Nestle Crunch Bar

17. Customer-centricity • The degree to which a company focuses on latent as well as obvious needs of current and potential customers • High customer-centricity involves two acts of hearing or listening

18. Customer-centricity • The customer “hears”- truly understands-that a firm’s offering merit a purchase • The firm hears- truly understands-through skillful listening what current and potential customers are saying in their native language about their deep thoughts and feelings.

19. Customer-centricity • The more skilled marketers are in listening to customers, the more effective their marketing strategies will be in establishing the value of the firm’s offerings.

20. Customer-centricity • The more clearly current and potential customers understand the value of the firm’s offerings, the larger the revenues will be

21. Conclusion • To change the current marketing paradigm, we must envision completely new ways of thinking and open ourselves to new ideas • Since our ability to tap into customers minds is limited only by our imagination, this paradigm-shifting voyage will start only by exercising our imaginations using a variety of disciplines

22. THE END