Philip Graves’ blog

I've just put together a short video as an introduction on why I think studying consumer behaviour is so important.  It's meant to be fun, not a lecture, but the point it makes is a serious one.

Philip Graves [Consumer Behaviour Research]

My website at www.philipgraves.net now has nearly thirty articles on consumer behaviour, retail marketing and advertising.

I've just uploaded three new articles featuring some of the latest research on consumer behaviour.

In "How to Turn a Customer's Brain Off" I reveal how being perceived as an expert can give you huge power over potential customers (see the Latest Articles section of my home page).

"Recommendations are Exaggerations" talks about how our brains reinforce decisions we take to make us feel they are better decisions than they were when we first took them.

Finally, I discuss how promotions can alienate customers in my review of a recent consumer experience of my own: "Getting Schnoozled at Gunpoint"

Philip Graves [Consumer Behaviour Expert]
The Consumer Behaviour Researc Resource

I've just posted my latest blog over at my other blog site .

A painful questionnaire I received from, I suspect, a government department interested in my thoughts and behaviour downloading music illegally (if you're wondering, it's not something I do), gave me a chance to discuss the problems of soliciting opinions in consumer research.

There are some wonderful examples of bad questions, including perhaps my favourite example ever of a request for me to rationalise and quantify the unquantifiable - it really is a peach (it's near the end and asks me to give the odds of something).

When it comes to consumer behaviour, there really is a lot of risk in asking consumers what they think or what they think they do.  By the time you're at the point of asking them what they think other people think and do you really are in the sort of territory best reserved for clairvoyants and psychics.

Please do pop over and have a read if you have a moment and, as always, I'm keen to hear your thoughts.

Philip Graves [Consumer Behaviour Expert]
The Consumer Behaviour Research Resource

Finally, after some lengthy additions, the usual editing process and the addition of a detailed index to make the book as accessible for reference as possible, I've released The Secret of Selling on my website.

Association EBookFinal (Small)

I've had a few questions posed about the book, so I thought I would make my answers more widely available:

Q. Why is this the 'secret' of selling?

A. To sell something to a consumer - other than by physically intimidating them - you need to connect with their unconscious mind as well as their conscious (in fact, it's not always essential to connect with the conscious).  The problem is that there is no direct communication between our conscious and unconscious minds, so customers can't report to us what it is they want to hear unconsciously in your marketing communication!  So knowing what does and doesn't connect with their unconscious mind is a secret to the person you're communicating with... and the information in the book isn't widely known either.

Q. Will this book mean I can sell anything to anyone?

A. Whoaaa there! Why would you even want to?  In the end no one will thank you for selling them junk and I wouldn't want to be responsible for you getting chased down some dark alley even if I could help you do that.  You still need to have a good product that delivers what it promises.  But if you're sitting there thinking, "I don't know why more people don't convert at my website or buy from my shop because I genuinely believe they would value what I have to sell once they'd bought it" then this book will help you.  It will show you how to make customers feel more connected with your product (or service) and feel more attracted to it.

Q. Why don't the big brands use this information then?  Surely with the millions of dollars they spend they have access to all the latest information and insights on how customers think.

A. The short answer to that is they do and they don't.  They do spend millions on marketing - companies I've worked for and with have $10m+ marketing budgets, but that doesn't mean they spend that money wisely.  Most companies still rely on consumers telling them what they want - can you really say why you decided to buy all the things you've bought? Can you even remember what it was that you bought just last week... every little thing you spent money on?  The big brands do use a lot of the information in this book, but often they do it without realising.  Advertising agencies employ people (creatives) who are naturally good at influencing people with marketing messages, but they don't always get it right - just consider the number of lousy ads and failed product launches.  The Secret of Selling shows you why some things work and others don't and shows you how to have the best chance of success.

Q. Will you guarantee I'll sell more?

A. There will always be a need to test alternative marketing approaches.  What the book does is show you what is most likely to work for you and how to communicate to your customer's unconscious mind (something you will already be doing, but in a haphazard rather than focused way).  But I am confident that the book will help you sell more and if it doesn't you can get a full refund at any time up to sixty days from buying it.  You have nothing to lose.

Q. If the information is so good and so valuable why is it so cheap to buy the book?

A. This is the first mass market product I'm offering.  I've discounted it so heavily because I want as many people as possible to have a chance to see the quality of my work.  I hope that they will then feel they can justify spending more on subsequent releases.

If none of these answer your question please add it in the comments and I will answer it.

Follow this link to order your copy of The Secret of Selling: How to Sell to Your Customer's Unconscious Mind...

Here's to your sales and marketing success...

Philip Graves [Consumer Behaviour Expert]
The Consumer Behaviour Research Resource

It seems that big and small aren't quite what they seem, at least not when it comes to the way we act in response to them.  A new article at my consumer behavior website (under the Latest Articles section) considers the consumer implications of recent research that found the way in which a number is expressed changes how people behave in response to it.

There's also a review - from a consumer behavior perspective - of a Nando's restaurant (part of a large chain here in the UK).  It's the latest of the Retail Reviews over at my site.

I value the feedback that you can post here at the blog, so if you do have chance to read them, or if you've read them already because you've signed up for my free E-zine, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Philip Graves [Consumer Behavior Expert]
The Consumer Behavior Research Resource

As a consumer behaviour expert I'm always amused by the extent to which companies are convinced consumers can post-rationalise their own behaviour accurately in consumer research. 

Perhaps it's not surprising; to an extent it's a healthy psychological illusion that we believe we are conscious agents making active choices and decisions about what we do - but it is an illusion.  You might have thought the number of new products that fail despite having been positively endorsed by consumer research would be a clue that there is a flaw somewhere... but there you go.

Here's an example (over at my blogger site) of the UK bank Lloyds TSB wasting money with pointless questions.  The bank is in dire straits at the moment with a dwindling share price and teetering on the brink of the government taking a majority stake in it (they already own over 40% of the bank).

I can't help but feel this survey gives an insight into some of the poor decision-making that has contributed to their problems.

Philip Graves
[Consumer Behaviour Expert]

I have a new customer service blog over at my blogger site, please drop by and have a look if you get the chance.

You'll see it relates to my impending house move and the contrasting customer service I experienced from my ISP (Zen) and my phone line provider.

On Wednesday we move into a house which nearly has heating and is in the process of losing a wall - I think we'll have a couple of days huddled around a small fan heater hoping the icy weather doesn't come back.

I may be out of action for a day or two (or three) whilst we get sorted and I get my temporary office set up.

Philip Graves [Consumer Behaviour Expert]
The Consumer Behaviour Research Resouce

For those of you that signed up for my EZine Mindshop! you should have received the first email by now.  I'd be really grateful if you could let me know if it arrived, if the formatting was OK and, if you'd like to, what you thought of the content.

For those who haven't subscribed at my site's homepage you can read the articles there (I've gone for Kevin Hogan approach - imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I hope).

Here's what you'd have seen if you signed up this week...

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1. Welcome
2. The Cost of Making Your Customers Wait
3. Opinion Polls -- an insider's guide
4. Retail Review: James the Jewellers

1. Welcome to Mindshop!
I hope you'll find this an interesting and, above all, useful addition to your inbox -- do let me know what you think.  My children are back at school today, no doubt telling their friends about their favourite Christmas presents; my favourite was a book called The Philosopher and the Wolf.  You can take the title literally: Mark Rowlands, a philosophy lecturer, buys a wolf cub and learns much about both wolves and himself in the process.  On to minds and shops...

2. The Cost of Making Your Customers Wait
Recent research provides an intriguing insight into how consumers can respond differently depending on timescales.

Researchers at Princeton gauged people's reactions when they were offered a choice between receiving a $15 Amazon voucher today, or a $20 one in the future (two or four weeks later).

Rationally the response should be the same -- none of the participants was actively seeking an Amazon voucher, they didn't need one at that moment in time. 
In my experience it's almost always a mistake to think that consumers will make rational decisions; they rarely do.  This research does nothing to change my perspective!

So what did the research find and what are the potential implications?  Take a look at the new articles section at www.philipgraves.net

3. Opinion Polls -- An Insider's Perspective Shows Why We Should Be Wary of Consumer Research
As a consumer behaviour expert I'm very wary of consumer research and that includes opinion polls. I can see that a huge amount of human behaviour is unconsciously driven and just because we can come up with reasons for our past or intended actions doesn't mean these rational justifications are accurate.

David W. Moore spent many years working for the polling organisation Gallup as a senior editor.  His analysis of opinion polls provides many reasons why we should be concerned about quantitative consumer research in general. 

Find out more in the latest articles section at www.philipgraves.net

4. Retail Review: James the Jewellers
I spend a lot of time watching customer behaviour in shops for my clients -- it's a great way to understand what customers are thinking about what's on offer and how it's presented, particularly when you have a the lens of social psychology to view through.  This means that when I'm shopping I'm never quite detached from my work.  So each month I'll review one of my own retail experiences or do a little observation of a retailer I don't currently advise professionally and tell you what I think.

To be fair to the retailers I can't claim my own short visits are representative (when I have my consulting hat on I'm usually in there for many hours) so I won't leave these reviews on the site for very long. 

First off is my painfully bad and almost surreal experience with James the Jewellers in Saffron Walden.  Take a look at the Retail Reviews section at www.philipgraves.net

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Any comments, suggestions, ideas or endorsements would be most appreciated.

Philip Graves [Consumer Behaviour Expert]

A couple of days ago I was asked why consumers behave in the way they do when times get hard financially: whilst overall spending inevitably decreases significantly, spending on escapist purchases increases (things like movies, music and delivery pizza...), a phenomenon that has been termed "economic escapism".

It's one of the many situations where if you asked consumers what they were doing they would say "Oh, I'm cutting back generally".  They may acknowledge that they're cutting back on meals out by getting meals delivered, but as ever they won't be accurately rationalising their own behaviour. 

You can read my thoughts on the psychology behind consumers' actions during economic recession at my blogger blog.

Philip Graves [Consumer Behaviour Expert]
The Consumer Behaviour Research Resource

They pulled up outside and drifted into the space close to the door they would soon be entering through.  As they crossed the tarmac parking lot they remained silent; three figures moving in the same direction but not obviously together.

A stranger watching who hadn't seen them all leave the same car wouldn't have been certain whether they were a group or not.

Over the window a peeling plasticized poster obscured the view of the interior.  It didn't matter; their heads were set towards the door.  There was no need to scan ahead; they knew exactly what was waiting for them inside.

The door was resting open slightly, a reflection of its over use rather an invitation to enter.

As they entered the distinctive smell hit them.  A unique heavy scent that, whilst not exciting, was familiar and a little reassuring.  They would get what they came here for.

In the open space ahead of them they passed a worker who was disinterestedly shifting a mop around the floor ahead of them. Rather than make a gesture of moving aside for them he casually shifted his attention elsewhere. The patchy shine on the floor betrayed his haphazard approach to cleaning the area properly.

At the counter they paused for a second, seemingly looking above at the list there to make a choice, but spending far too little time to really be contemplating the large amount of information.  They knew what they would choose and it would take something significant to cut through their speedy reflexive scanning to trigger conscious interest.

Just as the order was about to be placed things changed dramatically.  The smallest one at the back had noticed something; a small plastic cartoon giraffe grinning from a Perspex box.  He pulled impatiently at the arm of one of the adults – a parent perhaps – “I want the giraffe, please, PLEASE”.

Nonchalantly the adult acknowledged the request, yes, there would be a giraffe, it would be fine; the message was clear that the youngster’s anxiety was unnecessary.

A list of items was requested, each answered by a pressing of buttons on the screen in front of the uniformed server behind the counter, rather than by any verbal acknowledgement.  Occasionally there would be a question; do you want this or that, as though, despite her evident familiarity with all that was going on, the person might not know what she wanted or that it was available.

Within moments the boxes and bags were assembled on a brown plastic tray lined with paper and the small group moved away.  They found a space at a rigid plastic table next to a litter bin, sat down on hard metal stools bolted to the floor, and spread the food out amongst them. 

Only the youngster looked eager, grabbing at the box and pulling out a plastic bag containing the small plastic giraffe that had caused such excitement a few seconds earlier.

The group ate, mostly without speaking to each other, before dumping the empty boxes back on the tray and throwing it into the bin next to their table.

As they left the child was still clinging on to the giraffe.  “I love McDonalds, when can we come again?”

Philip Graves [Consumer Behaviour Expert]
The Consumer Behaviour Research Resource