{"id":3601,"date":"2017-09-05T08:10:27","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T12:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/?page_id=3601"},"modified":"2017-10-16T10:04:11","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T14:04:11","slug":"chiara-longoni-marketing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2017\/chiara-longoni-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading Customers\u2019 Minds"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we shop,<\/strong> our behavior as consumers depends on millions of factors\u2014our age, the weather, if we\u2019re hungry, if we\u2019re in a funk\u2014all of them shifting like tectonic plates and all beyond a store owner\u2019s control. To truly understand why we make the decisions we do and why we purchase the things we do, says Chiara Longoni<\/a>, an assistant professor of marketing who researches consumer behavior, store owners have to continually study the erratic variables behind customers\u2019 choices. Here\u2019s how to be a mind reader.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t Do That:<\/strong> It\u2019s dangerous to assume that a business model or marketing technique that worked once will work again. \u201cIt is very tempting when you have success to think that this idea can be exported and generalized in another context,\u201d says Longoni. For instance, a budget-friendly car is going to be the hot new trend in some cultures, but not in ones where people see their wheels as a symbol of status and success. \u201cConsumers are context dependent, and the assumption that their decisions are stable is very risky and seldom true.\u201d There isn\u2019t a gold standard to how we make decisions, Longoni says, \u201ceven when the consumer is the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Do This:<\/strong> \u201cYou have to brainstorm possible factors that may impact the specific consumer decision you\u2019re looking at, make predictions, and test them,\u201d says Longoni. Experimentation is critical and Longoni says there are simple tests any business can try to get inside a customer\u2019s mind. If you\u2019re marketing a new flavored water, for example, and you want to find the maximum amount someone is willing to pay for it, you have to consider all the factors at play, from cultural norms\u2014are drinks a refreshing status symbol or utilitarian thirst quencher?\u2014to the weather in your target market. If you think high-end restaurants will sell your fancy water year-round, test that theory with surveys\u2014perhaps their diners will choose your drink in the summer, but opt for a warm tea during the winter. If you think older customers will lap up your product, ask them. You might find that they\u2019d rather chug tap water, but that their kids (who have less to spend) love to be seen swigging from the latest hip bottle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we shop, our behavior as consumers depends on millions of factors\u2014our age, the weather, if we\u2019re hungry, if we\u2019re in a funk\u2014all of them shifting like tectonic plates and all beyond a store owner\u2019s control. To truly understand why we make the decisions we do and why we purchase the things we do, says […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10779,"featured_media":0,"parent":3590,"menu_order":18,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"story.php","meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nReading Customers\u2019 Minds - Questrom Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2017\/chiara-longoni-marketing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reading Customers\u2019 Minds - Questrom Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When we shop, our behavior as consumers depends on millions of factors\u2014our age, the weather, if we\u2019re hungry, if we\u2019re in a funk\u2014all of them shifting like tectonic plates and all beyond a store owner\u2019s control. 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