Consumerology
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"Graves does more than just show marketers the error of their ways. He shows them a path to better insight." – Director Magazine "Alongside his debunking of the market research industry, the author takes us on a fascinating romp through the psychological underpinnings of consumer behaviour: risk aversion, safety in numbers, scarcity value and priming. It's well written, accessible and entertaining, yet thought provoking. Consumer.ology is a rich digest of insights on consumer psychology. It should be essential reading for marketers and general managers, and carefully hidden away from anyone whose livelihood depends on market research." – Alan Giles, Fellow of The Marketing Society and Associate Fellow, Said Business School, University of Oxford "A good read for anyone interested in the psychology of group behaviour or the validity of market research methods as well as for those in the business sector trying to introduce new products to the public." – Library Journal "Consumer.ology is a publishing phenomenon ... Graves has transformed what was largely guesswork into something approaching a new branch of science -- the science of consumer behaviour. And because his writing style is light, it's a happy read. It's only later that you realise he's managed to realign your radar and liberate your thinking." – Cambridge Business Magazine "Consumer.ology is a refreshingly iconoclastic skewer through the heart of traditional market research methods and reason. Graves' peppering of psychological theory with pithy anecdotes of misguided consumer successes and failures is bound to at once ruffle feathers and get heads nodding within marketing and innovation circles." – Blake H. Glenn, Senior Inventor, ?What If! The Innovation Company "Fascinating Stuff.". --– Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2
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Market research is a myth. Philip Graves, one of the world's leading experts in consumer behaviour, reveals why the findings obtained from most market research are completely unreliable. Whether it is company executives seeking to define their corporate strategy or politicians wanting to understand the electorate, the idea that questions answered on a questionnaire or discussed in a focus group can provide useful insights on which to base business decisions is the cause of product failures, political blunders and wasted billions. Consumer.ology exposes some of the most expensive examples of research-driven thinking clouding judgement, experience and evidence – from New Coke to General Motors, from Mattel to the Millennium Dome – and instances of success through ignoring market research, such as Baileys and Dr Who. It also shows organisations the tools they should be using if they want to understand their customers. Using his unique AFECT approach, a set of five criteria to evaluate the reliability of any consumer insight, Graves asserts that it's time for a fresh approach that embraces this new understanding of human behaviour. Along the way, he reveals why the current practice of market research is a false science, why we often don't buy what we say we will, and how to understand consumers better than they do themselves. After reading Consumer.ology business leaders and politicians will never look at market research in the same way again.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Just finished reading Consumer.ology. I found it a great read. Personally, I love reading about how we as consumers behave in such weird ways. Most of all, it does a great job of explaining how market research, in the wrong hands, is a complete waste of time.
Why? Because first of all many of the methods are flawed... think about how many surveys you've filled out. Now try to think of one time you actually filled one out properly. Focus groups can also provide unreliable results depending on the type of questions asked (e.g. leading questions... think of Matlock), the skill of the facilitator (or lack thereof) and the personality types of the other participants (who might actually convince you of something you don't believe in).
But the most interesting insights were about how even if these market research tools are used correctly, the results may STILL be complete nonsense. Why? Because most of us have no idea what it is that we want from a product and why we want it. (I buy Sony televisions just because my father did). We're also useless at evaluating new products (Baileys, Red Bull, and the Chrysler Minivan were all given the thumbs down by market research).
We're also incredibly easy to manipulate! Play slower music in a store, and we walk slower... and buy more. Pump in a nice smell and we're more likely to buy!
If you work in marketing, you really have to read this but its also a good read for others like myself who are just curious about consumer psychology (...and how people are really quite strange)!
Why? Because first of all many of the methods are flawed... think about how many surveys you've filled out. Now try to think of one time you actually filled one out properly. Focus groups can also provide unreliable results depending on the type of questions asked (e.g. leading questions... think of Matlock), the skill of the facilitator (or lack thereof) and the personality types of the other participants (who might actually convince you of something you don't believe in).
But the most interesting insights were about how even if these market research tools are used correctly, the results may STILL be complete nonsense. Why? Because most of us have no idea what it is that we want from a product and why we want it. (I buy Sony televisions just because my father did). We're also useless at evaluating new products (Baileys, Red Bull, and the Chrysler Minivan were all given the thumbs down by market research).
We're also incredibly easy to manipulate! Play slower music in a store, and we walk slower... and buy more. Pump in a nice smell and we're more likely to buy!
If you work in marketing, you really have to read this but its also a good read for others like myself who are just curious about consumer psychology (...and how people are really quite strange)!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you let market research dictate your business decisions, consumer behavior expert Philip Graves thinks you're making a big mistake. Market research, he says, can't predict customers' buying decisions because it focuses on the wrong criteria - a conscious-mind, logical thinking process. But consumers almost never make buying decisions like that, although they'll insist they do. Instead, they make choices, quickly and efficiently, with their unconscious minds. Business owners who understand this and who apply Graves's criteria to their research will gain valuable insights into what their customers really think and want. While just about anyone who shops can enjoy this entertaining, informative book, getAbstract believes it will help business owners and marketers - if not to read their customers' minds, then at least to understand them better.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An entertaining blend of the author's observations, case histories and science. I was open to seeing market research criticised but I didn't expect such a widely used business tool to be demolished so convincingly.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for the book is that most people, like me, have come to accept that market research works and, as the book points out, what we think rationally doesn't always count for much in terms of our behaviour. Will I still find myself thinking, "Oh, 70% of people don't like Grimsby" - or whatever "interesting" survey statistic gets reported in the press, or will I apply the perspective put forward in Consumerology, which I find impossible to dispute? Time will tell.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for the book is that most people, like me, have come to accept that market research works and, as the book points out, what we think rationally doesn't always count for much in terms of our behaviour. Will I still find myself thinking, "Oh, 70% of people don't like Grimsby" - or whatever "interesting" survey statistic gets reported in the press, or will I apply the perspective put forward in Consumerology, which I find impossible to dispute? Time will tell.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
eye opening
This is a book that really makes you think twice about what we actually spend money on when we do market research. Read more
Published 6 months ago by L. Davidson
An eye opening book.
I bought this book along with several others i found through googles recommendations. It wasn't at the top of my reading list but when I got to it I was elated i had stumbled upon... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Simon Thorne
Good choice if you deal with market research
The book is for professionals only and those who deal with market research on daily basis . It can resonate only with a reader with hands on experience in market research either... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mikolaj Pietrzyk
Essential Reading for Marketing People
Having worked in marketing for a number of years I was comfortable with using market research and have commissioned a lot of market research over my career. Read more
Published 9 months ago by artyharry
An Eye Opener & A Bar Raising
I performed a number of morale assessments as an internal consultant with AT&T. My next employer was a New York based Research/Consulting firm whose primary focus was on customer... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jay Wright
A 'must read' for all product managers!
This is simply a wonderful book, well researched and well written. I have to admit, when in my previous product manager role, although having concerns about how the market... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Dr. G. Cox
Limited read.
I found this book OK but didn't really help me in my marketing course. Easy to read, at times repetitive and you soon get the gist what the author has to say. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Amazon shopper
consumer.ology
Although the book repeats itself on a number of occaisions and is, in my opinion a bit padded, it is also a very good read. Read more
Published 19 months ago by ian young
THE BUSINESS PERSONS BOOK!
Bought this book not knowing what to expect...I couldn't put it down!
If you are in business for yourself, this has to be your Bible! Read more
If you are in business for yourself, this has to be your Bible! Read more
Published 19 months ago by teri55
Very good but weak on solutions to problems
Very good analysis of the failings of market research. Filled with many references to classic and not so well known psychological studies. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Tunde
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