5 stars out of 5
Utterly, positively, fascinating! As a student of human behavior with a big interest in marketing (and the interaction between the two), I devoured this book from Page 1 right through to the end. And boy, did I ever learn a lot.
The author, who has written several other books on this and similar topics, calls himself a "forensic investigator of emotional DNA." His professional consulting assignments, should he decide to accept them, involve figuring out what humans really want (or "desire") and coming up with ways the companies can provide it. The revelation that humans tend to see the world in different ways even though they're almost unimaginably similar, he says, is what the book is about.
Rather than focusing on so-called Big Data (is there anyone out there who hasn't learned what Baby Boomers, or "Tweens" are like as a group, for instance?), he zeroes in on the little things: Rituals, habits, gestures and preferences of individuals. Those things identified, the resulting "small data" can be compiled, projected to larger populations and - sometimes in combination with Big Data - used to generate a plan of action.
Using examples from consulting jobs at a number of well-known and diverse companies all over the world - names like Lego, Euro Disney, Pepsi and Jenny Craig - he provides explicit details of the investigative process, what he found, what he concluded and how the resulting plan worked out. The chapter dealing with we Americans' "political correctness" was, BTW, especially intriguing (not to mention spot-on).
If you have anything to do with marketing, advertising, revving up flagging sales (or getting them going as a new business) or, like me, you just want to learn more about people, I highly recommend this book. Special thanks to the publisher (via NetGalley) for providing me with an advance copy for review.
Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends by Martin Lindstrom (St. Martin's Press, February 2016); 256 pp.
4 stars out of 5
One of my favorite don't-miss TV shows is Bar Rescue, currently airing on the Spike channel on Sunday nights. That's not because I want to see feisty host and bar turnaround expert Jon Taffer get into shouting matches with the owners of the bars he's trying to rehabilitate (although I admit that makes it more fun), but rather because I'm interested in learning the whys of the business - or what Taffer calls the "science" behind the changes he advises. Although I've never been employed specifically in marketing, I've been involved to varying degrees in just about every job I've ever had - and I love to learn about human behavior, particularly as it relates to advertising and sales.
That's why this book caught my eye, and I thank the publisher, through NetGalley, for the opportunity to read it in exchange for a review. Given all the changes that cut through retail sectors today - mostly as a result of the Internet and social media, the author - a consultant in the areas of retail marketing and shopper insights - maintains that retailers must adopt multi-channel customer-driven strategies if they are to survive. Then, he tells them how to do just that, using plenty of examples backed up by in-depth research.
I will note a couple of things up front: First, the lion's share of the examples are based on companies outside the United States, and second, most involve the grocery sector - the author's special area of expertise. That said (actually, he said it too), the data can be applied to other retail environments and, for the most part, American businesses. No matter where they're based, retailers today need a better understanding of shoppers and must engage both their rational and emotional sides, the author says - but the ultimate goal is shopper happiness, accomplishing that while operating in several channels at the same time. Not an easy feat to be sure.
Mountains of data on shopper behavior is available (or can be), but retailers aren't necessarily utilizing it all that well. And, some of the commonly used data - like socio-demographics - isn't always reliable. I loved the author's example of two men, both born in 1948 in England, both married twice with kids and in high income brackets. It's easy to conclude, then, that their preferences in lifestyle, food and clothing would be similar - that is, until you learn that one is Prince Charles and the other is Ozzy Osbourne. Hmmmm - I'll take a wild guess and say they're not likely to shop for underwear at the same store. More to the point, a one-size-fits-all marketing approach to eliciting their happiness is beyond useless.
Chapters zero in on a variety of topics, such as private-label brands, self-scanning, loyalty cards, in-store scents and, the one that interests me most, music. Music has direct impact on revenue, shopping behavior, staff morale and brand image, the author notes, but emphasizes that choosing the right music is an art (especially given that it involves not only genre, but tempo, pitch and volume). Each chapter concludes with two key questions: What can you do to make your shoppers happy?, and, Which marketing strategies can retailers apply? Those answers are followed by extensive lists of references (a.k.a., source material). This is, IMHO, a scholarly work that certainly could serve as a textbook in a college retail marketing course; but it's very easy to read and packed with information that's bound to be helpful to anyone with an interest in retail marketing.
Retail Marketing Strategy by Constant Berkhout (Kogan Page, November 2015); 288 pp.
Utterly, positively, fascinating! As a student of human behavior with a big interest in marketing (and the interaction between the two), I devoured this book from Page 1 right through to the end. And boy, did I ever learn a lot.
