By reading the chapter “The Effect of Expectations” we could say that the main lesson is that our expectations determine and influence part of our thoughts and decisions. By saying this, I mean that sometimes is difficult to change the preconceived ideas that someone have about something. For example, if I talk with one of my best friends about a new song of our favourite music band and he says that the new song is not really good, then, I will expect a bad song. Probably, his objections about the song will influence my final opinion.
When trying to gain valuable insights, marketers should have in mind this general human behaviour. Taking into consideration that people react in a particular way because of their expectations, marketers should think as their customers think and try to view things as their customers do. If marketers understand better customer’s thoughts, then, they will be able to design better products or services for them. Another point worth mentioning is the study that some neuroscientists did with Pepsi and Coke. The main lesson of this study is that marketers should make a big effort in order to create the reputation of a brand. Then, if marketing department knows how to build strong reputation, customer associations with the brand or product will position the brand in a good place. (Having in mind that positioning is the perception of customers about your brand compared with your competitors)
It is really interesting the way that the chapter explains the phenomenon of the expectations. The example of the beer it is really meaningful. It is really curious to notice that the majority of the students without foreknowledge about the vinegar preferred the vinegary MIT Brew. But if they knew in advance that the beer contained balsamic vinegar, then, they chose the typical Budweiser. It is also interesting to see that the students’ behaviours changed a lot depending if they knew that MIT Brew contained balsamic vinegar before they tasted the beer or after.
Finally, I just want to explain another example where we can see the importance of our expectations. Last year, in one of my marketing classes in my University - ESADE Business School, Spain - we did a really interesting exercise. The first day of the “experiment” our professor brought 3 different kinds of wines. First of all, I have to say that in Spain the wine is one of the most valued beverages and we usually drink wine in the best occasions.
The 3 bottles of wine were from different brands and they had different quality. One bottle was from a really well-known and high-quality brand. Another one was a really cheap and low-quality brand, and the third one was a medium-quality brand. The experiment consisted of tasting all kind of wines, and then, we had to answer some questions about the different wines. After tasting the well-know brand, the majority of the class said that it tasted really good; it smelled really good and so on. Contrarily, after tasting the low-quality brand, the majority said that it didn’t taste really good and also said that it was a bad wine. After two weeks, the professor came to class with a different purpose. This time, he didn’t let us know what kind of wine it was. We tasted the 3 wines again. The interesting thing it was that the majority of the class didn’t put the wines in the correct order. Only few people knew which one was the best one, the medium-quality one or the worst one.
In that class we learned one thing: the expectations that all the class had on the first experiment, changed our real opinions. It was a really good exercise in order to think about the importance of expectations.
domingo, 27 de septiembre de 2009
martes, 8 de septiembre de 2009
Everyone has different behaviours when buying products. I will describe 10 behaviours and characteristics of my personality:
1. When buying a product, I really appreciate the design of the product. For me, it is very important the attractiveness and the aesthetic of the product. If I do not like the design, the value of the product goes down considerably. In my opinion, an example of a company which looks after the design of its products is Apple.
2. Another point worth mentioning is the quality of the product. Obviously, the term “quality” has different meanings. For example, if I want to buy a digital camera, I look at the mega pixels, the zoom, etc. However, if I want to buy a battery, I appreciate its durability.
3. I have talked about design and quality, but I also appreciate functional products. If the product is well-designed and the quality is acceptable but the product is not functional, it is really difficult to persuade me to buy that product. In this aspect, I also appreciate instructions if the product is not easy to use.
4. I feel I can trust in some companies and consequently, I have brand loyalty in some cases. For having confidence in a brand, it has to give me more than good products. For example, I am especially interested in companies with social responsibility. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between companies which are doing good actions and enterprises which are not doing good actions. The majority of the companies talk about social responsibility, unfortunately only some of them really look after this issue.
5. Amplified product. I think the services such as warranty, after-sales service and information about how the product works are essential.
6. Since now, I have talked about my behaviours and characteristics when I buy. However, I think some of my characteristics as a young student could also be interesting and useful for a marketer. I am a very active person. I like playing sports, going out with my friends, watching movies, etc… Talking about sports, I prefer collective sports such us soccer or basketball. These kinds of sports give you the opportunity to make a lot of friends.
7. Price sensitive. If we talk about price, I have to say that I have some limitations. As a student, I do not have a lot of money. Consequently, I always pay attention to price. What is also important to consider in this point, is that every month I receive an amount of money from my parents. Then, I have to allocate my money (food, clothes, university expenses…). For these reason, I do not have a lot of money for extra-expenses or whims.
8. I do not pay so much attention to advertisements on TV. I always change the channel during the advertisements. In my opinion, there are a lot of people who does the same as me. Maybe for these reason, some companies started to think in other ways of persuading customers. Internet or “guerrilla marketing” could be examples.
9. Another characteristic about me is that I always try to think about things carefully before acting. If we translate this aspect of my personality to a customer point of view, it means that I am not a compulsive buyer.
10. Finally, I am not really patient. I do not like waiting for someone or something.
1. When buying a product, I really appreciate the design of the product. For me, it is very important the attractiveness and the aesthetic of the product. If I do not like the design, the value of the product goes down considerably. In my opinion, an example of a company which looks after the design of its products is Apple.
2. Another point worth mentioning is the quality of the product. Obviously, the term “quality” has different meanings. For example, if I want to buy a digital camera, I look at the mega pixels, the zoom, etc. However, if I want to buy a battery, I appreciate its durability.
3. I have talked about design and quality, but I also appreciate functional products. If the product is well-designed and the quality is acceptable but the product is not functional, it is really difficult to persuade me to buy that product. In this aspect, I also appreciate instructions if the product is not easy to use.
4. I feel I can trust in some companies and consequently, I have brand loyalty in some cases. For having confidence in a brand, it has to give me more than good products. For example, I am especially interested in companies with social responsibility. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between companies which are doing good actions and enterprises which are not doing good actions. The majority of the companies talk about social responsibility, unfortunately only some of them really look after this issue.
5. Amplified product. I think the services such as warranty, after-sales service and information about how the product works are essential.
6. Since now, I have talked about my behaviours and characteristics when I buy. However, I think some of my characteristics as a young student could also be interesting and useful for a marketer. I am a very active person. I like playing sports, going out with my friends, watching movies, etc… Talking about sports, I prefer collective sports such us soccer or basketball. These kinds of sports give you the opportunity to make a lot of friends.
7. Price sensitive. If we talk about price, I have to say that I have some limitations. As a student, I do not have a lot of money. Consequently, I always pay attention to price. What is also important to consider in this point, is that every month I receive an amount of money from my parents. Then, I have to allocate my money (food, clothes, university expenses…). For these reason, I do not have a lot of money for extra-expenses or whims.
8. I do not pay so much attention to advertisements on TV. I always change the channel during the advertisements. In my opinion, there are a lot of people who does the same as me. Maybe for these reason, some companies started to think in other ways of persuading customers. Internet or “guerrilla marketing” could be examples.
9. Another characteristic about me is that I always try to think about things carefully before acting. If we translate this aspect of my personality to a customer point of view, it means that I am not a compulsive buyer.
10. Finally, I am not really patient. I do not like waiting for someone or something.
miércoles, 2 de septiembre de 2009
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