Aligning business personality with buyer behaviour
I wrote recently of a barrage of culture-based articles, each with their own perspective on the irrational nature of decision-making. Thanks to sub-prime mortgages and the global financial crisis, the myth of the rational market has been thoroughly debunked. Traditional economists hang their heads, whilst proponents of behavioural economics are standing up to be counted. They tell us that people, groups, businesses and markets are essentially irrational. Didn’t we suspect this all along?
McKinsey’s most recent article on countering the effects of the buyer’s decision-making bias, though informative, may represent a forlorn attempt to help businesses hold onto the status quo when things are clearly changing all around us. It is time to embrace the change. We all know, and yet don’t like it being pointed out to us, that the purchasing decisions we take, whether personal or commercial, often make no logical sense. What drives us to the conclusion that a particular course of action or a particular service selection is the right one? Values, beliefs, habits, herding, group-think, norms, self-interest, familiarity, resistance to change? Most likely several of those in combination, but certainly not pure logic or infinite market knowledge in isolation.
Suddenly marketers have a spring in their steps. Having had to satisfy themselves in recent years with managing sausage-machine marketing operations and overseeing the development of ever-more technologically advanced but essentially vapid websites, the wave of behavioural theories heading our way will necessitate that marketers look again at what motivates a buyer to change supplier, make the purchasing decision and then remain loyal. Being creative, offering the Board genuine strategic insight and truly understanding what drives customer/client decision-making is back on the agenda.
However some of the rules have changed. In the first instance, product or service differentiation alone is no longer enough. No matter how much you differentiate the service, a competitor will quickly promote a replica service or enhancement. Secondly, traditional approaches to positioning the brand are also under threat. Buyers are irrational so the logic of the brand message may be having less of an influence on perception and sales success than you think. Understanding the factors influencing buyer behaviour therefore becomes the key focal point. The psychology of the market takes centre-stage.
I suspect that what was known in the 90’s as the ‘whole product’ will experience a renewed vitality and re-definition as businesses seek to incorporate a broader range of influencing factors into the overall promotional messaging and, crucially, orient the entire business towards the marketplace as never before. Suddenly the personality of the organisation takes on a heightened level of importance.
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