Cigarette warning labels encourage smokers to light up, brain scientists say, as the part of the brain that creates cravings is stimulated by the sight of the warning. This nugget comes from Buy*ology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, a book by Martin Lindstrom, based on a three-year-long neuromarketing study that measured brain activity in 2,000 volunteers worldwide. Apart from being an interesting "fact", this research provides another reason for retailers to watch shoppers closely. People frequently do not behave as you (or your suppliers) expect them to. Understanding how they behave will give you an edge, no matter how small.
True in part to my New Year resolution, I held a business meeting in an independent coffee shop today just next door to a Starbucks. The cafe was presented well and four staff were busy preparing for the lunchtime rush, at 11am. As my guests were late, I had a half hour overview of footfall on the street outside and in the restaurant. Six customers. Barely enough to form the queue in Starbucks or Pret-a-Manger just down the road. Plus one Italian girl who dropped off her CV. Some people stopped to look at the posters in the window and moved on. The owners seemed quite happy. When I left just after 1215, they were doing brisk trade. However, I have the impression that the business is not working hard enough. It could easily have managed 120 customers between 11 and 12, instead of 12. This is lost profit as the fixed overheads and staff costs are already in place. The owners are clearly busy - perhaps too busy to take time to look at the potential that their cafe has. What shou...
Interesting, I found Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping by Paco Underhill a facinating read. It covers a similar area of life from a different view point.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course John Stanley is quite inspirational. http://www.johnstanley.cc/