April 2011

A surprising commentary by Walmart CEO Mike Duke reinforced the theory that less affluent consumers operate on a payday-based buying cycle (see When Are Consumers Most Receptive). According to Duke, "Purchases are really dropping off…

Most of us don't give much thought to what we call our product, at least in terms of category. Toothpaste is toothpaste. Cars are cars. Perhaps it's time that other businesses learn what many restaurants already know: what you call a…

We think of brands as amazingly powerful. People prefer whatever cola they are drinking, as long as it's labeled Coca Cola. People pay lots more for a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt than a generic shirt of identical quality. And while the…

OK, readers, I need some input. Here's my plan. Every neuromarketing firm says it has data showing the effectiveness of its methods. I really believe that some actually do know what they are doing. But, there's little or no…

I hated returns when I was in the catalog business. I viewed returns, not without reason, as margin-killing time-wasters. The returned merchandise was often unsellable due to customer damage, missing items, or shopworn packaging. I…

Brain scans (of a sort) are coming to a home near you. Neuromarketing firm EmSense has launched a new service that they say will let them monitor emotional reactions while consumers are at home. Noting that market research is conducted…

Ask catalog or Internet retailers what a return cost them, and they will likely be able to cite some very specific numbers reflecting shipping costs, processing labor, damaged packaging, and so on. But it turns out there's a specific…

In years of running a direct marketing firm that included a small call center, my objective was to eliminate, or at least minimize, waiting time for phone customers. We knew (from those times when we didn't have enough staff in place)…

In our language, we tend to associate height with good. Heaven is above us, Hell is somewhere beneath us. God is described as appearing on a mountain, not in a valley. You "look up" to someone you admire. It turns out that this…

Reciprocity, also called reciprocation, is a common enough theme here at Neuromarketing. The concept of reciprocity suggests that giving someone something, or doing a favor for someone, establishes a subtle return obligation. An…