Marketing For Dummies, 5th Edition

Chapter 2

The Psychology of Choice and How to Trigger It for Lifetime Value

IN THIS CHAPTER

Focusing your efforts on the unconscious mind

Discovering what really drives consumers’ choices

Making use of social influencers

Acknowledging people’s need for happiness and purpose

Creating ESP profiles

When asked what really drives consumer choice, common answers include quality, reputation, brand awareness, convenience, and of course price. However, although these are influencers at some level in most decision processes, they’re not the most powerful driver as many consumers and marketers believe they are. Another more powerful influencer must be engaged in all decision processes, B2B and B2C, for both small and large purchases, before any of the others have a chance to influence people. That influencer is the unconscious mind, which drives 90 percent of people’s thoughts and behavior, according to various neuromarketing studies, including those from Gerald Zaltman of Harvard University, ...