Unless you are a massive nerd like me, it's unlikely you will ever need (or want) to read books about why people buy what they buy. I, on the other hand, have been excited about this book since it arrived from Amazon and have been waiting to tear it open like a little kid on Christmas.
This is most certainly not my first book on the subject. Paco Underhill's Why We Buy pretty much changed my life, as did Martin Lindstrom's Buy-ology. (Side note: Dave Eyler - if you're reading this I REALLY want my copy back.) Most companies, specifically retail, believe that getting consumers in the door is the hurdle, and they have spent billions of dollars on advertising and other promotions thinking they are accomplishing the goal: get people to buy our product. What they've neglected to understand is how consumers interact with the space one they're in and the impact that has on the purchase decision. (Too academic? Ever walked out of a store because you couldn't find what you were looking for, the sales person was too pushy, or the line to try on clothes was too long? That's what I mean.)
Creating a retail environment that appeals to a wide range of consumers isn't easy. Consider the grocery store: I've run in to grab a bottle of wine on my way to a party, and I've spent an hour roaming the aisles on a trip to stock up. Sorenson knows that shoppers fall into buckets (in the market research world we use fancy words like "behavioral segmentation") and appealing to the various buckets means finding out who they are and what they want.
Now that I've built this up, let's bring it back down. This book is boring. I can't read on the train because the book isn't engaging so I get distracted by every little noise, and I can't read in bed because this book puts me to sleep. I've been "reading it" for 2 weeks and am on page 54. Surely at some point this will get interesting...right?
It's clear I need to live up to my blog's name and pick at least one other book to read so I don't waste all of time playing BubbleLabs on my phone. Please leave suggestions!
Don't worry though, part 2 of this book review is coming...eventually.
Suggestion: Any novel by Jonathan Tropper. (My favorite might be "This is Where I Leave You.")
ReplyDeleteThese books are light reading, but really funny and well written. Light reading that isn't trash! Tropper writes about 20-30ish Jewish men with dysfunctional families. His narrators are funny and vulnerable. Some sections have me laughing out loud, which is pretty unusual.
After a while, the narrators start to blur together so it would be nice to see him try something completely different but they are still immensely entertaining. GUARANTEED that you will be able to focus on them on the train. :-)