Faculty & Staff Resources

Information Management There is ample evidence that we rely heavily on unconscious or subliminal strategies to sort through vast amounts of information each day. The automated natures of such processes and the use of heuristics to simplify decisions make it very difficult for new information – and brands with new information – to break through, let alone affect decisions. Marketers engage in an ongoing battle to affirm (established brands, particularly market leaders) or to disrupt (new products, market trailers) these processes. Knowledge of individual tendencies and situational factors can reveal marketing opportunities. Emotional / Rational Decision Tradeoffs In each and every decision, we employ a balance of emotional and rational motives. This balance varies both across individuals and situations (e.g., luxury auto purchases are different than hand lotion purchases). Households with multiple decision-makers tend to segment decisions based on specialized knowledge, category interest and experience, and, most importantly, comfort with the responsibility. Marketers who understand decision allocation strategies can better tailor language to fit the person-situation mix. Purchase / Engagement Processes Brand relationships begin with an idea that is affirmed or disconfirmed with a purchase. Positive experiences pave the way to a brand relationship which, once established, can become resistant to competitors’ disruptive efforts. Understanding the key elements of engagement and the nature and timing of critical commitment points can reveal the pathway to establishing – and disrupting – brand loyalty. These can differ substantially across individuals, brands, and product categories. Behavioral Research Integration The marketing research industry is constantly evolving, with current “hot topics” including, among other things, Big Data, Emotionality, and Neuroscience. As techniques move further into the world of social and cognitive psychology, there are questions about the reliability, specificity, and utility of new techniques. Cognitive psychology offers great promise for explanation of behaviors revealed through “Big Data” analytics and patterns evident in Neuroscience techniques, but there are realistic limitations on capabilities and utilities that merit exploration and explanation.