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9781857885507

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Alongside his debunking of the market research industry, the author takes us on a fascinating romp through the psychological underpinnings of consumer behaviour: risk aversion, safety in numbers, scarcity value and priming. It's well written, accessible and entertaining, yet thought provoking. Consumer.ology is a rich digest of insights on consumer psychology. It should be essential reading for marketers and general managers, and carefully hidden away from anyone whose livelihood depends on market research. As Graves says, paraphrasing Edgar Allen Poe, believe nothing we hear from consumers, half of what we see them do, and almost everything that the sales data says that they've doneA . Alan Giles, The Marketing Society and Associate Fellow, Said Business School, University of Oxford

Philip Graves has put together an excellent guide to understanding how to know what people will and won't do. Now you can have the benefit of years of knowledge and experience distilled into an easy-to-read and understand book. - From the Foreword by Kevin Hogan Alongside his debunking of the market research industry, the author takes us on a fascinating romp through the psychological underpinnings of consumer behaviour - Consumer.ology is a rich digest of insights on consumer psychology. It should be essential reading for marketers and general managers, and carefully hidden away from anyone whose livelihood depends on market research. - Alan Giles, Marketing Society Director & Associate Fellow, Said Business School, University of Oxford Consumer.ology is a refreshingly iconoclastic skewer through the heart of traditional market research methods and reason. - Blake H. Glenn, Senior Inventor, ?What If! The Innovation Company The problem with consumers is that they are incapable of understanding their purchasing behavior. Why? Because it is actually driven by the unconscious. Consumer.ology author Philip Graves is a lecturer on consumer behaviour and a consultant for associated studies for companies including Whirlpool, Virgin Media, and Pepsi. He has come to the bold conclusion that market studies and focus groups are useless. He asserts that the most accurate information about consumer needs comes from analysis of data gathered in real situations, where people are not aware that they are being observed. Fortunately, the Internet offers a vast territory for observation, because people leave countless traces of their behavior and telling comments. Keeping quiet and listening to consumers is actually just as important as communicating with them, and people often speak more honestly when no questions have been asked. - Business Digest

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Philip Graves has 20 years experience in market research, during which he became aware of a conflict between what consumers said in research and what they actually did. This led him to introduce psychoanalytical techniques into his work. He has advised numerous international businesses including Comet, ITV, Dr Martens, New Covent Garden Food Company, Camelot, Virgin Media, Hotpoint and Pepsi.

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