Wednesday, May 31, 2017

People buy logically - Not

Education is the most powerful weapon which
you can use to change the
world.”
– Nelson Mandela

But education is not just school.  It is more about learning.   I pride myself in being a constant learner and want that to be part of the Danby Appliance culture.

When I have a challenge, I devise a deliberate study plan.

I have learned about learning from my Syrian project.  You can learn some English in ESL school but those that thrive and do well implement a deliberate learning plan that includes not just sitting through class but learning.  They study.  They practise.

To learn English, we suggest ESL class, Duolingo (a free language learning tool), Mango Language (free computer learning if you have a Guelph library card), watching English TV with English subtitles, reading a few pages each day, English word of the day, conversation circles etc.  And study/work hard at it.

And much of learning is practise and just speaking English so interact.  It takes courage and it is work.
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Speaking of education.  I am a big proponent of the "university in your car".  While driving, I always listen to audio books.  The most recent one was by a behavioural economist.  This is sort of a cross between a psychologist and an economist.   They study what people really do - rather than what pure economics would say.

The book is Misbehaving by Richard Thaler.

I love that the book is well researched and scientific.  Thaler is a university professor.  So many of the examples he uses are of studies.  For example - people who are buying a calculator for $20 are told by the clerk that the same item is on sale for $10 5 minutes away.  Most people spend the 5 minutes to save the $10.  The same experiment is repeated when someone is buying a $1,000 appliance and almost no one goes.  It is the same $10 so logic would say spending the same time makes logical sense but...

Another study was done on price differences for using credit cards.  When a gas station sells gas for $1 and says 2% surcharge for using a credit card - they are flamed.  When they price their gas at $1.02 and say cash price $1 - people love them.  But it is the same price.

When a store advertises buy 2 get 1 free, sales do much better than 33% off.

When a store advertises free knife with $40 cutting board, they sell much more than $10 knife with $30 cutting board.  The cost is the same but the sales are different.

I recall another book I read that had a study comparing free shipping to $0.30 shipping and the results were huge.  Even just $0.30 was enough to stop people from ordering.

Advertising and promotion is much about this psychology.

I have also thought a lot about value.  Some people can be "gamed" by the psychology but what really helps products to sell is offering a complete value.  People may say they want the cheapest product but in most cases they mean the best value.  So spending time considering what things consumers value and adding them to product is the best way to build sustainable edge in the market.

As a marketer, I find this subject fascinating.  

Saturday, May 13, 2017

The Power of 3

There was a video that went viral on my Syrian project.  11,283,000 views so far.  I did not know videos could get that many views.  It spread on Facebook.

One interest side effect - other videos that featured me and this project also got more views.  Pervious videos increased by 200,000 views.

Not even sure why it went viral.  It helps the cause but also creates volume.  If even 0.01% of the people contact me, that is over 1,000 contacts.  I try to respond to most of them but...

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I took a day out this week for a YPO HBS (Harvard) seminar this week by Boris Groysberg.  He was excellent.  Entertaining and challenging.  Prior to the day, we had homework (cases to read and questions to answer on them)

I always like taking a day out of my usual routine.  I wrote down a ton of ideas - many of them not directly associated with what was being covered.  My mind just goes into "thinking/imagination mode".

Not sure everyone at Danby Appliances appreciates it since I come back with a mass of questions/suggestions.

Spending some time on self development is a best practise that I highly recommend.

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NY Times had an article a while ago about exercise.    Did not particularly like the title on best exercise for aging muscles since I am not aging.  The gist of it was - high intensity interval training is best (I do that), weight training is very good (I do some) and regular intensity exercise (I do lots) is still good.

Bottom line is what I always know - exercise is good.

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The Power of 3

My to do list is a page long (and I use a small font).  I was listening to a book recently - The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey while driving that suggested a great time management tip that I have incorporated into my routine.

Every night decide what 3 things I hope to accomplish the next day.  Last night, for me, it was simply  -get caught up on my email (I was way behind), work out and do a blog (yes I feel guilty when I do not blog).  Then first thing in the morning say "what 3 things do I want to accomplish today" and figure out how to slot them in your day.

The key for me is to pick things that are big enough to move me forward but small enough to accomplish.  Gaining that balance took a bit of time.  I am one of those people who thinks I can get more done in a day than I can.

This simple practise has moved me forward.  Try it.

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