Fourteen Lectures on Consumer Psychology

Chapter 3 Understanding Psychological Activities in Sales (2)
We covered the vertical line with a narrow strip of paper and lifted the book 20 feet away.Using the horizontal line as a reference, draw a vertical line that you think is the same length as the horizontal line on the strip of paper that covers the vertical line (don’t let the horizontal line look shorter than the vertical line because you know Short "error psychological phenomenon", but deliberately draw a short vertical line).

Put down the book, and use a ruler to measure the length of the line you have just drawn. You will find that this line may be 4 inches longer than the horizontal line; The straight line in the direction is shorter.You can also use the difference in length of these two straight lines to get your general judgment error number in this situation.However, just one observation is not enough to support our conclusions.In scientific research methods, it is difficult to draw conclusions based on one observation, and we must conduct multiple observation experiments.Mask the line you just drew, draw another, then mask the second line you drew, and draw more lines like this.Repeat this operation until 10 lines are drawn.

Measure the length of each straight line with a ruler and record the data, then sum the numbers and calculate their average.These resulting lengths are expressed in centimeters.Taking a 10 cm (4 inches) long horizontal line as a standard, the lengths of the remaining 10 lines are as follows:
From the average, we can see that there is an error of about 1.67 centimeters between the length of the horizontal straight line and the length of the vertical straight line.From the data obtained from these 10 experiments, we can draw a conclusion: when a straight line with a length of 10 cm changes from a horizontal position to a vertical position, its length will be shortened to 8.33 cm in human eyes.

This is a typical psychological experiment, which conforms to the idea of ​​scientific experiment in the following points:

1. On the premise of excluding other interference factors, we made an observation.

2. Under the condition that the external conditions have not changed in any way, we repeated this observation, and the experimental operation and measurement methods are the same as the first time.Other researchers can also get the same results if they follow our experimental steps and methods.

3. Control the experimental variables to ensure that only one variable that affects the length of the straight line is concerned each time, for example, the relationship between the position of the straight line and the length of the straight line.An experiment only focuses on the influence of this variable on the experimental results, and does not consider changes in other possible factors such as line width and ink brightness.

4. Then change a variable in the experiment for observation, such as tilting the horizontal line by 30 degrees, and then tilting it by 60 degrees... In this way, observation results in a variety of different scenarios can be obtained.

5. Finally, express the experimental results in numerical form.

This empirical (scientific) approach can be applied to sales problems in three different forms:

1. "Collection of feedback data method": Before a marketing campaign starts, it is possible to simulate and set up different environments and conditions, collect data obtained under various conditions, and then measure the impact of each factor change on the marketing effect based on the data.By observing and comparing data obtained from continuously changing conditions, it is possible to determine which marketing method is the most effective.Cyril has set a very good example in advertising marketing using this method.

While the Feedback Data Method is very useful, it is used under very demanding conditions, so it is a bit difficult to operate.Consumer responses to numerous sales media, such as billboards and in-vehicle advertisements, are difficult to measure.In addition, the factors that affect the success of marketing are intertwined, complex and changeable, it is difficult to distinguish which factors play which role, or judge which factor leads to which phenomenon.Moreover, using this method, manpower and material resources are expensive.Although this method can provide a lot of useful information, it is difficult to use alone or widely implemented in a large area.

2. "Laboratory method": It is an alternative method to the "collection of feedback data method" above.Unlike the former "actual combat", this method is carried out in the laboratory.The researchers simulated the real market environment in the laboratory and selected typical potential consumers as experimental subjects.During the experiment, carefully collect data on their responses.This method can be used as a preliminary test of the effectiveness of certain sales methods that will be promoted on a large scale.

This method seems to be easy to operate, and many sales problems can be solved by using it, especially the problem of testing the effectiveness of advertisements published in publications.Readers are asked to imagine a situation. If we want to design an advertisement, then the first problem we have to solve is: which one will attract more attention of consumers, the uppercase font or the lowercase font?

To figure this out, we need to step into a psychology lab.Put prepared headlines in uppercase and lowercase together in front of a visual memory test mirror, and record how quickly people read the two different headlines.Record these result data in the form, and then check the result again, and finally you can know which font is more in line with human reading habits.

This method has been used in many books related to advertising and psychology.Such widespread application proves that this approach is suitable for solving many sales-related problems.But this method is not perfect, and when the laboratory simulation environment is too ideal, it will "break down".

3. There are many scientific methods for researching sales problems.If the above two methods are not applicable, or want to confirm our conclusion with other information, we can design a new experimental method from another angle.

When designing a new experiment, it is important to keep the purpose of the experiment in mind.Before starting to do something, we must first find the most scientific, accurate, and most effective way or method.If you can't find the "optimal" method through market research and laboratory methods, you can also ask for help from salesmen who have encountered similar problems.By analyzing and studying their solutions, you may know what to do.

How to learn about their experience?Questions that, if asked directly, may raise disputes over disagreements or cast doubt on the veracity of their experiences.Moreover, we are looking for scientific solutions, so we need not only opinions, but also data.How can we express the experience of others with rigorous and scientific figures?
The answer to these problems is: "Historical Research Method".That is to look at what salesmen did in the past, and carefully observe the methods they used to solve the problems we face now.

Thinking about this from a "historical" point of view, there will be more questions to ask, such as: Has it always been better to use uppercase fonts in titles than lowercase fonts in the historical context?You can answer this question by looking up newspaper or magazine sources over a period of time and finding out what percentage of all headlines are in lowercase.Some researchers have done such a study, and the results are as follows: In recent years, advertisement makers have become more and more inclined to use lowercase titles.

Here's another example of using the "historical research method": Some companies wanted to devise a method for picking the best salespeople, and they created a joint office to take on the job.The office tabulated each company's situation, grouped the results, and used the patterns of those results to design a system that would help them pick the most suitable salesperson.

To use the "historical research method", the following assumptions need to be established first:

1. If a habit has withstood the test of time and has not been eliminated by history, it must have its existence value.Suppose some companies had to give up advertising because their revenues fell because they did not follow this habit, while others continued to advertise.Such different experiences allow these companies to distinguish between valuable actions and worthless actions, and then they will discard the useless actions and only take useful measures.

Assume that the salesman didn't make those changes on purpose because he discovered a need.In fact, they are constantly falling from mistakes and lessons, climbing up, and moving on.For example, after a series of experimental observations, they found that it is more appropriate to write titles in lowercase than in uppercase.

We can think of modern sales practices as the product of an unconscious continual evolution.In the battle for the attention of consumers in modern society, only products with the characteristics of psychological impact and comfort can survive.This situation in some ways proves "species selection" in economics.

2. The second assumption of using the "historical approach" is that salespeople learn from the examples of their predecessors.They will learn from the good parts of their predecessors' experience, avoid possible mistakes in the future, and save resources.

In addition, we also assume that by learning from past experience, we can understand which of those used methods are still effective and which have been eliminated by history, so that we can modify our behavior and finally find a suitable shortcut to success.

Of course, historical research methods are not a panacea for all sales problems.We stick with it because it is a scientific research method, and the conclusions obtained by applying this method are consistent with those obtained by using other methods.

In fact, none of the above three methods can completely solve all problems in sales by itself.Each of them can help us see some of these huge problems from different angles.When solving a particular problem, one method may be more suitable than another; in other cases, two or three methods are very suitable.The results obtained by one method can be confirmed by the other two methods.

After reading the above, readers will find that the research process of psychological problems does not have any suspicion of coaxing or deceiving people, and it has nothing in common with hypnotic games.Psychology, by contrast, is more like a piece of experimental equipment or a mathematical table drawing.Psychologists always roll up their sleeves, hold rulers in advertising printing rooms, factories, markets and other places, constantly measure and observe, and walk in the front line of dealing with consumers.

When using psychological methods to study sales problems, we must bear in mind the guidance of scientific experimental methods and avoid making vague or hasty conclusions drawn behind closed doors.When publishing a conclusion, make sure it is backed by solid data from experiments.In the absence of data, you can state your thoughts on each step in detail to try to ensure that the conclusion is correct.When giving an opinion, be sure to state the cause and effect clearly.Although this cannot achieve the brevity and directness required by the readers, and is even somewhat pedantic and dogmatic, the detailed statement of the reasons will impress the readers on the main points of this book. For example, when using psychology to study sales problems, it is necessary to use Strict scientific experiment method.

Rules of Thumb and Scientific Psychology
After a quick overview of the scientific method's research steps and methodological problems, we can say: "We know what the scientific method is." The purest purpose of science is to discover knowledge (the English word "science" originally comes from Latin "scientia", meaning "science").This characteristic of science makes the scientific knowledge of business psychology fundamentally different from the non-scientific psychological knowledge that will be introduced from businessmen's own experience.

But I have to admit that successful businessmen do use psychological knowledge in the process of doing business.Their explanations and descriptions of consumer behavior often hit the nail on the head.In what ways do their methods differ from the scientific method of studying psychology?

1. Their experience is personal.While their speculations and explanations of human behavior are valuable, those explanations are limited to their personal experiences and cannot represent all situations.In contrast, the conclusions in scientific psychology are abstracted from the experience of many people (in theory, an infinite number of people), and they are broadly representative.

2. Their psychology is mostly vague summaries of experience.Most of the truths articulated in these summaries apply only to specific situations, whereas scientific psychology applies to many situations.

3. Psychology from empirical laws requires long-term accumulation, which is monotonous and expensive.As one of the courses taught in universities, scientific psychology is convenient and easy to learn.Businessmen know this and send their children to university to study scientific psychology.

4. Empirical laws are not systematic and chaotic, while scientific psychology has a complete system and order of arrangement.

5. The conclusions of non-scientific psychology are often inaccurate. Although they contain some truth, as a science, they are very imprecise.Scientific psychology, by contrast, formulates problems from a mathematically precise perspective.

summary
In the preface, we defined what this book is about thinking about sales psychologically.In order to make the content of this book lively, we compare mental activity to a stream that flows continuously.

We first divide psychological activities into six stages, then conduct cross-sectional analysis of different stages, and conduct research on the content contained in each cross-section, that is, what is on the mind of consumers at a certain moment.In our research, we are not influenced by mystical ideas, but use rigorous scientific methods.In this way, we can abandon the vague empirical laws, and then accept the proven scientific and psychological conclusions as our commercial marketing guidance.

(End of this chapter)