An insightful and compelling commentary on consumer behaviour, explaining why understanding the drives behind decision-making is essential to all professionals in marketing and advertising. A conversation starter that will make you ‘think different’.
What it’s about:
In a world busy with options, The Choice Factory offers an explanation as to why consumers make the decisions they do, with the support of academic and real-world evidence for each presented ‘bias’.
In this book, a ‘bias’ is the prejudices our subconscious mind has, that aids us in quick decision-making every day. With statistics showing that 95% of purchasing decisions are subconscious (according to Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman), it becomes clear why tapping into this element of human nature is key to marketing success.
To get a further understanding of what this book is about, I would seek out videos from Richard Shotton himself, such as ‘Science Behind Consumer Choice’ (2018): https://bit.ly/39Do5qf
Why it’s in the Allen Key library:
Quite simply, it is just a fascinating read for someone who is getting started or interested in basic principals of behavioural economics. Is it the most comprehensive behavioural economics book? Probably not. However, it is very well written and entertaining, making it easy to read and memorable. Where more dense texts can be pretty dry and difficult to read, I completed this book in a few days and felt like I retained much of the information.
The book layout itself follows a format similar to a research report. Each ‘bias’ has a chapter, starting with a scenario, leading to an explanation and supporting evidence and finally rounds off on how each ‘bias’ applies to the marketing environment. This consistency, coupled with short, concise chapters is what makes The Choice Factory so easy to digest.
My favourite bit:
I highly enjoyed chapter five on habitual buying and when is the most likely time to disrupt behaviour. From a gorilla in a supermarket to the most likely point of a males life when they might have an affair, this chapter had it all. For context, you will have to read it yourself, I’m afraid.
‘This book is a Haynes Manual for understanding consumer behaviour. You should buy a copy – and then buy another copy to give to one of the 97% of people in marketing who are too young to remember what a bloody Haynes Manual is.’ Rory Sutherland, Columnist for the Spectator and Expect.
A bit about the author, Richard Shotton:
According to his website, Richard started as a media planner eighteen years ago, working on accounts such as; Coke and Comparethemarket.
He now regularly runs training sessions providing insights from behavioural science to help solve their problems, including a talk I attended ‘Behavioural Biases That Influence What We Buy’ he did in 2019.
Richard is very active on social media and the main reason my reading list is so long his posts often centred around snippets from intriguing books and publications. One to follow for inspiration, his social networks are below.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-shotton-a555541/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rshotton
Where to buy the book: https://amzn.to/2XKGlsn
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