Comments on: Product Information Overload? http://www.shebytes.com/2012/05/23/product-information-overload/ Tech Blog: Technology trends for men and women, from a woman’s perspective. Renee Schmidt, editor. Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:30:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Renee Schmidt http://www.shebytes.com/2012/05/23/product-information-overload/#comment-1535 Renee Schmidt Fri, 25 May 2012 19:09:00 +0000 http://www.shebytes.com/?p=7369#comment-1535 Robert, love it! Thanks for your thoughtful input; I totally agree! Robert, love it! Thanks for your thoughtful input; I totally agree!

]]> By: Robert Barcia http://www.shebytes.com/2012/05/23/product-information-overload/#comment-1533 Robert Barcia Thu, 24 May 2012 19:55:00 +0000 http://www.shebytes.com/?p=7369#comment-1533 Yes!  I agree with your position that most of us have an elevated sense (and strategy) for effectively employing personal choice.  So what in the world is my excuse!  :) As a marketer - one who specializes in choice dynamics and social trigger integration - I'm rarely surprised when I my unconscious mind selects goods or services based on carefully crafted "signals".  Just knowing it's out there is part of the equation.   Marketing is as much about understanding what triggers people to buy NOW as it is about how to evolve when the audience learns to no longer be fooled.  Today's signals and warning signs may be the very tool a marketer uses in the future to shape your decision.In effect, today's signals have a shelf life.  (always keep them fresh!)I have found that my fellow marketers use the two elements of buying to override our "good sense":  1) a human need for automation / action rules2) our sensitivity to environment or situational context  For example:  A fast food joint was once about a list of options.  Once strategists learned that the layout and structure of a single menu had been decoded (aka:  consumers were secretly being directed to the ideal item through placement, color choices, and "options") they switched to a much slicker model found in a popular burrito joint: (three different choices, three different stations, offered in an assembly line).  Loosely termed, this is the "cumulative choice effect".By having three servers ask you about one single choice, the experience feels personal and intimate - and aligns with the signal for "reliable " by satisfying some abstract rule of buying in your mind.  (AUTOMATION)  However, we tend to forget the related choices before and after which cumulatively contribute to the actual purchase.  Then comes ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT: you are a moving part of an assembly line - designed to keep you moving: "select and go". The process is designed to lower your guard then propel you through an automated brainless food fest. The simple knowledge that marketing strategies evolve as we get smart to them is critical as a consumer.  And relearning the new rules of shopping - and the signals that matter most -  must be a constant effort. Thank you for your consumer advocacy  ---and again, great post.  I'm adding it to my list of favorites.   Robert BarciaStrategic Communications ConsultantTwitter: @robbarcia Yes!  I agree with your position that most of us have an elevated sense (and strategy) for effectively employing personal choice.  So what in the world is my excuse!  :)

As a marketer – one who specializes in choice dynamics and social trigger integration – I’m rarely surprised when I my unconscious mind selects goods or services based on carefully crafted “signals”.  Just knowing it’s out there is part of the equation.  
Marketing is as much about understanding what triggers people to buy NOW as it is about how to evolve when the audience learns to no longer be fooled.  Today’s signals and warning signs may be the very tool a marketer uses in the future to shape your decision.In effect, today’s signals have a shelf life.  (always keep them fresh!)I have found that my fellow marketers use the two elements of buying to override our “good sense”:  1) a human need for automation / action rules2) our sensitivity to environment or situational context  For example:  A fast food joint was once about a list of options.  Once strategists learned that the layout and structure of a single menu had been decoded (aka:  consumers were secretly being directed to the ideal item through placement, color choices, and “options”) they switched to a much slicker model found in a popular burrito joint: (three different choices, three different stations, offered in an assembly line).  Loosely termed, this is the “cumulative choice effect”.By having three servers ask you about one single choice, the experience feels personal and intimate – and aligns with the signal for “reliable ” by satisfying some abstract rule of buying in your mind.  (AUTOMATION)  However, we tend to forget the related choices before and after which cumulatively contribute to the actual purchase.  Then comes ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT: you are a moving part of an assembly line – designed to keep you moving: “select and go”. The process is designed to lower your guard then propel you through an automated brainless food fest.

The simple knowledge that marketing strategies evolve as we get smart to them is critical as a consumer.  And relearning the new rules of shopping – and the signals that matter most –  must be a constant effort.

Thank you for your consumer advocacy  —and again, great post.  I’m adding it to my list of favorites.  

Robert BarciaStrategic Communications ConsultantTwitter: @robbarcia

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