University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Truth About What Customers Want
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The Truth About What Customers Want

"...and why they buy..."

Michael Solomon
FT Press, 2008
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Editorial Rating

8

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Recommendation

If you kept this by your desk and read a short essay every week, it would last you a year (given a quick vacation) and you’d be able to absorb each of consumer behavior lecturer Michael Solomon’s 50 “truths” at a steady, thoughtful pace. Each well-researched insight is designed to stand alone, as opposed to fitting into an overall, conceptual presentation or some governing framework. Still, the temptation is to read them all at once, given the intriguing stories Solomon tells along the way. Despite offering his material in short, disconnected chapters, he shares a lot of solid content and expands on some of his juicier subjects by packing in telling, detailed stories, case histories and information. getAbstract finds that this collection of ideas, notes, facts and findings includes some arresting insights, and recommends it for quick hits of marketing inspiration, either spread over time or happily taken in over a weekend.

Summary

Fifty “Truths” About Your Customers

Consumers use different methods to decide what experiences, goods and services they need to buy. This ongoing process extends far beyond simple purchase decisions. Good marketers consider their customers’ viewpoints well before buyers arrive at the point of sale, and they work to build bonds with consumers before and after a product changes hands. The best marketers are sensitive to their audience at every stage, knowing that the real test of a marketing strategy is how consumers react to it. For marketing to work well, you must know what your customers want. Here are 50 verities that will help you discover and use that information:

  1. “Your customers want a relationship” – Apple beat Sony in the portable-music business because it recognized that hardware enhancements alone do not build relationships. Apple added specialized content and features to its innovative iPod to create a “brand personality” that gives meaning to a buyer’s link with the company.
  2. “Design it and they will come” – Good design has mass-market appeal that can even trump quality...

About the Author

Michael Solomon, Ph.D., teaches marketing and heads the Center for Consumer Research at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He also teaches consumer behavior at the University of Manchester in England. His books include Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having and Being.

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