The consistency of irrationality
Following a coffee bean ‘Taste & Choose’ earlier this year, I thought we had found ‘our’ coffee. The chosen coffee beans were an Italian dark roast, with a wonderful depth of flavour. So, imagine my surprise when my Partner suddenly announced without warning he was off to buy some new coffee “because he wanted something difference”.
Wow, change without reason. This turns traditional data-led marketing upside down - and the concept of loyalty. Not only do you need to be pulling all your data insight and activation levers to identify what your consumer needs, and when they need it, and then when they need it again - now you also have to know when they might feel like something different without evidence of rational logic. Finally, we might have an answer to churn in seemingly loyal consumers, without any discernible reason - these consumers just felt like it.
According to McKinsey 36% of consumers during Covid tried a new brand, and 80% of those intend to keep using it - that cuts a lot of existing brand ties. In a year like the one we are living now, where (some) People are seeking experiences, the ‘Novelty’ factor has evolved to the ‘Need something New, and Different’ factor. Just Because. Or perhaps, it was always there, and 2020 has just shone a light on it.
Irrational consumer behaviour - often driven by emotion - is always going to be a struggle to anticipate in an organisation where marketing is directed by data, but if the irrationality is consistent, and this ‘irrationality’ is driven by needs, then we simply need to shift our marketing approach to ‘Needs-Based Marketing’ and evolve our traditional consumer segmentation. According to Tony Robbins, there are six core human needs: Certainty, Uncertainty/Variety, Significance, Connection/Love, Growth and Contribution. Uncertainty/Variety is defined as ‘the need for the unknown, change, new stimuli’. As with any behavioural based segmentation, I would expect a person would cross all of these needs, over-indexing one or the other at different times.
Knowing the needs that drive how a consumer behaves is incredibly hard. Especially given that they flex over time, and are often influenced by external environment. So how about we introduce ‘Needs Options’ into our marketing… alternative options that aim to tackle a Need for no reason at all. This is a risky strategy, only for the B.R.A.V.E (Brand is Ready for Action and Very Excited) - introduce these options too soon, and your consumer may not become brand loyal, introduce too many, and they flee from the paradox of too much choice, and if you wait too long, they will have gone already. But do it right, do it well, and you may just double your Consumer Lifetime Value.
If you’re feeling B.R.A.V.E, it was about the 7 month mark that my Partner’s need for variety kicked in…
*All views my own*
Sources:
https://www.tonyrobbins.com/mind-meaning/do-you-need-to-feel-significant/
