Why Customers Really Buy

Why Customers Really Buy

Released January 2009
Publisher(s): Career Press
ISBN: 9781601630414

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Book description

The emotional-trigger research you conducted revealed critical, sophisticated and powerful insights that provided a valuable roadmap to the successful turnaround of our company.”

—Pamela Forbes Lieberman, former CEO, True Value Company

“The research you conducted for us has provided insights that have driven major changes in our business that have been critical to our continuing growth and success.”

—Stephen D. Judge, former President, Rapp Collins Worldwide-Dallas

The motivations customers act on are seldom logical, predictable, or even conscious. Instead, their strongest responses stem from one source: emotion. It’s a deceptively simple reality. But it permanently changes the way organizations must go about understanding their customers.

Why Customers Really Buy introduces emotional-trigger research, a revolutionary new approach that uncovers the core, unfiltered, and spontaneous triggers that drive customer sales. Traditional market research is outmoded and counterproductive because old methods measure rather than inform. They generate predictable answers that confirm preconceived assumptions.

Emotional-trigger research is a powerfully different method that gets to the heart of what companies need to know. Based on an indirect approach that features provocative questions, insightful listening, and in-depth conversations, the results are more spontaneous and enlightening. This book equips sales and marketing professionals with:

* The keys to solving the mystery of how customer decisions are really made

* Twelve real-world case studies illustrating how emotional-trigger research solved many of the most pressing sales/marketing challenges companies confront

* Twelve universal sales/marketing lessons revealed through emotional-trigger research and how to apply those lessons to diverse industries

Why Customers Really Buy reveals how customers emotionally connect with a product or service, and goes to the very root of how to craft winning solutions to reach them.

Linda Goodman and Michelle Helin are independent business consultants who have served as senior sales and marketing officers for Fortune 500 corporations within the hospitality, entertainment, and retail sectors. Their clients, located in the United States and around the world, represent diverse industries and range from leading global corporations to entrepreneurial start-ups, including AT&T Lucent Technology, Schlumberger LTD, GE Corporation, Compaq Computer, Omnicom Group Inc., Staples, Tribe Pictures, and Disney. They have led seminars, developed workshops, and given speeches on a variety of sales and marketing topics. Goodman’s business, LG Associates, is based in Avon, Connecticut. Helin’s company, Michelle Helin LLC, is based in Houston, Texas

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Contents
  6. Introduction
  7. Part I Discovering the Power of Emotion
    1. Chapter 1 The Power of Emotion: What Emotional Triggers Are and Why They Matter
    2. Chapter 2 Emotional-Trigger Research: Winning Using the Indirect Approach
    3. Chapter 3 Digging for the Truth: What Is Accurate May Not Be Real
  8. Part II Putting Emotional Triggers to Work—Sales
    1. Chapter 4 Jumpstarting Sales: The Emotional Triggers That Solved the Mystery of a Weak Category
    2. Chapter 5 Acquiring New Customers: The Emotional Triggers That Transformed a Sales Organization
    3. Chapter 6 Winning More Business from Existing Customers: The Emotional Triggers That Captured Senior Management Attention
    4. Chapter 7 Selling a Company to High Priority Recruits: The Emotional Triggers That Doubled Acceptance Rates Among Top Talent
  9. Part III Putting Emotional Triggers to Work—Marketing
    1. Chapter 8 Building the Brand: The Emotional Triggers That Launched Profitable New Ventures
    2. Chapter 9 Co-existing With the Industry Giant: The Emotional Triggers That Repositioned a Service Business
    3. Chapter 10 Inventing a New Business: The Emotional Triggers That Turned a Popular Activity Into a National Industry
    4. Chapter 11 Marketing to Donors: The Emotional Triggers That Increased Contributions
    5. Chapter 12 Repositioning a Business: The Emotional Triggers That Rescued a Newly Integrated Company
  10. Part IV Putting Emotional Triggers to Work—Customer Relationships
    1. Chapter 13 Benchmarking Customer Satisfaction: The Emotional Triggers That Saved 20 Million Dollars
    2. Chapter 14 Turning Around a Company in Crisis: The Emotional Triggers That Stemmed Co-Op Member Defections
    3. Chapter 15 Improving Customer Relationships in a Monopoly Industry: The Emotional Triggers That Interpreted Mixed Messages
  11. Part V Integrating Emotional Logic
    1. Chapter 16 Challenges Around Every Corner: Dissecting and Managing Diverse Organizational Issues
    2. Chapter 17 Final Thoughts: Thriving in an Increasingly Complex World
  12. Index
  13. About the Authors

Product information

  • Title: Why Customers Really Buy
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: January 2009
  • Publisher(s): Career Press
  • ISBN: 9781601630414