Learning from Bus Buddhists
In psychological terms, context is almost everything. Much as we like to think that we know how we will act and react in a given situation, without the richness of...
One of the joys of a home office is that the commute time is pretty short – I estimate 65 yards from breakfast to the desk. My preferred option is to get straight into my work for the day – not because I’m one of these incredibly driven types, it’s just that I find it’s one of my most productive times of the day.
However, with two young children there’s some healthy competition for my time. Today I opted for games before school, which meant a couple of games of table football with my son, one with both children and a game called Balloon Lagoon with my daughter. They headed off to school and I started my day a little later than usual, but still considerably earlier than if I was commuting somewhere.
It was whilst I was helping Martha put the Balloon Lagoon game away in the cupboard that I reflected on the packaging for children’s games.
There is, it seems, a fashion with some manufacturers, to put their games in the smallest box possible. Honestly, they must have CAD specialists and mathematicians working round the clock to figure out ways of getting X pieces of plastic and cardboard game components into the smallest conceivable box.
MB Games Mousetrap is hugely entertaining to play, but I can only get it back into the box properly afterwards if I treat putting it away as a Rubik-style puzzle all of it’s own! The children have no chance.
So, you might be wondering, what has all this got to do with worrying about the consumer’s unconscious mind.
Well, here’s the thing. All the evidence points to buying decisions being decisions being hugely influenced by unconscious elements; the apparently irrelevant artistic picture next to the product increasing perceptions of luxuriousness; the classical music playing causing customers to spend much more on wine than they otherwise would; and so on.
Every time I do battle with that Mousetrap box I spend far more time being irritated by their penny-pinching design, than I do being impressed that they managed to fit it into such a small space.
And don’t even think about mentioning Tomy’s Ali Baba! Once assembled it is totally impossible to close the box again, and I can’t believe it’s designed to be disassembled and reassembled each time – the plastic catches would soon snap.
And as I’m being irritated by the Mousetrap box and, now you’ve brought it up, the Ali Baba box too, what am I looking at? A bright colourful logo for either MB Games or Tomy.
Now my unconscious mind is filtering this out as largely irrelevant, but it’s still seeing it.
So when I’m standing in front of the games at the toy store and I’m weighing up how much fun any game might be, those same brand logos are there for my unconscious to detect. If the neural paths linking to that image include some negative associations (which they surely will, thanks to the clown who thought squeezing games into tiny boxes was worthwhile) that brand is disadvantaged.
I won’t necessarily stand there and think about the problem of getting a game back into the box, but I may feel slightly less inclined towards one game and falsely post-rationalise this as being because the game looks less entertaining.
I realise that saving costs is a sensible goal to pursue for any business. I can see that, with large volume products, a penny saved on a smaller cardboard box and the corresponding reduction in transportation costs can soon mount up to a worthwhile amount.
But it is important to understand consumer behaviour and, in particular, the role of the unconscious in consumer purchase decisions. That’s one of the reasons I wrote “The Secret of Selling: How to Sell to Your Customer’s Unconscious Mind”; it explains how apparently peripheral elements can have a profound impact on what customer’s actually do.
It’s always wise to try to see what you’re doing through the eye of your would-be consumer; but it’s even more important to see this through the eye of their unconscious mind.
Philip Graves
65 yards? You must have a huge house.
Christian Haller
Good Food Fast & Easy
Healthy Italian Recipes
It was built in the days when they didn’t care so much about space efficiency and the like. And my commute is the longest “journey” it’s possible to make. From one end of the house downstairs to a point 3 yards above where you start via stairs at the other end of the building.
Philip
Like Christian I was impressed by the 65 yard figure. That’s 2/3rd’s of an American football field. Wow!
As for board games I find getting them back into the box to be frustrating as well and this makes me less likely to open it i=up to play and to purcahse additional games in the future. The clean-up is part of the game experience and most of the time that part sucks.
Steve Chambers, The Sales Expert
Sales Eagles – Sales Coaching for high flyers
I like the games and toys that take you an Engineering Degree, a Mechanics Toolbox, and a Weekend to put together. And then it doesn’t work.
Seize the Day,
Rob
Sales Expert For Small Business Owners
Personal Asset Protection For Small Business Owners
Phil,
You’re correct in saying that we need to see what our customer see and feel. After all, it’s their money which they spend elsewhere.
The numbers has to stack up for the consumer to act. Their personality & their sub-conscious both needed to be addresses.
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personalities for Better Influence & Persuasion (WordPress Blog)
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personalities for Better Influence & Persuasion (Money Page)
Don’t even get me started about the hours it takes on Christmas morning to cut into the frustrating world of packaging on children’s toys…! Let’s just say “Baa Humbug” might be the most appropriate term I could use here…
Pam
Invest in Your Future
Wow, that Balloon Lagoon game sound pretty cool – I want one!
Your experience and how it affects your buying decisions make complete sense. It is fascinating how seemingly insignificant details can impact the customer eperience so much.
All the best,
Yann
How to Get Organized, Stop Procrastinating, and Set Goals for Small Business Success
Very cool observation and makes total sense. I am amazed at the unconscious mind.
Lynn Lane
Success Strategies For Life
Success Today
Great post. I can see you love what you do or at least have a serious genuine interest in it. 65 yards? I live on an acre and I don’t think I could cover that much ground. Is your house huge or is your office on another part of your propery?
Anthony
Achieve the Inner Balance of a Zen Monk
What these companies don’t realize is just how long that negative aura lasts. Years later the logo can trigger a negative reaction even if you don’t remember the itty bitty boxes.
Pat
Internet Dollars for Business Owners
I am such a proponent of simple toys for kids from their parents and using their imaginations
dolls
legos
wooden blocks
on a good design note, electronic monopoly has no paper money to count,organize and put away. it uses a debit/credit card and has updated all the property and icons to modern times.
Don Shepherd
Fishing Central Oregon
Your house sounds amazing Philip.
And I loved mousetrap. There was a bit in the middle that was so fiddly though. We used to keep it half made up.
JJ Jalopy.
<a href=”www.jjjalopy.com” Life Coaching Business Expert JJ Jalopy
<a href=”www.howtobecomeacoach.net” How to become a lifecoach
Philip, I think your house is bigger then Bill Gate’s house. One of the pleasures of being self employed is spending more time with the kids.
Mark
small business marketing
ice cream marketing
Philip,
I’m already looking forward to the day when I can be at home more. As it Gayle and I are still with our kids more than most but these times will never come again.
Thanks
JC
JCMACKENZIE.COM
Butterfly Marketing
Hi Phil,
I think alot of the packaging for kids games is designed for that instinctive reaction of color and appeal to the unconscious as opposed to any great ability to be user friendly!
Duane
Super-ADVANCED Influence & Persuasion Training Proven to Quickly Create a Flood of Money Constantly & Continuously Flowing into YOUR Bank Account Like the Niagara Falls… 100% GUARANTEED!!
Discover Secret Persuading Skills that Work Like Magic by Tapping Into the Psychology of the Mind with The Worlds Leading Persuasion Coach Duane Cunningham!
Working from a home office cuts both ways, sometimes it is really good, other times it is good to get out with people.
Bob Kaufer
Z Health For Life
This is very interesting. I have shared in your frustration with trying to get games back into their boxes. Seems many of them do that. I’ll have to take a closer look next time and see if this correlates in any way to the price of the game. We have a game called Dread Pirate I think it is, that cost about $100.00. It’s a beautiful game with a cloth map style playing board and little “metal” pirate ships for pieces, “metal” coins. I don’t think any of it is plastic. And it all fits perfectly inside a wooden treasure chest. That’s one game I never bring babysitting for fear of losing pieces.
Lisa McLellan, Babysitting Services – Babysitters, Nannies, and Au-pairs
Like Christian and Steve, the 65 yard figure caught my attention. In fact, I commented on it to my wife. I said, “He must have a HUGE house!”
I also read the portion of your post that described your morning with your kids to my wife. I told her, “that’s what I am going to do” (work from home).
As for the unconscious mind, it is interesting how it picks up “facts” or impressions, and at some later point influences us to see a product favorably or unfavorably.
Great post!
Health, Fitness — Darryl Pace
Fitness Product Review
Phil it sounds like you have got a big house…and thats good as it goes with your profound and easy to undrstand ideas which are definitely a big hit!!!
David Power’s Hour
Expert in Hypnosis, Success Thinking and Practical Parenting