Influencing Customer Purchase Decisions

The smartest companies don’t just sell products. They engineer perceived value. Take Five Guys Enterprises. Their fries are legendary, not just because they’re good, but because of the experience built around them. You pick a size. They fill the cup. Then, they throw an extra scoop straight into your brown bag. That last scoop breaks every rule of finance and operational efficiency… but it makes the brand unforgettable. Because psychology > arithmetic. The human brain disproportionately values what it didn’t expect. That extra scoop signals generosity, abundance, and hospitality, attributes that trigger emotional loyalty far more effectively than a perfectly balanced cost sheet ever will. Put the decision in the hands of a “rational” operator, and they’d increase the cup size. Put it in the hands of a CFO, and they’d eliminate the freebies entirely. Both would destroy what Five Guys actually sells: the feeling of getting more than you paid for. And this isn’t new. When Jeff Bezos proposed free two-day shipping for Amazon Prime, finance called it a disaster. They projected a loss of $1.7B, and they were right. But what they didn’t calculate was perceived value. Prime generated $17B in the same year because customers changed their purchasing behavior. Convenience became a habit. Loyalty became a reflex. That’s the symbiotic power of branding, marketing, and sales: People don’t buy the product. They buy the feeling the product gives them. In leadership, the lesson is simple: • Don’t let spreadsheets suffocate imagination. • Don’t let “efficiency” erase emotional value. • Don’t forget that humans make decisions emotionally first, rationally second. The brands that win aren’t just operationally sound, they’re psychologically relevant. And the leaders who win aren’t just optimizing processes, they’re architecting experiences. Sometimes the greatest ROI comes from the simplest thing: One extra scoop of fries. #BrandStrategy #MarketingPsychology #Leadership #CustomerExperience #ValueCreation #BusinessStrategy #FiveGuys #PerceivedValue #CX #SalesAndMarketing #Innovation #GrowthMindset #LeadershipDevelopment

I think customer reviews are the single most important factor for product purchases today. Think about the way you buy… When purchasing a new product, what do you trust more: a sales pitch, a product video about features, or a real user review? 85% say they check reviews. Whether you’re buying through an online or offline channel - you will google to compare prices but also to see what others say.  1 customer experience has the potential to influence 100 others. The harsh reality for brands (and I see founders complaining about this all the time) is that humans have a strong negativity bias. Hence, consumers tend to review more on a negative experience than a positive one. The data says: → Only 47% of consumers share +ve experience, but as much as 95% shout from rooftops about a -ve one. → And, 1 -ve review reduces the likelihood of purchase by 42% Clearly, managing this is crucial. So, what should brands do? Getting rid of the review section all together is not an option. Here’s what I’ve seen works: ✅ Engage with the detractors:    Customers feel  +ve after seeing a business owner responding to a review. If we got a very negative review I’d pick up the phone and talk to the customer. Trust me, honesty and an apology go a long way! ✅ Get as many reviews as you can: Yes, customers look at the number of reviews. 92% of customers hesitate to make a purchase when there are no reviews. And no, buying reviews or faking reviews is not the answer. It’s a dangerous activity that can get a brand banned/cancelled or in a place where customers completely lose trust. So, do it the ethical (and long-term) way: ➡ Incentivize reviews: think coupons, discounts, or even freebies. ➡ Spice things up with contests ➡ Trying is believing: send out samples to these folks – Follow up with discounts on condition of reviews ✅ Display reviews everywhere: On your website, product packaging, social media, marketplace listings and anywhere else you can think. What very few understand, More Reviews = Strong UGC = Stronger SEO Reviews naturally contain relevant keywords that enhance the visibility of search results and align with the algorithm preferences of search engines like Google. I’d say reviews are an underrated marketing tool. In the most basic sense, it’s what customers are saying about you. An advantage here can enable D2C brands to compete with incumbents. This is something we experienced firsthand at Dr. Vaidya's ! Reviews and UGC will become even more important over the next 5 years as the marketplace gets more competitive and democratic. Winning in this sphere is a must for any brand to win. Do you agree? How much do you index reviews on your purchase decision? #consumerinsights #d2c #customer #reviews #brands

Why most advertising fails to change behaviour I spent 10 years working with the UK Government trying to change behaviour with advertising. Here's what I learnt: 1. Actions drive attitudes, not the other way around We assume action follows attitude. We run campaigns to "boost consideration" or "change perceptions." That often doesn't work. After years of health-related quit smoking campaigns, we found that making the first step easier —like creating moments when everyone was quitting or providing helpful tools, was far more effective than trying to change attitudes. Important watch out for marketers, brand consideration is often a reflection of penetration. A result of action, not a cause of it. 2. Their attitude isn’t the problem We once ran an ethnographic study into why people didn’t exercise more. In multiple homes, we found exercise bikes being used to dry clothes and fitness DVDs still in their packaging. These people wanted to be fit. Their attitude wasn’t the problem. It was the attitudes of others that mattered more. “If I jog around the estate, people will laugh at me.”  What others think is key. 3. Fun + Friends beat Facts + Figures It's tempting to think that if we just make people aware of the facts, they'll change their behaviour. Nonsense. We consistently found that fun is more powerful than facts, and friends more persuasive than figures, however robust. Instead of telling people to read nutritional labels we created apps that made it fun and sociable to do. 4. Unintended consequences are inevitable We’re obsessed with measuring what our campaigns do to people. But we found a bigger focus should be what people do to advertising. Campaigns about negative behaviour can normalise that behaviour. "Everyone does it, why shouldn’t I?". Commercial example: brand misattribution — if you're not careful, your ad benefits your biggest competitor, we see this frequently. 5. Messenger before message Running campaigns as the Government wasn’t often effective. Other voices did a better job — whether creating new brands or bringing together a coalition of the concerned. PR and partnerships were central to everything we did, with advertising supporting them, rather than the other way round. How would your plan look if you made that flip? 6. You are not your audience I once talked to a Mum who gave her children lemonade because it was “one of their 5-a-day”. However much you think you understand your audience, you don't. All the data, models and trackers never came close to the insights possible from spending time with people in their own environment. Every ethnographic debrief made me think differently, tracking debriefs rarely did. All the above learnt from the oracle Sheila Mitchell CBE and her brilliant team — Jo Arden, Stuart Bowden, Stuart Sullivan-Martin, Jane Asscher, Tom Firth, Kate Waters, Nick Hirst, Susanna Cousins, Chetan Murthy, James Hankins, Matt Bell, Ben Aves, + the entire MEC crew. What a team. Much missed! 🙏

Your Competitor Isn’t Another Sales Organization In modern B2B sales, your biggest competitor isn’t a rival company. It’s your client’s fear of being wrong. Most decision-makers aren’t comparing your solution to someone else’s. They’re comparing action versus inaction. The risk of change feels greater than the pain of staying the same. Deals die quietly — not because your product failed, but because buyers lack the certainty to sign. Sales leaders often misread this. They push for more follow-ups, bigger pipelines, and better decks. But none of that fixes the real problem: your buyer doesn’t feel safe making a decision to change. Here’s how to fix it: 1️⃣ Lead with Insight — Start with a non-obvious idea that reframes the buyer’s world. 2️⃣ Reframe the Risk — Move from “What if this fails?” to “What if you don’t act?” 3️⃣ Transfer Confidence — Prove you understand their problem better than they do. 4️⃣ Build Consensus — Find the “CEO of the problem,” the one responsible for results. 5️⃣ Teach, Don’t Pitch — They buy rarely; you sell daily. Be their guide, not a vendor. Expertise is the new currency. Modern buyers don’t need pressure — they need confidence. #SalesLeadership #B2BSales #ModernSelling #OneUp #SalesStrategy

"We think we choose brands. Neuromarketing says the brand chooses us." In our class, we were taught that Neuromarketing by definition is the science of consumer behavior. But our professor stopped us right there, because that's not quite it. It is the science of the human mind. Here's what I mean: In the 1970s, Pepsi ran a blind taste test, famously known as the Pepsi Challenge. Strangers on the street were handed two cups. No logos. No labels. Just the drink. Pepsi won. Overwhelmingly. So by every rational measure Pepsi should have crushed Coke, right? Rightttttt? It didn't. Coca Cola still dominates. In the early 2000s, Neuroscientist Read Montague ran the same experiment but this time, inside an fMRI scanner, watching the brain in real time. Another blind test. Pepsi won again. The brain's reward centers lit up brighter for Pepsi. But the moment the participants KNEW they were drinking Coke? Everything changed. The medial prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for memory, self-identity, and emotion, FIRED UP intensly. The brain wasn't just tasting a drink anymore. It was feeling a story, an emotion. Decades of red cans, polar bear commercials, holiday nostalgia, and "Open Happiness" had literally rewired how people's brains responded to Coca-Cola. Coke had built a neurological shortcut straight to emotion and memory. This is NeuroMarketing at it's core: - Consumers don't make all rational decisions. - The brain processes emotion FASTER than logic. - Correct brand storytelling does have the power to physically change how the brain responds. The Cola Wars were never really about the drink. They were about which brand could own more real estate in the human brain. And Coke has already won that war. Probably not in the market a 100% but definitely in our brains. I myself am a Coke person and frown when I have to settle for Pepsi sometimes. I am so incredibly excited to be diving deep into this field through my Neuromarketing course. I feel like I am learning the secret language behind every buying decision ever made and we are just getting started! Cannot wait to see where this journey takes me. Infinitely grateful to Professor Jennifer T. whose passion for this subject is truly contagious and I am excited to be learning with her again this Spring Quarter. #NeuroMarketing #Consumer #BrandStrategy #Marketing #Psychology #ColaWars #EmotionalMarketing

Your deal just died. But not why you think. A sales rep just lost a $700K deal after four months of perfect execution. Seven stakeholders engaged. Technical requirements mapped. ROI proven at $22,000 per hour saved. The prospect went dark anyway. This wasn't price, features, or timing. It was fear. Their current vendor causes monthly outages. Costs them hundreds of thousands annually. Has terrible support. Everyone knows they need to switch. But switching means risking something worse. This is omission bias. The psychological principle that makes staying with known pain feel safer than risking unknown failure. Here's how the story should have ended: Instead of sending another proposal, the rep offered a free systems audit. No strings attached. Just pure value demonstration using their real environment. Next came a proof of concept. Not a demo. Not a sandbox test. Real work solving their actual problems with their actual data. Then he brought his CEO and head engineer on-site. Arrived two hours early to set up the room. Custom materials with their company branding. Catered the meeting. Drove them to dinner personally. But here's the crucial part: His engineers presented the technical solution. Not him. Awkward technical people explaining complex problems without sales polish. Just raw competence. The buyer's internal calculation shifted: "If they're this meticulous during the sales process, they'll probably be equally meticulous as our vendor." Every detail became evidence of future service quality. The early setup proved they'd be prepared for go-live. The engineer presentations proved they had real technical depth. The CEO's presence proved they'd have executive support when things got tough. They weren't buying software anymore. They were buying certainty. The deal closed three weeks later at full price with a three-year commitment. Most reps think stalled deals need lower prices. Wrong. Stalled deals need lower risk. Your prospects aren't comparing your features to your competitor's features. They're comparing the risk of choosing you to the safety of choosing nothing. When buyers ghost you, they're not rejecting your solution. They're choosing the comfort of familiar problems over the anxiety of unfamiliar solutions. Stop trying to win on merit. Start winning on confidence. The highest-value skill in enterprise sales isn't overcoming objections. It's preventing the fears that create objections. When you eliminate perceived risk from every stage of your sales process, price becomes irrelevant. — Sales Leaders! Need the systematic approach for turning risk-averse prospects into confident buyers? Get the Revenue OS: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf. The framework that transforms your sales process into a trust-building machine.

One of the biggest reasons deals stall isn’t that buyers doubt your solution—it’s that they doubt their ability to make the right choice. Matt Dixon's research for The JOLT Effect found that 40% of lost deals are driven by customer indecision, not preference for a competitor. And Brent Adamson's new book The Framemaking Sale highlights that customers with high decision confidence are TEN TIMES more likely to make a purchase. Here are a few ways you can help buyers build confidence in themselves: 1. Reduce Decision Complexity According to Gartner, 77% of B2B buyers report their last purchase was “very complex or difficult." Streamlining options, providing decision guides, or recommending a clear best-fit reduces “analysis paralysis” and gives buyers confidence they aren’t missing something. 2. Reframe Risk in Personal Terms Buyers often fear personal blame more than organizational failure. Use case studies and peer validation to show how people in their role succeeded—helping them feel safe and supported in their choice. 3. Provide Buyer Enablement Tools Tools like ROI calculators, pre-built board decks, or checklists reduce the burden on them and demonstrate that they have what they need to decide. 4. Normalize Their Concerns The JOLT Effect also emphasizes “normalizing indecision” as a critical skill—buyers need to know hesitation is common and that you can guide them through it. Framing uncertainty as a normal step in the process reduces the shame that often delays action. 5. Signal Post-Decision Support Harvard Business Review highlights that buyers who see strong post-sale support are more confident in making initial commitments. Show them the path forward—onboarding, customer success, peer communities—so they know they won’t be left alone after purchase. Helping buyers feel personally confident and protected is as important as proving your product’s value. The most successful marketers and sellers don’t just build confidence in the solution—they build confidence in the decision-maker.

The best marketing often looks like breaking the rules KitKat Canada intentionally “destroyed” one of the most recognisable FMCG assets in the world. KitKat became “KatKit”. “Have a Break” became “Break a Have”. Every brand manager is taught to protect consistency. Never touch the logo. Never confuse consumers. Never play with core brand assets. And that is exactly why this campaign worked. Nestlé’s KitKat is a global confectionery giant built on decades of brand memory, iconic packaging and one of the most recognised slogans in advertising history. That recognition gave the brand the confidence to do something most companies would never dare to approve. Not because of a massive media budget. Because of a sharp idea. The campaign launched KitKat Mix-Ups in Canada, a new pouch product combining KitKat and graham cracker clusters. Instead of explaining the concept with traditional advertising, the brand turned itself into the “mix-up”. Simple. Memorable. Shareable. That is modern communication. In a social media world, attention spreads faster when people discover something unexpected themselves. Consumers do not share media budgets. They share moments that make them stop for one second. And this campaign created exactly that. The most important lesson: Differentiation today is often less about spending more and more about daring more. Many brands still try to win attention by adding complexity, louder campaigns and bigger production budgets. But cultural relevance increasingly comes from courage, simplicity and strategic tension. A slightly wrong logo generated more discussion than many multi-million-dollar campaigns. Because people noticed it. Talked about it. Shared it. That is the power of brave communication when the idea is rooted in the product truth. Minimal change. Maximum impact. The strongest brands are often the ones willing to break their own rules first. #kitkat #nestle #marketing #branding #advertising #fmcg #retail #consumerbehavior #brandstrategy #creative #communication #socialmedia #digitalmarketing #innovation #retailinnovation #brandbuilding #shoppermarketing #packaging #ooh #ecommerce #foodtech #marketingstrategy #sales #startups #canada #northamerica #switzerland #europe #omnichannel #retailmedia

Growing a business requires a significant amount of strategic focus on acquiring new customers. Rolling out new products, expanding our target audience, and partnering with category-adjacent businesses are all critical strategies for scaling. However, an over emphasis on acquisition can often lead to losing sight of nurturing the people who've already chosen us. What's been on my mind lately is the real cost of falling into the "good enough" trap. While you're busy chasing new customers, another organization is working just as hard to win over yours. When complacency sets in, they're prepared to parachute in, make your customers feel like a priority, and communicate exactly what they can deliver to make them consider switching. Especially when consumers are increasingly price-conscious, scaling and growing your business isn't just an acquisition game. It's fundamentally about continually creating new ways to deliver value to your current customers. Here are some of my go-to approaches to deepen that connection and value with your existing audience: Predict and Reward: You have incredible data on what your customers do and want. Use it to stay one step ahead and deliver something that genuinely surprises them in the best way. Think proactive delight, not just reactive service. Build a Real Community: People crave belonging. They love being part of a group where they feel seen, heard, and valued. Whether it’s online spaces or in-person meetups, create a place where your customers can truly connect, share, and feel like they belong. That builds incredible stickiness. Go Above and Beyond: I had a shipping issue with a company recently, and they didn’t just fix it, they kept me updated every step of the way, apologized sincerely, and even provided extra products. It turned a momentary problem into a powerful moment of real trust and appreciation. We need to look at current customers differently. Instead of just viewing them as consistent buyers, we should see them as amplifiers, invaluable feedback providers, and crucial testers. They are often your strongest allies in scaling and growing your business because, when nurtured, they will grow with you.

The Problem Is Not Low Sales. It’s weak selling energy! When sales drop, the instinct is to look at traffic, pricing, or external factors. Sometimes that is valid. But not always. I have walked into stores where everything looked right. Good product, strong environment, decent flow of customers. Yet within a few minutes, something felt off. The team was present, polite, and available, but there was no energy behind the interaction. No urgency. No conviction. No real intent to move the conversation forward. Clients were being assisted, but not influenced. The interaction stayed safe, comfortable, and forgettable. I remember one case where two stores had similar traffic and product mix, but completely different results. The difference was not strategy. It was energy. One team believed in what they were selling and drove the interaction. The other waited for the client to decide. Strong selling is not about pressure. It is about momentum. It is about creating confidence and guiding the client without forcing the outcome. When that energy disappears, performance usually follows. Quietly at first, then consistently. #RetailPerformance #LuxuryRetail #SalesLeadership #StoreOperations #CustomerExperience #RetailStrategy