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Many of the questions people ask me are about pricing. One of the most popular questions is why do prices end in .99? It seems like everything from coffee to televisions and shoes to computers end with .99. So why do marketers do this?
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What is the length of the Mississippi River? Sounds like a fairly straight forward question but a concept known as anchoring (or magnitude priming) makes people respond to that question in unexpected ways. Anchoring is psychology theory that suggests when people see a number, they are biased toward that initial number. What does that mean?…
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Does your business offer a warranty of 1 year, 12 months, or 365 days? Is your product expected to be delivered in 21 days or 3 weeks? Trick question, huh? It’s actually not. While the units are mathematically equDoes your business offer a warranty of 1 year, 12 months, or 365 days? Is your product…
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Consider the following scenario: You go to the store to buy soup. You notice that cans of soup are marked down from $.89 to $.79. Below the price is fine print that says “Limit of 4.”. You make your choice and head to the register. Now the question is…does the purchase quantity limit (ex. limit…
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When discussing marketing and my interest in consumer behavior, I am often asked “What is consumer behavior?”. I typically respond with something like “it is the study of how consumers behave, why they behave in certain ways, and how they respond differently in various situations”. Consumer behavior (also known as consumer psychology) is a fascinating…
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A recent NCAA report stated that only 14 of the 120 athletic programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision made money. The Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) includes all BCS conferences (PAC 10, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, etc) so odds are your favorite athletic program is losing money. 12% of college athletic programs are profitable. Which…
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I recently came across a study on the NBA and effects on playing time. The study conducted by Berkeley professors Barry Staw and Ha Hoang, analyzed playing time in the 1980’s over a five year span following the NBA draft. Professor Staw analyzed factors including on court performance, trades, injuries and draft position. What did…
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A while back Adam Foster of Project Prospect sent out a tweet wondering how height impacts success and longevity as a pitcher. Adam is focused on minor league baseball prospects and thus was curious how height impacts a pitchers chances of “making it” and how long they last in the major leagues. My first instinct…