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Lots of folks are looking for a place to take advantage of their training these days.
Over time, I can recall a number of newly-graduated psych majors in that same boat… wondering what they would do with a psych degree, especially after figuring out that they didn’t want to become a psychologist.
Back when I graduated from college with a Computer Science degree, the economy was in a post-Carter-era, inflationary slump that gripped oil companies and airlines alike.
Why do I mention oil companies and airlines?
Because in the white-hot mainframe computer job market of the late 1970s and early 1980s, new graduates with computer degrees often got jobs in those industries.
Except for that slump. It left computer jockeys in the same situation as psych majors.
Fast forward
Decades later, the economy is a little harsher across the board (except for interest rates).
But the job thing is still a challenge for psychology majors (and some others).
Unless… they visit with businesses that really want to understand why their customers do what they do, spend what they spend and so on.
Now, the example. KOB TV in New Mexico documented a study by a New Mexico State University study done in conjunction with a supermarket.
The solution to the problems of bad nutrition, obesity and poor health may be right in front of you the next time you go to the supermarket.
Researchers at New Mexico State University say a simple change in the design of shopping carts may help people make better decisions about the food they buy.
The result? A 102% increase in purchases of certain types of products.
If you don’t have time to watch the video right now, make note of this excerpt from the story:
Payne’s idea was to use some social psychology to provide some help for consumers facing a bombardment of food hype in the media and in the store.
“Food manufacturers have tremendous amounts of money to research what influences people to buy their products,” Payne said. “We’re looking for tools that will help consumers if they want to make healthier decisions. Right now there are more tools helping them make less healthy decisions.”
Payne said earlier experiments involving simple food-rating systems had little impact on customers buying healthier groceries. He said his research found no drop in the amount of money customers were spending, so it appears the shopping cart modification wouldn’t hurt supermarket profits.
“We want to be healthy, so we’re faced with going to the grocery store every week and trying to make those decisions that are best for us, “Payne said. “I’m not saying we should get rid of candy bars— I wouldn’t want to live in a world without candy bars— but consumers need better tools.”
Payne said he plans to continue the research next year in Las Cruces, testing the best placement for the yellow line and whether marking off more spaces for different categories of groceries would be effective.
Psychology has many applications in business ranging from analyzing buying patterns/habits (like in the supermarket study) to the psychology of a sales process or a marketing program.
I‘ve briefly talked about the 3/50 Project, which encourages people to buy local, making change by spending as little as $50 a month between 3 locally owned stores that you’d miss if they went away.
Someone who sponsors ball teams, donates building materials for Scout service projects, lets local organizations use their copy machine time and time again, and so on?
Why not spend a little money there? They’ve earned it.
Many wholesalers list the brick and mortar stores and online outlets where their products can be found, but a substantial number don’t, citing competitive issues and so on.
Unless your products are in some way objectionable (which could mean almost anything), I really can’t see a reason not to let people know where they can find your wholesale products locally.
Clearly, there’s at least one vendor here in Montana who disagrees, as I recently received this email:
We recently got our dog back to live with us. I am a subscriber to Dogster.com and just recently I have started to look at the site for many things. Weather transitioning for dogs, stress etc… The first thing I noticed about him is that one of his eyes is starting to get a little cloudy (he is 10 yrs. old). So with that set-up here is the link I rec’d just last week from Dogster.
I contacted the Buck Mountain Botanicals that Dogster recommended and just as luck would have it, they are in nearby Miles City, MT. I contacted them to find out what retailer/vet carried their product in my town. The response is below in bold.
“We are a wholesaler and don’t keep track of who buys what. You can buy this product through a veterinarian or pet store. It is also easy to find retailers by Googling Buck Mountain Milk Thistle.”
I was stunned by their response for the following reasons:
Not a “thank you for inquiring about our product”
They “don’t track of who buys what” – I was further stunned by this! How do they stay in business, if they have no idea who buys their product?
Keep in mind Dogster.com is nationally recognized website that I have been using/following for over 8 years.
BTW, I did Google the retailers and purchased the product that evening plus I purchased a pair of dog earrings as well. Yeah, I know I am a sucker! :0)
Still stunned and amazed,
<dog owner>
The problem with “we don’t keep track of who buys our stuff” is that it simply isn’t believable. I think the wholesaler simply didn’t want to take the time to look up a retailer in the customer’s town, or better – point out the Google map on their website that shows where their retailers are (except…they don’t have one).
Do you really think that a wholesaler doesn’t know who their best retailers are?
On the other hand, let’s assume they were telling the truth. How do they know which retailer is their best? If they aren’t tracking retail distribution, what else aren’t they tracking?
Which products sell the best?
Which parts of the country are un-served or underserved?
You’d think that in “today’s economy”, people would want to take a personal interest in making it as easy as possible to get their products into a customer’s hands.
Most of us can easily look elsewhere for the things you sell. Don’t ever forget that.
Remember…Business is Personal. The little things are often what make it stay that way.
PS: Note the comment about dog earrings. There truly is a niche for everything. Ok, they probably aren’t for the dog. Still, there were 354,000 results in Google for “dog earrings”.
Just because your organization is small doesn’t mean you can’t have one. There are numerous tools to create simple ones, but the very least you can do is optimize your website for mobile browsers.
The eventual goal should be not just to give them a mobile browser friendly site (which is a good start), but to create an app that puts a fence around your clients by making it easier to do business with you, easier to get service, easier to stay informed about things related to your business that THEY care about and by (as usual) doing what none of your competitors have the nerve to do.
