opportunity 28 of 150 Marketing is the business of managing human behaviour to achieve behavioural outcomes that facilitate commercial objectives. As such, marketing cost efficiency cannot occur without an understanding of ‘how’ and ‘why’ consumers do what they do. This series of articles will provide helpful insights into how consumers think and respond. There was […]

opportunity 28 of 150 Marketing is the business of managing human behaviour to achieve behavioural outcomes that facilitate commercial objectives. As such, marketing cost efficiency cannot occur without an understanding of ‘how’ and ‘why’ consumers do what they do. This series of articles will provide helpful insights into how consumers think and respond. There was a fascinating experiment completed in the United States in 2015 by a group of behavioural economists. It dealt with the consumer response to norms, and how this response might impact on purchase decisions. This same experiment has since been replicated with similar results. The experiment in question was undertaken in a hotel chain. In the first of two samples, people having checked in and entered their bathroom were confronted with a sign that read – ‘to save water and help the environment, please recycle your towels’. The second sample when checking in and entering their…