Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore

by Neale Martin

This is the eBook version of the printed book. “The Samsung Instinct was designed to be habit forming. Inspired by pioneering work by Dr. Neale Martin, Sprint and Samsung created the Instinct interface from the bottom up to work the way your brain works.” —Doug Rossier, Sprint Instinct Marketing Lead   “In Habit, Neale Martin provides what seems to be a simple observation—that human behavior is largely managed through subconscious process. In startling fashion, Martin makes this point and then proceeds to undermine much of what marketers have come to believe as absolute truths. This is a worthwhile read, with significant implications to anyone who hopes to build brands and sell products.” —John Stratton, Sr. Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Verizon   “Neale provides some of the most comprehensive insights into marketing I have ever read. His understanding of today’s market complexity is simply brilliant.” —Derek Broes, Sr. Vice President, Paramount   “At last someone has approached marketing with the clarity and precision of a brain surgeon.” —George Ford, Marketing Director, Petrafoods   “Habit reveals why traditional approaches to acquiring and keeping customers don’t work anymore. Dr. Martin shows that by focusing on behavior instead of attitudes and intentions, companies can radically improve not only how many customers they win, but how many they keep.” —S. Somasegar, Microsoft Senior Vice President, Developer Division   “Habit is an essential read for all marketers, managers and executives. Dr. Martin has elevated the seemingly boring concept of habits to a science with implications for every business in every market. This excellent book not only explains why consumers behave the way they do, but what companies should do in light of these startling insights!” —Jagdish N. Sheth, Ph.D, Charles H. Kellstadt  Professor of Marketing, Goizueta Business School,  Emory University   Habit begins with a revolutionary premise—95% of human behavior is controlled by the unconscious mind. This fact exposes the central flaw in marketing theory, market research, and a preponderance of business strategy—that customers are consciously aware of what they’re doing. Habit explains why 80% of new products fail, why billions of advertising dollars are wasted every year, and why even satisfied customers aren’t loyal.   In Habit, Dr. Neale Martin persuasively contends that recent research from the brain sciences reveals that our brain evolved two minds—and marketing is focused on the wrong one. By explaining how the mind actually works, Martin shows how 50 years of marketing theory is deeply flawed, and how your customers’ habits thwart even your costliest marketing campaigns.   Habit explains in practical terms how to work with both your customers’ executive and habitual minds to not only make sales but more importantly, create loyalty. You’ll discover how behavior actually rewires your customers' mind—and how to leverage this by refocusing on behavior, not on attitudes and beliefs.  ...

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Psychology, Professional Development, Social Science, Science, Management

191 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Victor Volpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a great surprise with this book. Wasn't expecting a read so pleasant and insightful. This was a good reminder of why one shouldn't judge a book by its cover - I wrongly assumed that because Habit is a less-known book vs. Predictably Irrational, Buyology and Thinking Fast and Slow this would be a inferior read and much of the same I've already read before. I was totally wrong about it. And I'm glad I was.

Habit indeed recaps some concepts from other behavioral economics books (notably the division of the mind in 2 different characters, as Kahneman would call system 1 and 2, and Neale Martin calls habitual and executive). But it doesn't stop there - the book's particular strength is how well this all translates into marketing recommendation and the parallel it makes with the traditional theory. No other book that I've read so far could bridge this gap so effectively.

The notion that you don't need to be the best product or have the best price, however you need to be consumers habit goes in a total opposite direction vs. old-marketing theory. But it makes perfect sense in light of new discoveries of how our brain works. "Be the unconscious choice of your consumers" is a powerful message - and I wonder how many marketing dollars are spent in the pursuit of promoting features that nobody cares vs. turning the product into an habit.

By reading this book one can also understand the importance of product design and creating things for our dinosaur brains. A offer tailored to habit formation is much more powerful than the endless attempt to list why I'm better vs competition. At the end, consumers don't care who's better, they care about getting their job done with the least effort possible.

The cherry on the cake: habit delivers on the promise while keeping it short and focused. I finished it in one week and couldn't see the time pass by. I don't feel I needed more, nor I feel the book repeats itself. The length is 100% appropriate.

100% recommended to whoever deals with marketing - either as a professional, a side hustle or is interested about it.

[Dixit Nagpal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing way to look at our purchasing habits. Treat customers like dogs - I mean literally to condition them to purchase your products and make it automatic choice for your products. A must read for any entrepreneur or marketing person who are fighting every day battle to be seen , heard and eventually bought among million choices that today's customer have

[James Sefton · Rating 1 out of 5]

With accolades from prominent heads of industries such as Microsoft and Paramount this book was bound to be filled with insightful and helpful marketing strategies.

But it wasn't, it was a dry and tedious flurry of unlinked concepts and an attempt to pyscho-analyze every customer.

Save your time and enrol in a marketing course if you are interested.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful book on habituating loyal customers

If you want to read a new, refreshing marketing book, look no further. Consumer behavior expert Neale Martin has produced an entertaining, informative explanation of how the conscious and subconscious minds work together in the context of sales and marketing. He has put in years of extensive groundwork updating the principles of marketing to reflect new findings in cognitive psychology and neuroscience that say much of the way people act is governed by unconscious habits. In the process of explaining the brain’s biological miracle, he also teaches readers why some products fail and what marketers must understand to improve their odds. getAbstract thinks this intellectually invigorating book is a real keeper, especially for marketers who want to learn how each customer’s two minds (unconscious and subconscious) work together.

[Kevin Eikenberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the past few weeks, I have read Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore by Neale Martin. As a business owner (and therefore a marketer), this book provides valuable lessons for me about how and why people buy – and as this book shows using great examples, stories and research, it isn’t always for the reasons we think. - See more at: http://blog.kevineikenberry.com/leade...

[Erin Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't quite make it to the end of this one, but it was not bad so I'll give it three stars. This is compared to other marketing textbooks, not to anything good. :)

[Guy Guarino · Rating 3 out of 5]

The message is to be more like Apple than Microsoft!

[Strategic Innovation Lab · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book

[Benny Villanueva · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's enough to read the first 3 chapters.