Unlock the Mysteries of Buyer Behavior
Something to Think About
Three meditations: something to think about, a “how-to” resource, and a marketing deep dive. Ommmmmm.
I’m a huge fan of Ukonwa Ojo, former CMO of MAC Cosmetics, Amazon Prime Video, and founder of venture studio Zaia Ventures.
"How To"
At CMO Zen, we’ve been investing a lot into developing AI enabled tools for founders and early marketing teams—where the workload is enormous and there are too few hours in the day.
I’ll be sharing more about what we’re building soon.
But my problem with AI is that I’m not an early adopter.
I get new tech, but before I really extract value out of it, I need someone to show me the use cases—someone to connect the potential with the down-to-Earth value.
So I was excited to discover this video series by Dan Sanchez.
I hope you like it as much as I did.
A Marketing Deep Dive
“Unlocking the Mysteries of Buyer Behavior”
Ever wonder why people make seemingly illogical choices?
We often assume customers will act rationally. We believe they carefully weigh pros and cons, comparing features and prices before deciding.
But the truth is far more fascinating.
Humans are inherently irrational beings.
Our decisions are guided by emotions, biases, and subconscious influences we rarely recognize. This irrationality isn’t a bug—it’s a feature of our complex minds.
This past week I listened to acclaimed author of “Moneyball” and “The Big Short” Michael Lewis’s podcast, “Against the Rules.” He shared a ton of cool stats—I highly recommend—but one that stood out to me was that sports fans consistently maintain an optimistic view of their team’s chances, often in defiance of statistical probabilities.
Sports fans are not a small group.
Yet sports fandom is evidence that as humans we don’t mind believing things that stretch reality. “Reality distortion fields” as they were called in Steve Jobs’s psyche.
There’s something we value higher in our native OS.
And it isn’t mere stubbornness. It’s human nature.
We’re drawn to groups that share our beliefs and values.
Logical arguments aren’t enough.
Instead, successful businesses tap into the power of emotional connection and shared values. They recognize that customers are driven by a complex web of psychological factors, including ingroup bias and confirmation bias.
Ingroup bias draws us towards those we perceive as similar to ourselves.
When a company or its customers share our beliefs, we’re more likely to trust them. They become “people like me,” and we instinctively feel a sense of kinship. Plus we value the opinions from within our in-group higher than others.
In business, customers often make purchasing decisions based on how closely a company aligns with their personal values and identity. They’re not just buying a product; they’re buying into a shared belief system.
In the early days, there may not be a lot of those.
Part of the job of a startup is getting others on board with our irrational beliefs.
Bill Gurley, a prominent venture capitalist, popularized an intriguing concept: to succeed in investing, one must be “non-consensus and right.” This idea challenges us to think differently, to seek out unique perspectives that others might overlook.
That’s the kind of maverick thinking we often need from our first customers. Because once they are in, we have another phenomenon that kicks in, confirmation bias.
Confirmation bias reinforces our past choices.
After we’ve made a decision—like purchasing from a particular brand—we tend to seek out information that supports that choice. We want to believe we made the right call, so we unconsciously filter our experiences to confirm our initial judgment.
By understanding and respecting these psychological tendencies, businesses can create deeper, more meaningful connections with their customers.
They can build trust, foster loyalty, and create a sense of shared purpose that goes beyond mere transactions.
The path to success doesn’t depend on customers to act rationally.
It requires us to embrace the beautiful irrationality of the human mind.
It’s about creating a space where customers feel understood, valued, and part of something greater than themselves.
In this dance of logic and emotion, of boldness and belonging, lies the true art of business.
And who knows?
Understanding the irrational nature of our customers, might give us a deeper appreciation for our own beautiful, complex, wonderfully illogical selves.
Until next time,
Namaste.
Chad Jardine, CEO
CMO Zen
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AI notice: This newsletter is human-written. Images however may be AI-generated. |
