How To Manipulate Consumers Into Craving Your Product

Getting a customer to buy your product is one thing. Getting them to buy that product on a weekly basis is another entirely.

How to do it >

New York Times business reporter and author Charles Duhigg uncovers the psychology behind what makes customer and employee  behavior turn into habit in his best selling book, The Power Of Habit.

Here are ten of Duhigg's best lessons for using the power of routine and habit to grow your business.

Habits put your brain on autopilot until you're so used to the motions that there's no need to think.

Habits are cyclical processes. There's a cue, routine and reward. It's called "The Habit Loop."

Almost every American wakes up and brushes their teeth in the morning. The cue could be waking up or feeling like your breath is stale. Then comes the routine of actually brushing your teeth. Finally, the reward of having a clean smile. This process is something most people barely think about. 

Source: "The Power of Habit"

To create a habit that sticks for customers, you have to create a cue.

Toothpaste didn't always exist. In fact it wasn't originally marketed as a way to keep your teeth healthy and clean. People selling toothpaste cued customers by prompting them to run their tongues across their teeth to feel a film. This created the cue and the solution was simple; buy toothpaste and brush your teeth. 

The cue created a habit that spread across America and became a routine in most households today. So when people run out of toothpaste, they will always buy more — creating a product with constant demand. 

Source: "The Power of Habit"

More importantly, make sure your customers notice that cue.

Febreze was originally marketed with the line "Gets bad smells out of fabrics" and it targeted people who had really bad smells in their homes like a woman who lived with multiple cats. The product flopped when targeting this type of customer because their senses were dulled and immune to the bad smells. 

So, there was no cue and the habit didn't get started. The product got pushed to the back of the closet.

Source: "The Power of Habit"

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