Trying to figure out why things work. Mixed results.
Dan Bond writes about the decisions, systems, and incentives that shape why things succeed or fail. Marketing, behavioural psychology, architecture, housing policy, and whatever else is interesting.
Category or tag:
business
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Browse Basket Buy with forecasting expert John Readman
There’s an old story about a drunk looking for his keys under a streetlight. Someone stops to help and, after a while, asks, “Are you…
READ TIME:
7–10 minutes -
The discount addiction nobody wants – Agency Folk
A retailer I spoke with recently tried going cold turkey on promotions. Sales tanked. AOV collapsed. And their CEO, who’d presumably signed off on this…
READ TIME:
4–6 minutes -
Same customer, same questions
Why the distinction between new and returning customers is irrelevant: The focus should be on answering ‘Why should I buy today?’ for everyone. Imagine walking…
READ TIME:
5–8 minutes -
The tyranny of options and the idea diet
In 2000, psychologists set up two jam-tasting booths at an upscale grocery store. One offered 24 types of jam; the other, just six. You’d think…
READ TIME:
4–6 minutes -
The category trap or why your customers aren’t reading your marketing
When Slack launched in 2013, it was positioned carefully: a team communication platform that would transform how organisations work together. The company spent millions refining…
READ TIME:
5–7 minutes -
How intelligent offers drive retail performance without destroying margins – The Retail Tea Break podcast
I recently joined Melissa Moore on the Retail Tea Break podcast to discuss something that’s been bothering me for years: how most retailers use promotions.…
READ TIME:
6–9 minutes -
Browse Basket Buy with metrics expert Andy Griffiths
There’s a scene that plays out in marketing departments everywhere. A marketer pulls up their dashboard, sees a ROAS of 8:1, and feels momentarily victorious.…
READ TIME:
4–6 minutes -
The Menu: 5 books about understanding people
Last week, someone on LinkedIn recommended I read a book called something like “Crushing It in the Digital Space: 47 Hacks for Exponential Growth.” I…
READ TIME:
4–5 minutes -
Orange not beige
In 1968, Cliff Cooper opened his music shop in London. He painted it bright orange, inside and out, giving it a luminous presence you couldn’t…
READ TIME:
4–6 minutes
