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Why People Don't Behave The Way They Should | BTalk Australia

November 30th, 2009 @ 11:52 am

Categories: BTalk Australia, Podcasts

Tags: Analysis, Podcasts, BTalk Australia, Phil Dobbie

Dicken Doe

Dicken Doe

(Episode 384; 13 minutes 17) Many business decisions are based on asking customers how they intend to behave. Or they’re made from conclusions based on whatever data is available for analysis.

Dicken Doe from Beyond Analysis says a lot of the time people can draw the wrong inference from partial information or ineffective methodologies. He says it’s important to look at what customers are actually doing. It might lead you to question how you use some conventional techniques, like customer segmentation and catchment area analysis.

In today’s BTalk Australia podcast you’ll hear why catchment areas work particularly badly in Wales and why a travel agency in Sydney’s wealthier suburbs could be a bad idea.

We’ll discover why some of your assumptions about customers’ predictive behaviour might be plain wrong and find out why is this happening?

Have you got other examples of conclusions that turned out to be wrong? Add them to the Talkback section at the end of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

View all BTalk Australia podcasts here.

 
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    Major Gripe

    12/01/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Why People Don't Behave The Way They Should | BTalk Australia

    Great interview, thank you. I particularly like the bit about confirmation bias rather than people simply letting the data tell them the answer.

    There is a need for some of this thinking in the output of a number of macroeconomists' output, where they have started talking about past mistakes of over-assuming that people were behaving rationally and starting to assume that they behave irrationally. No guys, you are looking at rationality from your own angle and overlooking how highly individual and contextual it is. Go and find the incentive that is making the person behave in that way, and you can uncover their rationality.

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Blogger Profiles

  • Blogger Thumbnail Phil Dobbie Phil Dobbie has a wealth of radio and business experience. He started his career in commercial radio in the UK and, since coming to Australia in 1991, has held senior marketing and management roles with Telstra, OzEmail, the British Tourist Authority and other telecommunications, media, travel and advertising businesses. In BTalk Australia he provides a lively and insightful view on business issues, adding his blend of irony and humour to the discussions. more »

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