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Consumer Insight Part 2 -- Of Rainbow Colors And Other Irrational Angles


In an earlier post, we interrupted the series on Work-Life Balance to discuss how to sell a product to women, more than bathing the product in pink. We continue with this discussion on this post, regarding an innovative angle that the same company that presented the underwhelming pink phone.

Somebody really should look into the colors most saleable on women. I've noticed that quite a few of my lady friends HATE yellow. On the other hand, I also have friends who love yellow. Others are also anti-pink, while others would go gaga on anything pink or purple. I think it would be great for a company to research on consumer color preferences to understand their target market.

As I mentioned, the same company that offered the pink phone got something right. One of their phone models was offered in a wide array of colors, and in two types of "faces" (the area around the LCD): Black and White. Below is a list of their phone's colors:

Black "Face":
  • Black
  • Red
  • Blue
  • Purple
White "Face":
  • Pink
  • Lavender
  • Sky Blue
  • Mint Green

There are two other colors on the box, but I've yet to see them "in the wild," so to speak, so I can't add them among the lists up there. On the box, they look to be yellow and brown/ochre.

That aside, I have one thing to say: I think their scheme of having a whole lot of cute colors (especially the set with the white "face") makes a shopaholic cellphone addict like me feel compelled to buy and collect the phone in different colors. The phone does not have changeable covers so I'd have an excuse to buy different colors. Plus, it's at the lower end of the price spectrum, so the guilt is minimized.

An angle like that: cute factor, great price point for good specs, the fact that the item is collectible seems to be a great angle for me.

Even if it isn't practical at all, I'd be okay with buying the phone in different colors because it's in the form factor I want (QWERTY), and they come cheap (Php 1,200 or less, depending on the company's promos). Things that arrest consumers like me, those are the things that get a product to sell like hotcakes.

While I am, of course, never a reliable representation of the masses (one single sample is not a very good statistical representation), my irrational shopping paradigm offers a look into what could compel a shopper like me to make impulsive, irrational, but highly profitable decisions. Different strokes for different folks, as they say, but once a company finds out a great psychological angle to play to, they'll strike gold.


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Here is Part 1 of the Consumer Insight 2-part Series.

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