The Right Sensory Mix

Book excerpt: Many companies fail to acknowledge and analyze disparities observed among customers and simply put them down to culture or emotion. New neuroendocrinological research proves that people are rational: They just have a different biological perception of the same stimulus. Their preferences, behavior, and decisions are strongly influenced by the hundreds of millions of sensors monitoring their body and brain. People with more taste buds are, for example, sensitive to bitterness and are more likely to drink their coffee with sugar or milk, or to drink tea. This book helps product managers, marketers, and corporate decision-makers understand and predict customers’ behavior and preferences. It provides the tools to design the right sensory mix (color, shape, depth, taste, smell, texture, and sound) for each product, and fine-tune their positioning and range for every local market. Using cases from different sectors, the author shows that this approach delivers planet and people-friendly innovations which have a higher chance of success in the market.