What can rational irrationality teach us about marketing

Many people still buy merchandise on the basis of its weight. Have you ever observed a man select a lighter, a mechanical tool, a shaver or similar object? He will handle it, weigh it in one hand and then the other, judge how it feels in the palm of his hand and also how heavy it is.

We were once asked to investigate why engineers would not believe tat huge vats made out out Duraluminum were as sturdy as steel vats. The reason was that the irrational evaluation of wight stood in the way of the scientific fact that Duraluminium was technically as strong as steel. It simply did not weigh as much. Being light meant being weak. In most instances, a heavier tool is not really the better one. The heavier shaver is not necessarily the better one. Stone, in the building of homes, still gives us a feeling of security and reliability, yet it does not have as much insulating power as, for instance, aluminum foil. We still have not shed our cave-man beliefs in areas where overwhelming evidence exists to prove us wrong in our irrational attitudes.
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That’s not me taking. That’s Ernest Dichter taking in his remarkable book The Strategy of Desire.
If I had to summarize it in one sentence it would be: Emotion is the mother of action.

My 2¢:
Human beings tend to move when their emotions are moved.
Check out Ernest’s book one of these days.
Why? Because his stories about what motivates us are still some of the best around.