Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore

Your Customer’s Two Minds

The human brain evolved so that we could survive the harsh existence on the African veldt. It did not evolve to shop. It was not designed for customer loyalty. And its mysteries cannot be divined through focus groups or customer surveys.

Although researchers have studied the brain for centuries, only in the last 20 years have they had access to its inner workings. Their findings provide clear indications where marketing theory has misguided us. Using advances in noninvasive brain-imaging technology such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron-emission topography (PET), it is possible to see the brain in action. But first we need to understand how different parts of the brain respond to marketing ...