In one of our marketing classes, the professor talking about customer behaviour put forward an interesting concept. He described about 'Rational' customers who base their decisions and hence purchasing pattern on pure rationale and cost-benefit analysis. These customers have partial or zero brand loyalty. On the other hand, there are 'Emotional' customers who are fiercely loyal to their brand and emotionally attached to the product.
This triggered a chain of thoughts about human behaviour. Having a scientific bent of mind since childhood and undergoing a formal degree in Engineering has led to a rational thinker in me. At almost every action and events, I have tried to apply the principles of rational algorithms, flowcharts, logical thinking, etc. This has led to many arguments with colleagues, friends, family and batch-mates. On many occasions what sounded pretty straightforward and logically reasonable to me was beyond their comprehension. I always tried, in vain, to explain the logic behind the event and thereby bring them on the same page as me. Numerous unsuccessful attempts left me confounded and often frustrated.
The 'Rational vs Emotional' explanation made perfect sense in this scenario and I decided to put the theory in practice during my day to day interactions. The experiment has yielded remarkable success. Just as it is difficult (sometimes impossible) to persuade a rational person with emotional arguments, the reverse is equally true. This explains my failed attempts in the past and a valuable lesson for the future.
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