Consumer Behavior and Marketing Science

It is now widely appreciated that consumer behavior (both purchase and usage) can only partly be explained through rational, “System 2,” models of “value” (e.g., benefit/price). That said, it remains challenging to integrate scientifically valid and reliable measures of irrational, “System 1,” processes (e.g., habit, emotion, heuristics, etc.) in commercial market research settings.

Our work focuses on deploying academically validated (i.e., peer-reviewed) methods from cognitive and behavioral science to better understand, predict, and influence consumer choice. We take the view that the best insights typically come from (a) focusing on behavior as the critical outcome, and (b) respecting that behavior is often jointly determined by rational factors (e.g., benefit, utility, price) and irrational factors (e.g., decision complexity, habit, emotion, heuristics, aesthetics).

Some examples of our work:

17-country behavioral market segmentation research (top 10 global semiconductor company)

Quantitative studies of brand defection drivers (top 3 global FMCG company)

Developing scientific frameworks to make new products more “behaviorally sticky” (top 3 global technology company)

Leading product and marketing ideation workshops based on behavioral science (multiple top 10 global FMCG companies)

For more information on the scientific basis of this work, see the following key publications from Catalyst founder, Dr. David Neal:

Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2009). The habitual consumer. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19, 579-592. Townsend, C., Neal, D. T., & Morgan, C. (2019). The impact of the mere presence of social media share icons on product interest and valuation. Journal of Business Research, 100, 245-254.
Ascarza, E., Neslin, S. A., Netzer, O., Anderson, Z., Fader, P. S., Gupta, S., et al., (2018). In pursuit of enhanced customer retention management: Review, key issues, and future directions. Customer Needs and Solutions, 5(1-2), 65-81.
Labrecque, J. S., Wood, W., Neal, D. T., & Harrington, N. (2016). Habit slips: When consumers unintentionally resist new products. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1-15.

Contact

DAVID NEAL

[email protected]

PENNY SCUDDER - BUSINESS MANAGER

[email protected]

OFFICES

Miami, FL