Today, let's begin taking a look at the Top 3 Best-selling Business & Investing Books on Amazon.
Here’s an excerpt from an interview with Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, currently No. 3 on the Amazon list.
If you’re looking for a business to buy or already own a great business that you want to grow and eventually sell, consider doing what Duhigg says a major retailer does –fulfill your customers’ wants and needs by studying their habits.
Q: What was the most surprising use of habits that you uncovered?
A: The most surprising thing I've learned is how companies use the science of habit formation to study - and influence - what we buy.
Take, for example, Target, the giant retailer. Target collects all kinds of data on every shopper it can, including whether you’re married and have kids, which part of town you live in, how much money you earn, if you've moved recently, the websites you visit. And with that information, it tries to diagnose each consumer’s unique, individual habits.
Why? Because Target knows that there are these certain moments when our habits become flexible. When we buy a new house, for instance, or get married or have a baby, our shopping habits are in flux. A well-timed coupon or advertisement can convince us to buy in a whole new way. But figuring out when someone is buying a house or getting married or having a baby is tough. And if you send the advertisement after the wedding or the baby arrives, it’s usually too late.
So Target studies our habits to see if they can predict major life events. And the company is very, very successful. Oftentimes, they know what is going on in someone's life better than that person's parents.
Check back tomorrow and Wednesday to see what I’ve gleaned from the other two books.
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