An inspirational video for all businesspeople-Rory Sutherland: Perspective is everything

Psychology is a very significant aspect of marketing, because as a marketer, you must understand how the buyer will perceive your product and what will differentiate your product from a competitor’s in the mind of the consumer. TED.com features a video of Rory Sutherland speaking about how psychology, technology, and economics are equally important when developing an idea and making decisions. Sutherland’s Perspectiveis Everything sends a powerful message about how perception affects the success of a product or service.

Sutherland’s speech centers around his idea that “things are not what they are; they are what we think they are.” This can help marketers understand that sometimes a customer’s perception is not reality, the end result is not always the most important part of the product, and consumer behavior often has a profound affect on the final product.

One of Sutherland’s most effective examples is of the Eurostar, a train company in Europe, which spent around 6 million pounds (over 9 million American dollars) to shorten the travel time from London to Paris. He points out that the company could have spent significantly less money by adding Wi-Fi to the trains. This would not have changed the travel time, but would have made the trip more appealing and acceptable to customers.

I found Sutherland’s presentation to be extremely beneficial. He uses several real-world examples that can be applied to branding and how psychology can hinder or help a product. He explains that it is sometimes better to focus less on technical aspects and numbers and more on the psychology behind a decision. His information is not only helpful to marketers, but also economists. I also appreciate an explanation he gives about creative ideas versus rational ideas. He says that someone with a creative idea must consult rational people before implementing a decision, but that rational ideas are not approved by creative people. This is an important distinction because sometimes the numbers do not tell us everything. I found his speech to be very insightful and eye opening. The information I gained from Sutherland will undoubtedly help me in my future career and I recommend the presentation to any person in the business world.