How Colors affect purchase decisions

I didn’t know that color and packaging have such huge impact on purchase decisions but this clearly provides valuable insights into consumers’ buying behaviors.  I read in a Deloitte research report that 70% of the shopper decisions are made in-store. So proper shelf space and product presentation can yield targeted results for marketers; the store is a critical and highly interactive touch point to reach and influence consumers. You can study complete research report here: Shopper Marketing: Capturing a shopper’s mind and heart

See how much color influences purchase decisions:

Click on the image and discover a number of interesting facts about how color impacts purchase decisions. This visually stimulating chart compiled by Kissmetrics outlines the influence color primarily, but also other factors. For example, 85% of shoppers place color as a primary reason to buy a particular product. Color increases brand recognition by 80%, which directly links to consumer confidence (in the purchase). Further the visual touches on the power of words, overall design and lays out how color could influence different types of shoppers (i.e. traditional vs. impulse vs. on a budget).

Tell yourself…that’s Enough!

I’ve noticed it many times whenever we’re unsure of something or a little under confident about the soundness of a statement we keep on budging others with several attempts to reassure them (actually ourselves) that something is or isn’t important to us. Over the years I’ve realized that such kind of practice can trap you in mirror spell i-e you assess the veracity of your suggestions and ideas through other’s reactions. For instance if you suggest a party and your friend says ‘sounds great lets plan a blast’ your enthusiasm will bounce to many times the original magnitude. Great! But now consider the flip side; when you come up with a plan and your friend says ‘nay! I’d rather prefer go shopping’….? The matter is actually much sterner than this. Cuz our opinion-seeking habit can influence ideas ranging from simple initiatives to more pragmatic issues of your life like specialization selection in university to career plans. 

A weird implication that I observed was making others believe in our ability to achieve our ‘very much’ individual plans: 

"I’ll study from the start of the semester" (ahh! right)

"You know I just replied her because I didn’t want her to think I am ignorant" (outright lie!)

"I don’t care much about what people say about me; I like to go by my rules" (what’s the point of this confession?)

"I really want to nail this pitch and you’ll see I’ll make it spot-on" (so what you want from me? Standing ovation?)

 

 

You might argue what’s the hitch in tendency-to-share if we succeed in making ourselves believe in such disguise? Good point! I wish you were right but unfortunately that’s not the case. A research study has proved that whenever a person enlightens his/her aims to others, odds of Actually achieving that aim drop dramatically.  40 persons were divided into two halves and group A was asked to elaborate their future plans in front of all others while group B was asked to jot down their plans quietly. After the session everyone was asked to write their plan-of-action (through which they intend to achieve their aims) in 45 minutes. Almost all members of group A stopped writing after 23 minutes in average because they said they felt less enthusiastic about their plans now. While all members of group B availed 43 minutes on avg and said that they feel there’s still a long way to go. Bottom line: whenever we discuss our plans openly our mind creates a pretense that we’ve already achieved it and we feel less enthusiastic about it in the implementation phase. 

Over the years I’ve learned that the most crucial cog regarding your plans and ideas is You and you need to explain to yourself the pros/cons and implementation strategies of your plans. Of course Im not suggesting to eliminate the idea of taking opinions from your peers, rather I am saying don’t depend heavily on it. Set goals, strive your best to achieve it and demonstrate your vision through results. Even evaluate your performance yourself and define ways to reward or excoriate yourself. 

Stop viewing yourself from eyes of others, you are what you are and others can only cast illusions on your vision to make you see in a certain way. Get up! GET UP!

Me Dot Biz

I read an amazing research report by Mckinsey & Co that suggests 4 leadership traits more often demonstrated by women leaders than men do and interestingly these 4 traits are the most suitable behaviors for the global competitive trends in upcoming years. Hence organizations are shifting their focus to gender diversity in order to foster more strategic and diversified skill sets in their boardrooms.

 

McKinsey identified 9 Key leadership behaviors that improve organizational performance:

• Participative decision making
• Role model
• Inspiration
• Expectations & Rewards
• People development
• Intellectual Stimulation
• Efficient Communication
• Individualistic decision making
• Control & Corrective action

Alice. H. Eagly conducted a study using Bass & Avolio’s database to sift the behaviors that are applied by each gender more frequently than the other. It was concluded that Women use 5 leadership behaviors more frequently than men do.

McKinsey then conducted a research to find out the most effective leadership behaviors that would be crucial for organizations in the next 5 years. The panel of executives identified four most important leadership traits for the imminent competitive environment. Interestingly the crucial leadership behaviors, needed to cope up with the predicted global trends, are the same behaviors more frequently exhibited by women leaders than other executives.

These 4 traits are: 

 

Female leaders and a diversity of leadership styles can give companies a real competitive edge. The companies that succeed in fostering effective leadership, sustained by a diversity of both practices and gender will gain a unique opportunity to develop a competitive edge that latecomers will find hard and long to acquire especially as the barrier lies in culture and mindset. Such a motivating research report for future women leaders that are looking forward to mark their way to the top. 

You can read complete Research report here: Women Matter

Amour De l'Art

From a life characterized by the same reiterating activities its always tempting to escape to such exotic places and have some out-of-this-world experiences. True spirit of sightseeing can only be felt in such eerie resorts and hotels. Will share a whole list of world’s weirdest hotels but for now just see this awesome igloo hotel. Sleeping directly under a wide open sky is always so appealing (not out of poverty of course)  

  

 
Check my favorite Hotel Kakslauttanen (pictured above) in Northern Finland, where you can sleep in a glass igloo, offering a complete view of the Northern Lights from the comfort of your bed (complete with zebra-striped bedding).

My deepest covet would be to stay here and observe Auroras—A true mesmerizing artifact of nature. The best time to view Aurora is around the equinox (March and late September-October) because this time of year offers the best trade-off between mild weather and dark skies.

I sometimes wonder is there anyone to whom art and design don’t fascinate. It’s always so great to see aesthetically pleasing objects regardless of their milieu. Here’s some stunning paperwork that’ll surely leave you contemplating on the human approach and creativity. Aren’t they amazing?

Simply love this concept: hanging man

And my favorite one: Wataru Itou

You can check an exclusive collection of paper art here: Stunning Paper Art


 
Living close to nature…beautiful idea! Fresh air, wide open sky coupled with the charm of profound sea, unpolluted sunset and sunrise... need to experience it after a certain stint of time. Here’s a list of ten must-visit islands, although my fav one is missing from the list. From amongst these Chiloé is really appealing where residents still live in traditional palafitos (stilt houses) Must see Cetacean Conservation center where they study dolphins, penguins, otters, and the largest creatures in history—blue whales. Tantalizing!!

The other choice would be Penang although I don’t personally like ‘salad bowls’ but there’s something about this island that allures you away.

 And Vieques of course!

   Here’s the complete list of 10 islands you must visit before you die. 

 Smiles!!!

Hold On to Equanimity-- For your own sake!

We confront furor almost every other day and yet even after years of experience we still fail to dispel our impulsive retorts and the burning desire to snap back harshly. While some people consider this demonstration of furious response as the true mark of deference, I’ve learned that true leaders always handle awry situations with empathy and composure. Besides, your momentary backlash will only yield stopgap satisfaction while the resulted regret and culpability are not going anywhere. So a sensible act would be to focus on the bigger picture instead of behaving like juveniles. And you’ll realize that handling the situation cool-mindedly will always bring favorable results. So you have two choices; either to snap angrily and make things more amalgamated (for which no medal would be awarded) or to hold your reflexive thoughts back just for a while and tackle the situation more prudently.  

 

Now if you have decided to stick to the first option you can discontinue reading right away otherwise we can explore firsthand ideas to get rid of our nasty and useless anger demos. I strongly believe that it’s so hard to suppress the outburst when someone assigns you another task in office while you’ve already been stretched to your last extent; with piles of files and approaching deadlines. Or whenever you come home weary and a family member provokes you with irrelevant grouses and even ‘invites’ you to have a fair skirmish. If you come across any such situation where insolence becomes almost imperative and you find no other way than to yell at the other person…follow a simple trick. Close your eyes and in your mind shout aloud “CUT!!!” just like a director who bellows “Cut!!!” to end a scene. But beware of shouting it literally cuz that would only give an impression that you’re stressed and don’t ever give other person a clue about your rage. 

Then open your eyes and try to laugh (or at least chuckle) if you can think of a joke; do go for it even share it with everyone around you. And in the end don’t forget to sizzle it with your laughter. If you’re thinking that you’d rather prefer not to try it then you’re missing a crucial element of better social contacts and even personal relationships. First try to implement it in personal life and after few initial hiccups you’ll notice how surprisingly the situation can turn jovial with this practice. Once your levity lifts the agonizing anger from the scene (and especially from your head) you can then turn to business and explain your concerns to the other party in a more rational manner. Try to describe what bothers you about something and listen to their consternation and everything will work out fine. 

 

I sometimes think why we can’t practice this in serious business environment or in negotiations with clients? May be we’re all so tamed by the solemn professional environment and don’t ever dare to change a thing. But we all come across such scenarios in B-life where matters turn sour and go out of control. I duly believe that, if handled cheerfully, you can always turn the table in your favor. All you need is a ‘working’ brain and a little self-control.

So do give it a try and start with your personal affairs and implement this cheery plan on your friendship and inter-peers ties. Some friendly suggestions to make this plan work:

Tips:

1)      Say ‘Cut!’ ONLY in your head

2)      Before telling the joke; try to create a suitable condition with a friendly note. For instance: if stuck in a tumult during brainstorming session try this: “Awesome! You’ve broached such a valid issue. You remind me of my class mate in college whenever (s)he used to….. ”

3)      The joke must be relevant to the current situation or at least try to make it relevant by personalizing it (describing it as if it’s your personal experience) The other option is to select an entirely discrete and quirky joke (that would at least ensure silence for few seconds because everyone would be trying to figure out the connection)

4)      Be very clear about the difference between a genial person and a clown. The anger management tip must be practiced sporadically only otherwise you’ll earn yourself a fair reputation of a clown.

Anger management and equanimity is not only to prove that you’re a nice happy chap rather a systematic approach towards anger control can untangle situations and connections quite smoothly. The secret is to use it shrewdly. 

Clued-Up

Silence of 4 seconds is all it takes to feel rejected for an introvert person like me it’s a bad news :) Just think for a moment in a 90-minutes meeting how a person (or both) can talk continuously without a short pause of 4 secs? On the contrary I believe if you can’t understand the silence of someone you can’t understand their words. Viva la silencio!!!


Just loved the concept explained in Why Candor Works by Sean Johnson that advocates the fact that lasting relations are built on mutual trust and shared details no matter how sordid they are. Instead of hiding behind the prevalent All-is-well camouflage, be bold enough to accept awry details. (With an optimistic approach toward future)

I am really surprised at the tacit messages that can be communicated merely by your posture. The Power of posture explains the research results that are evident of the importance of appropriate posture and stance (which are also reminiscent of your vision) 

Wanna Replay It

The curious case of Benjamin Button


Absolutely amazing! I feel this concept was within me for several years but I didn’t know how to interpret it. What seems to be one single incident is actually an amalgamated combination of events and interactions. What if only one thing had happened differently?  

“….But life’s been what it is A series of lives and interactions…out of anyone’s control…”

Finding Nemo

I believe this movie minus Dory= insipid effort. Just love her vivacious presence, her funky ideas and most of all the poor memory. Besides there’s noteworthy message in this scene; sometimes in life we really need to swim without any purpose, set yourself loose and let the waves of time drift you away (Just sometimes!) 

Self Regulation-- Not so difficult

Self regulation and Self control seem to be stark jargons that are not only unpleasant to hear but also difficult to implement.  With these two awry terms I always expect a list of alien suggestions and it requires a great deal of nerve to map those nitpicky advices to my real life. To stoke the matter was the cliché ‘Resolutions are made to be broken’.  Yet when you enter professional world you gradually become aware of your deficiencies and inadequacy that somehow bung up your performance. As we all fancy true leaders and successful entrepreneurs but all their thriving accomplishments are reminiscent of planning, control and expansion of inner self. I tried a few things like schedules and strong intentions (in fact oaths) to act more responsibly but the result only suggested that ‘I’ am more difficult to manage than administering a subgroup in office.  

Your personal resolutions can be myriad of aims ranging from a simple, desire to stay organized, to complex goals like starting your own business venture. But I’ve realized that the underlying technique remains the same. Obviously your sincerity and firm intention are still the most crucial cogs of the plan but the execution and tracking are more simplified here.

Firstly you have to acknowledge both the ‘Reliable You’ and the ‘lethargic You’. We all know both kind of conflicting ‘YOUs’ remain at one place (entire Me) and instead of suppressing one in order to bolster other will only worsen the issue. So you have to respect the preferences of each facet. Now the next step is to set the goal: Single, concrete and measurable and by that I don’t mean an overwhelming aim rather it can be a simple one; to have a balanced diet. 

The next move would be (unlike any other self improvement guide) to observe your routine avidly. You must be able to point out the hitches and anomalies. Just quietly observe yourself for a couple of days without interrupting anything. Once you’ve diagnosed the problem in greater detail, You would then be in a better position to sift pitfalls that can be corrected. (Jot them down).  Then calculate the average amount of work you need every day to reach your goal. Just like the project management course of action, set tasks and give them titles (more like a checklist) Set a starting and ending date. Make a Spreadsheet and check each task that has been performed. Alternatively you can draw a flowchart on paper but the key is to glance at your plan at least twice a day. So let the file rest on either your desktop or in your music folder (fav one) where you can often stumble upon it. 

 

So here comes the fun part (Yeah its fun!) for every milestone achieved in this project you have to coddle your lethargic ‘You’, the more advanced the milestone, the more bigger the treat. It can be like having your favorite meal or sleep for an extra hour or maintain a status quo on inertia; whatever gives you pleasure. But beware of stumbling on the limbo between both YOUs; the reward for each milestone must be directly correlated to the vitality of it.  Conversely when you fail to achieve your milestone, set a punishment for the lethargic You and scold or excoriate it as much as it deserves. Do not be kind in fact be a little harsher with it. Criticize yourself for every slack that occurs during the project and on successful completion pat yourself on the back and admire your self control.

 I have come to know that transformation is about Me; when I’ll become strong enough to control myself only then can I manage other human beings effectively.    

Life and Meaning

Alarm goes off, I rush to washroom, get ready, gulp tea and sprint to reach office on time. After a chaotic day I get back home have a few glimpses of every channel on TV, check facebook a bit texting and then to bed.

This depicts the daily routine of majority of our youth with a little variation of profession (University or college in place of office) and number of activities. But the basic structure remains roughly the same. Hanging out with friends on weekends or seeking new adventures that too are numbered. But have you ever wondered for a split second is this it? Have you ever asked yourself who am I and what my life is? Only a series of repetitive tasks that apparently enable you to keep up your pace with the modern world??  But then compare yourself to a primordial counterpart: they too used to get up every morning go hunting or cultivation, participate in community reunions and end day just to regurgitate the same activities the next day. So what’s the difference? Don’t be a fool by the charade technological advancement, look beyond the surface and think what’s the difference? 

            In fact a more meaningful and critical act would be to question the quality you have added to your life with your conscious efforts. Contrary to struggle we make every day for a better life style, we contribute a little to develop our own self; just because we often fail to recognize the difference between Life and life style. Life is Me, my thoughts, emotions, profundity and perception, fears and revival strategies, my silence, inertia and action. But unfortunately no one has the time to ponder about our own real life in this depth because we’re all too busy in struggling for a better life style. Our never ending wish list consists of so many material items (and milestones) that keep on emerging, keeping us always busy in a new contest. But steal a few moments from this relentless chase to think about YOU before this farce is over or it’s too late.

                 Now if you’re thinking you have a great life so you need not to worry about the Quality; after all you have iphone, ipad, new car, thriving career, you’re more informed and connected then any of your ancestor, well mannered and optimistic what else one needs to spend a great life? But I am afraid most of us are trapped in, what I would call, contagious “Synthetic Coup d'état” that creates an illusion of success coupled with the fanaticized happiness. Now it isn’t awful at all, obviously if a person spends their whole life striving for a better life style and achieves happiness (no matter how delusional)… Fair and Square!  Only if the death meant to be the end of our life; But here starts the most intriguing part …Death, of which the youth is only aware of but we don’t believe in death as if it only seizes Pariahs and won’t touch us, not at least any time soon. Yet again this most imperative element of our life is beyond our control and we’re not to decide when the time to depart is. At that critical moment what actually matters is your Life not the life style..

 So all I can do is to care about ME and My real life and how my every next day adds value to my cumulative life. Stop clinging to the better life-style-obsession and find the Meaning in your everyday life, every move and action. Life without meaning is no more than a clerical job (that we all detest)