E-mail:
jsem@patrikpilous.cz
Overconfidence bias
Our certainty tends to be higher than our actual success rate. Kahneman, the planning fallacy and why we buy our ideal future self, plus the link to Dunning-Kruger.
Reciprocity
When we receive something first, we feel the need to return it. A cheese sample, Cialdini, the Coca-Cola experiment and how reciprocity is used in marketing.
In-group bias
We favour ‘our’ group and are sceptical of ‘others’. Tajfel’s experiments, Harley-Davidson and Apple, and how to build a community around a brand.
The liking effect
We buy from people we like. Tupperware, Cialdini, the power of similarity and compliments, and how to use the liking effect in your brand and in sales.
Jakob’s Law
Users expect your website to work like the ones they already know. Jakob Nielsen, conventions in UX design and why originality does not pay off in usability.
The Forer effect (Barnum effect)
We take general statements as if they were tailored specifically to us. Forer’s horoscope experiment, P. T. Barnum and uses in personalisation, quizzes and reviews.
The curse of knowledge
If you know a topic well, you cannot imagine what it is like not to know it. The song-tapping experiment, why experts write in ways others cannot follow, and how to write for your readers.
Public relations (PR), what it is and how it relates to marketing
Public relations (PR), known in Czech rather impersonally as vztahy s veřejností, plays a key role in shaping how the general public perceives companies and individuals. As a field, PR is essentially the strategic management of how information about an...
The endowment effect
Once we hold something, we value it more highly. The mug experiment, the car test drive, estate agents and how to use the endowment effect in sales and subscriptions.
Mere exposure effect
We prefer what we know. The hated Eiffel Tower, Zajonc’s experiments, the power of repeated advertising and how to use the mere exposure effect for a brand.
Loss aversion
A loss hurts roughly twice as much as an equal gain pleases. Prospect theory, a story about a bet and how to use loss aversion in marketing.
The default effect
Most people leave the pre-set option as it is. The organ donation study, how to use the default effect, and how it relates to loss aversion.
The zero-price effect
A zero price attracts us more than the saving justifies. Ariely’s chocolate experiment and why free shipping beats a discount, plus the link to loss aversion.
The goal-gradient effect
The closer we are to a goal, the more effort we put into reaching it. Kivetz’s coffee experiment, loyalty programmes, gamification and the head-start trick (the endowed progress effect).
The gambler’s fallacy and why chance has no memory
We believe that after a run of one outcome, the other one has to come. The Monte Carlo roulette wheel in 1913, why chance has no memory, and how it relates to survivorship bias.
The halo effect
One good impression colours your whole judgement. The origin (Thorndike), a story from a job interview, the horn effect and how the halo effect is used in marketing.
Miller’s law
We can hold only 7 ± 2 items in working memory. George Miller, chunking and how to break up menus, forms and content so a website doesn’t overwhelm people.
Cognitive dissonance
We ease the tension between what we do and what we know with an excuse instead of a change. Festinger, a cult, post-purchase regret and how marketing uses it.
Scarcity principle
What is scarce is more desirable. The cookie experiment, Cialdini and how to use the scarcity principle in marketing, plus its relationship to FOMO and loss aversion.
Mental accounting
We sort money into boxes and treat it differently in each one. Thaler, gift cards and how to use mental accounting, plus its link to framing.
My 2024
So here it is again, the time for taking stock. It is great that today I can read my report from last year and see that I have come some way since then.
This year also showed me how important it is to make changes. Changes are the best possible impulse for growth and...
What caught my attention at Brand Restart 2024
What stayed with me most from this year’s Brand Restart was definitely Hanka Kloučková’s talk on the subconscious and how to test it in advertising. Even though you could more or less guess most of it, I had not heard such a well-rounded, engaging and useful talk...
Erik the Red and his persuasion strategy
Lately I’ve changed course, moving away from self-development, marketing and investment books towards something a little different. And I have to say I haven’t enjoyed reading this much in years. Right now I’m really into books about human development,...
5 reasons every large e-shop should use affiliate marketing
Most e-shops start with PPC, then add SEO and social media. People often forget that an e-shop should also be strategically built as a brand, with a communication strategy and clear brand associations. In today’s AI era, digital PR, link building and, for larger...
How brand associations form and why they matter so much in marketing
What is behind the success of the biggest brands? Is it a great product? Not only that. The biggest and best brands strengthen their connection with their audience using established marketing techniques. Today, we will look at marketing and purchase decisions from a slightly...
The pain of paying
We experience paying almost as pain, and the more visible it is, the more it hurts. Prelec and Loewenstein, cash vs card and how to make payment painless.
Priming and how it disrupts the psychology of thinking
Priming, also known as the priming effect, is a cognitive bias. It occurs when a person’s exposure to one stimulus influences their response to a subsequent stimulus, without them being aware of the connection. These stimuli are often linked to words or images that...
Present bias
We overvalue immediate rewards and undervalue future ones. The marshmallow test, hyperbolic discounting and how “buy now, pay later” exploits impatience.
Processing fluency
What is easy to read feels truer and more likeable. The share pronounceability experiment, rhyming claims and why simplicity in content sells.
