I drive

The NVCS, which is the largest automotive study in North America, asked customers what sources of information they found most influential in their buying decisions. The top ten sources in the U.S. were as follows: 

1. Salesperson at the dealership (21.9 percent)

2. Family/ friend/ word of mouth (18.7 percent)

3. Consumer guides (18.4 percent)

4. Dealer’s/ manufacturer’s websites (8.6 percent)

5. Third-party websites (6.4 percent)

6. Automotive magazine reviews (6.1 percent)

7. TV advertisements (4.0 percent)

8. Dealer’s/ manufacturer’s brochures (3.2 percent)

9. Dealer/Manufacturer-sponsored event (2.4 percent)

10. Newspaper advertisements (1.7 percent).

Read more about Maritz Research’s New Vehicle Customer Study at www.therideblog.com .

Source:
http://www.maritzresearch.com/shared-content/Press-Releases/2012/New-Vehicle-Customer-Study-Reveals-Top-Sources-for-Automotive-Buying-Decisions.aspx

Additional info:
http://experiencematters.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/1007_the6lawsofcustomerexperience.pdf

LA Strange: On Hooking Up

I get hit on a lot here.  So much – it’s disgusting.  I can’t even go to the store without getting stalked.

So there I was. In VONS. In search of their $5 Friday deal on Tiramisu. This guy casually comes up to me and says: “I just wanted to tell you that I think you are very beautiful.” I, of course, get a smile up to my ears, “Awe… Tee Hee Hee...  Thank you… Tee Hee Hee… That makes two of us... Tee Hee Hee…” He looks me up and down like he is buying a TV and says: “I would love to hook up with you.”  Just like that.  In the middle of frozen foods.  Seriously? Is that how it’s done in LA?

The smile instantaneously fades.  I gave him the look I gave Mr. Dealer Cameron during our poker game.    O no you dit-ten! 

Him after a moment of silence: “So what do you say?”

Eh…  So obviously nothing.

“Boyfriend?” 

Oh yes...  Of course...  I have a boyfriend...  A nod.  Please leave me alone... Life is so much better that way.

Consumer Feedback

According to recent research, "consumers are more likely to tell companies about a bad experience than they are to tell them about a good one".

This is not necessarily true about all consumers.  I am exactly the opposite. 

The product or service has to wildly exceed my expectations for me to justify spending the time on writing a review for it or even answer a few multiple choice survey questions.  I am fully aware that my expectations are normally so high that it is practically impossible to even meet them. Thus, if the product falls short of satisfying my needs, I simply move on.  Our consumer-oriented economy has made returns fairly easy. 

However, a product or a company that goes out of its way to please me, excites me to the core.  I will always make the time to write reviews for products that captured my heart (which is another practically impossible task).   I will also write reviews for objects, services, and applications that I HAVE to use on regular basis – I have no other choice but to fight for improvement.  And that is the essence of the Perfection Pursuit.

Source:  Consumer Experience Matters.  Data Snapshot: How Consumers Give Feedback, 2012. http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/data-snapshot-how-consumers-give-feedback-2012/

RANDOM TIP: Beauty

"Eat a Mediterranean diet full of fish, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, and tea," says Dr. Macrene Alexiades, director of an NYC-based research clinic and private laser and aesthetic dermatology practice. "This diet provides the skin with the good omega fatty acids and antioxidants it needs to maintain a healthy glow and reverse sun damage."

Read more: Skin Care Secrets - Tips for Younger Looking Skin - Real Beauty

RANDOM QUOTE: Kenneth Cole

"How you see the world depends on how you look."

http://www.kennethcole.com/

RANDOM FACT: Nutrition

Calcium can help you lose weight, even without cutting calories – especially if you are not getting enough now, reports a study in the British Journal of Nutrition.  Over 15 weeks, obese women who doubled their daily intake from 600 milligrams to 1,200 lost an average of 11 pounds more than those who didn’t boost their quota.  The brain could be detecting a calcium deficiency and then telling the body to eat more to make up for it. 

Source: Women’s Health magazine, September 2009.  Womenshealthmag.com

Note: Average woman needs three servings of dairy a day.

RANDOM FACT: Retail Therapy Works!

Daily shopping appears to cut a woman's risk for early death by 23 percent, according to a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.  Researchers suspect that shopping's health benefits com not just from pleasure of spending money but also from doing the physical activity that running errands requires, socializing with people you meet along the way and enjoying the fun of getting out of the house, not to mention restocking the pantry with fresh food.

Source: MORE magazine, December 2011/January 2012

RANDOM TIP: Beauty

"The body depends on sleep for every single thing it does," says Colorado-based dermatologist Dr. Meg Lemon. Skin cells are some of the most rapidly rejuvenating cells in the body. Take away adequate rest and they suffer just like the rest. When skin cells don't turn over quickly enough, our skin looks dull and lifeless, and so do we."

Read more: Skin Care Secrets - Tips for Younger Looking Skin - Real Beauty

RANDOM FACT: Health

60 fewer calories' worth of sugary snacks people eat later in the day, when they chew sugar-free gum after lunch.

Source: Penningron Biomedical Research Center

RANDOM FACT: Happiness

According to a new Yale University study, heating up will improve your mood.  Our physical temperature and how connected we feel to others both register in the same part of the brain and often become linked, explains study coauthor John Bargh, Ph. D., professor of psychology and cognitive science.  Plus we associate warmth with the love and security we experienced during childhood.  “Any source of heat – wearing a sweater, bundling up in a blanket or holding a mug of hot chocolate – should give you that sense of comfort,” Bargh says.

Source: Fitness Magazine, November/December 2011.