Welcome to The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption! Subscribe to my RSS feed in a feed reader or by e-mail and you'll never miss any chapters from my year-long blog-as-a-book experiment on why we choose to consume, or not.
Last night, I wanted to follow up my first insights post on why we buy things because buying things is easier than asking for things with a post on how marketers can use this insight.
This is the format I plan to follow through the year. My being off consumption will force me to do new things, like couchsurfing, which will give me insights into why we consume. I’ll share these insights in the form of really cool graphs supported by real-life case studies on how can marketers use these insights.
However, I spent most of last evening washing three bucketfuls of clothes accumulated over the last ten days.
I don’t know if it’s a cosmic sign or a mere coincidence that my washing machine stopped working the same evening I started my off-consumption experiment and discontinued my maidservant’s services.
I do know now that it is particularly difficult to search for insights after washing three bucketfuls of clothes.
Comments (15)
At least, the lack of insight is authentic. And thus insightful.
Well, remembers a lot of times the mental resistance to wash cloths leads to going out and buying cloths, especially undies. A very typical shared dorm phenomenon.
@Balaji: Usually, I’m super-prompt with my laundry; once my washing machine is working again, I’ll be back to my super-prompt self.
By the way, I was close to having to buy more undies yesterday. I’m wearing my last clean socks to office today and I’m already onto my swimming trunks.
I can’t believe that I’m discussing my undies situation on my supposedly insightful book-as-a-blog!
And what of the loss of income to your poor maid servant huh? Huh?
I have never found housework to be a barrier to thought. I have plenty of daydreamy insights while housecleaning.
What housework does, for me, is eats up time I could be using to transfer those insights into action.
@Blr Bytes: And what of loss of income to Shoppers Stop now that I’m off consumption?
@Blue: Yes, that happens with me too, but insights in the head aren’t really useful. Insights are useful only when they are on paper, or in a bank account.
And what of the loss to your employer? S/he/they pay for u to work during the day, and not create content for yourself!
In all honesty, I’d buy your book the day it’s out. What you are creating is great. But, at the expense of your employer… maybe not. I not quite sure that between your multiple online avataars, and 200+ feeds to read, u actually do any work. maybe that explains the sales slump on indica?
not that it absolves me of the time i spent reading your blog, instead of working!
@Rahul: I put in a 60+ hour work week, my friend, and fully earn the very generous salary my employers pay me.
I’m just super-efficient; that’s how I manage all my online avatars apart from work.
By the way, thanks for “I’d buy your book the day it’s out. What you are creating is great.” I’ll need all the support I can get.
Gaurav, seriously, you’ve gotta go past discussing your undies in public. Tho it did crack me up in the middle of a rather boring work day…
whats wrong with iim guys? why do they write such shitty books ( i can already see one in the making!) Just because you cleared some stupid exam called CAT doesnt make you a good author!
btw…you should have taken CB ( consumer behavior) while your stay at IIM. It would have saved you the trouble of going through this marketing gimmick!
@Tushar: It’s amazing the amount of conversation my ‘undies situation’ has generated on Twitter! Follow up post coming up on that.
@My Dear Name-less Critic: Comment under your own name, my friend; I like people who criticize me. Btw, I think I scored close to 4/4 on the Consumer Behaviour course at IIM-B.
Btw, my washing machine is working now; so, I’m “off” hand-washing clothes once more.
dats back-breaking to say teh least.. i knw coz after 2 yrs of surviving without a maid i finally relented and got a maid to do teh cleaning up!!
@Sam: I have always had a maid, even though she came once a week on Sundays. Now that I don’t have one, even though I’m a pretty neat person, household work is beginning to become a little overwhelming.
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