I was asked, in an interview with BNET Retail, what I thought was going to happen to Zappos’ distinctive (and valuable) culture when the acquisition with Amazon was completed.

What do you think? Can Zappos retain its irrational, feel-good uniqueness?

No, you’re not crazy. You’re just irrational!

First, welcome to our brand spanking new website – irrationalcustomer.com. Looks cool, doesn’t it?

This site is about you, and me, how we take in and process information, and how we act as customers. It’s not what you think. Or, maybe, it is what you think…you just don’t know it. Because you’re irrational.

Join the club.

Companies have been making assumptions for many years about how to attract and keep customers, and – based on a wealth of recent research – most of those assumptions are wrong.

In this space we’ll be exploring the many different facets of the “irrational customer.” And there are many facets. Let me give you an example: customer satisfaction surveys are ineffective because we are unable to access the real reasons we feel the way we do; we make decisions in the “irrational” subconscious, and then infer or “rationalize” our feelings based on our behavior. More to come.

Through this blog I’ll be sharing my wise and insightful (according to my mom) views on the latest research – both business and neuro – regarding just how people (and specifically customers) think and behave. And we’ll look at how that knowledge can impact how companies attract and keep their customers.
We’ll also use other areas of the site to further this message. You can see podcasts of yours truly speaking to different business groups about our crazy, evolving, imperfect brains, and what they make us do sometimes. We’ll be adding articles – those we’ve written, and those we’ve found – that illuminate the topic. Plus, we’re developing a book. Stay tuned for more on that.

So sign up for our RSS feed, and get ready to learn about – not just customer experience and marketing – but everything from evolution to neuron processing to behavioral science, with interesting, synapse stops in between.

And as we delve into the new and different, it’s my fervent hope that you’ll join the discussion by adding your comments.
So, the irrational journey begins…

Have you ever been in a conversation where the other person was very eager to tell you about himself? To let you know about his life and his opinions? Maybe he was very nice, and even interesting, but slowly it sinks in: this other person seems to be engaged with me, but really I’m just an audience, not a participant.
When that happens, how eager are you to approach that person the next time you see him at a party, or at the coffee machine at work? Probably not so much. The reason, of course, is that we all like to be entertained, but a much more powerful need is to feel we belong, and that we’re valued. We’re social animals, and a primal force that drives us is a sense of connection with others.

And yet, when you think about the different companies you deal with, and the way in which they set up their processes, services, and communications, what is usually missing? In my experience, and our research, the ingredient often lacking is that connection.

Businesses like to disseminate, not discuss, to promulgate policies instead of engage in discourse with customers. And I’m not talking about just the poster children for bad customer service. Even companies that mean well avoid dipping too far into activities like listening and interacting with customers because, let’s face it, it can get messy.

But for businesses who want to change the dynamic and elevate the customer relationship to a new level, to a plane where customers have a real voice, and feel connected, with your company, the effort pays off exponentially. The reward for you is not just short-term gains in retention but a fierce loyalty – not just because of your products or services, but instead because of the more powerful emotions that drive human behavior: friendship, caring, and belonging.