The 95 Percent Rule
The 95% rule states that 95% of all cognition occurs in the subconscious part of the brain. This fact is tough to grapple with when trying to target to consumers, especially over the net. Imagine taking all the aggregate surfing for just one moderate to high web user and sifting through all of it with this rule in mind. You know, I think it follows extremely well. When I’m honest with myself, I realize that much of what I do when I’m in the consumer role on the internet is go to the same sites, browse through the same stuff, and here and there something will alter that pattern, probably 5% of the time. Even though it is a pretty general rule of thumb, it seems to concur with a lot of current consumer research.
So what do all of us do that have to build our sites around this rule? Gerald Zaltman from Harvard stresses the value of one-on-one interviewing over focus groups. Researchers have found that a few conventional interviews yield the same data as large numbers of focus groups. “Often, the results of such interviews can be used to design more comprehensive surveys,” Zaltman says. “And properly designed surveys, when subjected to careful statistical analyses, can yield further insights into unconscious consumer thinking.”
Instead of investing tons in focus-group-based usability testing or large-scale market research consulting, grab a few co-workers or friends and have them give an honest look to the site. Be creative, but you’ll be able to piece together the 95% of their thinking patterns during the experience, and that will matter more than objective/conscious models of analysis.
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