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PrintWhich of these statements do you agree with?
“People get more happiness or positive emotions from experiences than from things.”
“Humans don't need to be aware of the event that caused their mood or feelings in order to be affected by it.”
“When you eat a cookie, you feel good, therefore I'm going to throw harder." *
Each one is a theory, and for brevity, I’ll stop at three, because the list is endless. Marketing runs on theories, which Webster defines as “a formulation of apparent relationships or underlying principles of certain observed phenomena, which has been verified to some degree.” And for every theory, you can probably find a convincing contra.
It’s hard to wake up and not get hit with a theory about something. But there’s confusion. Many aren’t provable. And some are really lists that masquerade as theories. Add The in front of a list of almost anything, and you’ve made it sound like a theory ("The Three Types of Business Buyers").
Theories drive strategic business decision-making. If you assess risks and opportunities, you rely on theories. So effective risk management requires knowing what makes a theory valid and valuable. The question stirs great passion, as anyone who has followed the story about Intelligent Design knows. Is it really a theory—or an idea? Ask a scientist, and he or she will share why it is so important to apply rigor to answering this question. Ignoring it runs the risk of diluting our understanding of the world around us.
Questions to ask:
1) Does the theory reflect the real world?
2) Is the theory supported by compelling evidence?
3) Does the theory have explanatory power for past events?
4) Can the theory predict future outcomes?
5) Can the theory integrate new research and data?
6) Does the theory simplify complex conditions?
According to Professor Malcolm Watson, Professor of Psychology, and Chair of the Social Science School Council at Brandeis University, “no theory provides a perfect explanation or model of reality, but without theories, we do not make progress in our understanding and cannot use the facts we have gleaned.”
But adherence to theories involves risks. First, theories can bias outlooks and cause people to be less receptive to additional facts or competing ideas, and second, theories can oversimplify reality. In other words, there’s more than one correct answer to a question, and more than one question that should be asked. History has proven that theories have limited shelf life.
Further reading:
Theories and Models in Social Marketing,, Lefebvre, R. C.
How Emotions are Evoked in a Customer Experience, Colin Shaw
Customer Experience, Emotions, and the Recession, John Todor
Theories of Everything, Roz Chast
* according to Heath Bell, pitcher for the San Diego Padres
