The decoy effect is a cunning type of pricing strategy that marketers use to get you to switch your choice from one option to a more expensive or profitable one.Consumers will tend to have a specific change in preference between two options when also presented with a third option that is asymmetrically dominated

The Decoy Effect

<ul><li>Consumers change their preference between two options when presented with a third option (the "decoy") that is "asymmetrically dominated".</li><li>The decoy is priced to make one of the other options much more attractive.</li><li>It is "dominated" in terms of perceived value (quantity, quality, extra features).</li></ul>

Asymmetric Dominance

Through manipulating these key choice attributes, a decoy steers you in a particular direction while giving you the feeling you are making a rational, informed choice.The decoy effect is a form of "nudging" - defined by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein as "any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options".

How Decoys Work

Most pricing structures nudge us to spend more. But there’s a particularly cunning type of pricing that can get us to swap our preference from a cheaper to a more expensive option.

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Psychology

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Leadership & Management

The decoy effect: how you are influenced to choose without really knowing it

I see app after app after app and I get inundated. When I download and I try them I’m like, “Did you even spend eight seconds using your own product?” It’s unbelievable the lack of dogfooding that happens.

When most people think about growth, they think it’s this complex, difficult thing where you're trying to generate these extra normal behaviors in people. That's not what it's about.Growth is about a very simple elegant understanding of product value and consumer behavior. When you surround yourself and all the bullshit veneer, you will miss the mark.

Growth and product value

Don't spam your users we trick them because you'll end up alienating these people. You won't see it today but you'll see it three years from now or four years from now, and it accelerates when you compound that with a competitor who actually builds a better product that doesn't alienate people.Teased out virality. Don't talk about it. Don't touch it.

Spam and virality

Focus first on the 3 most difficult and hard problems that any consumer product has to deal with:<ul><li>How to get people at the front door</li><li>How to get them to an “Aha” moment as quickly as possible</li><li>How to deliver core product value as often as possible.</li></ul>After all of that is said and done only then can think about how you are going to get people to get more people.

Getting people to get more people

Build the discipline to not optimize for the thing that gives you the shortest and most immediate ROI because that is never the sustainable thing that allows you to build something useful.When you look around, things that scale understand this principle, whether it's explicitly or intuitively, and things that don't and that have this amazingly steep rise and then fall off a cliff ignore this principle.

Sustainable growth

<ul><li>Eliminate ego. And you have to be comfortable not being rewarded in the short term.</li><li>Invalidate all the lore. In any given product there are always people who strut around the office like, “You know, I have this gut feeling. It's all about gut feeling". Gut feel is not useful because most people can't predict correctly.</li></ul>If you can't be extremely clinical and extremely unemotionally detached from the thing that you're building you will make these massive mistakes and things won't grow because you don't understand what's happened.

The most important two high-level takeaways

You have to be, if you're in this type of job, relatively cynical. You can be confident, you can be arrogant, it doesn’t really matter.But you can't believe your own BS, because when you do you start to compound these massively structural mistakes, that again, don't expose core product value, you don't allow real engagement and real product value to emerge.

Don't conflate luck and skill

Having the courage to reset and redefine what it means in any given market again takes a lot of courage. In every single market, people react differently, behave differently, and speak different languages. The point is: even when you think something works it probably doesn't work for everyone, and finding a framework that allows you to actually restructure and reorganize the things that you're doing to expose value in different ways to different people in different situations is a crucial thing.

Redefine and reset

High integrity I think speaks for itself. It's really easy to focus on short-term results. I just don't think there's enough of the long-term thinking, being able to take some arrows along the way in the short term because you're trying to build something for the long term, and having a culture and set of values where that’s rewarded.

Surrounding yourself with good people seems obvious but I see a lot of people who are just not comfortable recruiting people that are better than them.

How to Start a Business: A Startup Guide for Entrepreneurs

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Money & Investments

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Personal Development

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Startups

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Entrepreneurship

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Business

The Startup Masterclass

Check out the full course for 50% off at http://www.udemy.com/growth-hackers-conference/?couponCode=YouTube50. This is part of a 10-hour course from the Growth Hackers Conference. The course includes this video and more from leaders at LinkedIn, Google, Twitter, LivingSocial, Dropbox, and more!

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Marketing & Sales

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Videos

Gagan Biyani

Chamath Palihapitiya - how we put Facebook on the path to 1 billion users

<ul><li>One needs to normalize these moments of inner doubt</li><li>Point out particular leadership skills this person exhibits, the achievements they've nailed, values and intentions they carry, and the effects they've had on those around them.</li><li>In addition to giving them this specific, positive feedback, we have an opportunity to help these people look in the mirror at their true selves.</li><li>The simple act of helping them reflect on what they see is incredibly powerful.</li></ul>

The Key Points

If you have a teammate coming to you questioning their worth and effectiveness, or your spidey sense gives you a clue that their self-confidence is feeling challenged, you can equip yourself with a framework that will help this teammate recognize their successes and impact.

Those Moments Of Self-Doubt

Open questions can help your teammate realize, recognize, and internalize their own skills and impact. You can spend time asking them these questions in a 1:1. Here are a few:<ul><li>In the last year, where have you created more clarity or predictability for people?</li><li>In the last six months, how have you helped your teammates hone new skills or advance their careers?</li><li>In the last three months, what decisions did you facilitate or make? What blockers or missteps did you help the team or company avoid?</li><li>What will the future look like, thanks to the work you’ve done?</li></ul>

Ask Open Questions

If your teammate prefers to process and introspect privately, you can send them these questions to think through on their own. They can block out 20 minutes of focus for reflective time with an exercise like this. Invite them to share any new lightbulb moments with you the next time you meet.Please don’t worry about leading your teammate down a particular path of realization. Sure, you can hold up that metaphorical mirror for your teammate and tell them what you see. But the simple act of helping them reflect on what they see is incredibly powerful, too.

Reflective Time

This post originally appeared on Lead Dev.



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Career

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Teamwork

Help your teammates navigate moments of self-doubt

Interruptions are a fact of life — but do they have to be unpleasant? A recent study found that 31% of workplace interruptions are actually experienced positively, and offers six strategies to help anyone become a better (that is, less annoying) interrupter: Assess how critical the task is, don’t pile on, identify the best person to interrupt, pay attention to busyness cues, decrease the time burden on the person, and if possible, give advance warning.

Key Takeaways

Especially as many organizations shift to long-term hybrid models, it’s more important than ever to think proactively about how we communicate with one another at work. In this complex new landscape, it’s up to all of us to pay close attention to evolving norms about what it means to be a “good” interrupter.

The Ideal Interrupter

How we experience an interruption can vary substantially depending on how it affects our work. While switching gears and shuffling our schedules around to accommodate an unexpected task can be frustrating, interruptions can feel positive if they seem like a good use of our time. Here are several specific strategies that can help you increase the chances that your interruption will be received positively.

The Science Of Interruptions

People are more likely to see an interruption as worth their time if the task they’re being asked to do seems important — especially if it seems more important than whatever they were working on previously. So, before interrupting someone, consider whether what you want them to do is likely to be a priority for them.

Assess How Critical The Task Is

People tend to react negatively to an interruption if it pops up at a time when they were already feeling overloaded. To avoid piling on, ask yourself what you know about the person’s current workload. If you know they are slammed, consider interrupting someone else instead (if the task is urgent) or waiting until the person has less on their plate (if the task can wait).

 Don’t Pile On

It’s always annoying when you’re interrupted by someone, only to discover that you’re not even the right person for the job. So before you knock on someone’s door, ask yourself: Is this the right person to take on this new task? Whose role makes them the best fit for the task you need help with? Whose responsibilities typically include similar tasks? Your interruption is much more likely to be well-received if you put in the work upfront to determine the best person to ask.

Interrupt The Right Person

Interruptions are experienced more positively if they occur at what feels like the “right” time. That typically means waiting for a moment when the person you want to interrupt isn’t deeply engrossed in another task, or when they need a break from their regular work anyway. To determine whether it’s a good time to interrupt, pay attention to the signals the person is sending: Are they working with their door closed or open? Are they listed as “away” or “available” online?   These cues can clue you into how an interruption is likely to be experienced.

Those DND Indicators

People’s perceptions about how long an interruption seemed to last influenced how they felt about it. When interruptions seemed to drag on or take longer than they “should have,” they were more likely to cause negative feelings. To address this, think creatively about how you can lighten the load and use the person’s time most efficiently.It’s all about how you’re perceived — even if these details don’t feel like a big deal to you, presenting the interruption in a manner that highlights your respect for the other person’s time can have a major impact on how they react.

Decrease The Time Burden

Interruptions, by definition, will always be somewhat unexpected. But they don’t have to come entirely out of the blue — in some cases, you can let someone know that you expect to have to interrupt them in the near future. For instance, if you plan to ask a coworker for feedback on a website design once you finish it, you can let them know that you’ll be in touch within the next week. This helps your colleague mentally plan for the interruption and make time for the task, even if the exact timing is still unknown.

Give Advance Warning

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Productivity

communication

Communication

How to Interrupt Someone’s Workday — Without Annoying Them

Brands don't normally compliment their competitors because they don't want to give their competitor free publicity, but what happened with Xbox and PlayStation generated a different result when they congratulated each other on Twitter.Apparently, compliments generate over ten times more likes and retweets for the brands than their usual content.

Complimenting Competitors

A new study explored by the Journal of Marketing on brands communicating positively towards their competitor.The study showed that when a brand compliments a competitor, they end up boosting their own reputation AND sales.

Brands Communicating Positively Towards Each Other

The study showed that brand-to-brand praise makes the viewers view the brand as "warmer" -- meaning that they're being perceived as more friendly and trustworthy, after complimenting a competitor.It is this warmth that drives favorable outcomes for the praises—outcomes that include greater brand engagement and higher sales.However, this is only effective when done in an authentic manner. Praise that appears disingenuous will not be accepted as a meaningful indicator of warmth.

Why Brand-to-Brand Praise Leads to Positive Consequences

Managers may wish to capitalize on this opportunity by utilizing brand-to-brand praise as a way to foster a warmer brand image and produce more positive downstream consequences. 

Befriending the Enemy: The Effects of Observing Brand-to-Brand Praise on Consumer Evaluations and Choices

Most, if not all planners come with a monthly overview section. The goal is to use one planner, and one only.&nbsp;Here in the monthly section, you can write down things that don’t change like birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, special events like weddings, bills, and recurring meetings.

Use the Monthly View

Every Sunday evening, sit down with your planner and look over the week ahead. This is a chance to plan for your more general of tasks, or group of tasks.&nbsp;You can also use this section for personal items like “weed the garden”, “send out invitations”, “pick up stamps” and other tasks like this.Tip: Transfer what items or appointments may have been entered into your phone in this section.

Use the Weekly Plan Section

Use a paper day planner to stay on top of everything you need to do. Paper planners give you a visual, in your hand, space for writing down notes. You can also create to-do lists, and noting ideas while you’re on the fly. By learning how best to use a day planner, you can get on top of your day using time management and have less stress.&nbsp;

Use the Daily Plan Pages

When you are planning for your day, in your daily page, be sure to be specific in your steps. Instead of “make phone calls”, instead write down “call Susie and schedule lunch”. It’s more likely that you will complete your tasks if you know exactly what you are getting into! It also helps you figure out how much time you need to finish your task.

Be specific with Your Steps

When you have important things that you CAN’T forget, be sure to enter an appointment in your calendar so you can be reminded.This goes for jotting in notes— be sure to put your important phone notes, into your planner.

Thy Planner is Not Thy Phone

<ul><li>Begin Your Day Tech-Free</li><li>Avoid Distractions</li><li>Designate Distraction Time</li><li>Get Into a Routine and Stick to It</li><li>Make Time For You</li></ul>

Improve Your Life Using a Planner

Maybe you’ve told yourself you would start using a planner to stay organized. Maybe you are getting by with your trusty iPhone planner. Either way, if you are interested in keeping track of tasks and…

Use These 10 Tips for Using a Planner to Boost Your Productivity

The goal of marketing is to manage perception and change the behavior of your target audience. All marketing activities and every aspect of marketing fall under the goals of managing perception, changing behavior, or both.A marketing campaign is a process that includes a series of activities or steps designed to alter the perception and behavior of customers or prospects.

Marketing and the goal of marketing

Before building any marketing campaign, companies need to have a solid marketing foundation.&nbsp;This foundation should include strategic messaging, ideal customer profiles, and competitive positioning. It is only on this solid foundation that effective marketing campaigns can be built.

A solid marketing foundation

The absence of a marketing playbook leads to the biggest mistakes that companies make in designing marketing campaigns — they focus on marketing channels rather than the target customer.In some companies, even teams are structured around channels — paid acquisition, SEO, social media. Having specialized teams definitely has its advantages. However, organizing teams around channels creates a culture where no one looks at customer experiences and customer lifecycle as a whole, instead focusing on their own initiatives, which leads to fighting over budgets and inconsistent marketing strategy.

Focusing on channels rather than customers

Start with the target customer, market segmentation, and only then moves to messaging and channels.Before designing your next marketing campaign, make sure you answer the following questions:<ul><li>Who is your target customer?</li><li>What is the goal of your current marketing campaign?</li><li>Can you split your market into meaningful segments?</li><li>What messages do you want to use?</li><li>What are the best channels for your marketing campaign?</li><li>How do you align marketing and sales?</li><li>How do you track and test the success of your marketing campaigns?</li></ul>

How successful marketing campaigns are structured

Segmentation is crucial to running effective and efficient marketing campaigns. It’s worth exploring how your market can be segmented into an economically viable set of customers.

Segmentation is key

Journeys and the pattern of customer/prospect engagement are more insightful than first-touch /last-touch attribution analysis.

Understand your buyer journey

An account-based marketing strategy can help narrow your market even further and focus on reaching your target on many levels in organizations with different value-based messages for each stakeholder

Account-based marketing strategies

This article shares the process involved in designing successful marketing campaigns. The goal is to outline practical strategies and tactics that are vital in launching high ROI marketing campaigns…

How to Design Marketing Campaigns: The Importance of Market Segmentation

Virtual private servers use virtualization technology to set up multiple virtual servers on a single physical server.
This is more affordable than paying for a dedicated server, because the costs are split across several users, but you still enjoy the added security of having your own private allotment of RAM, data storage, and usually at least one CPU.

What Is a Virtual Private Server?

Virtual private servers work by using software to create a number of virtual machines on a single physical server. Each of these virtual servers has access to its own dedicated resources and can't interact with any of the other servers, which is why they're referred to as private.
In effect, a virtual private server works by simulating the effect of having your own dedicated server hardware. You get many of the benefits of a dedicated server, like added security and dedicated resources to help your website run smoothly, without the expense of paying for an entire server by yourself.

How Do Virtual Private Servers Work?

<ul>
<li>A virtual private server is usually a good choice for growing websites that don't quite need the resources of a dedicated server.</li>
<li>Shared hosting is a great place to start out when building a new website, especially if you aren't sure how much traffic you'll be dealing with or what kind of resources you'll need. If you notice that your shared hosting is slowing down website page load times, then that's usually a good hint that it's time to move up to a VPS.</li>
<li>Another good reason to step up to a VPS is if you have any concerns about security issues. Most decent web hosts put measures in place to secure your data on shared hosting, but a virtual private server will always be more secure.</li>
</ul>

Who Needs to Use a VPS?

A virtual private server, or VPS, is an affordable alternative to expensive dedicated servers. We'll show you how they work and why you may need one.

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Technology & The Future

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Computer Science

What is a VPS, and Who Needs One?

Our appreciation of a sunset is in part because of our analytical faculties. Beauty is a quick way of measuring the rightness of a thing - for example, in people, we correlate beauty with physical health. Instead of assessing every single attribute, we roll it together into one measure - that of beauty. Sunsets are beautiful because they resemble the savanna of the Pleistocene epoch, where you were safe back at camp at the last light before the dangerous night arrived.

Appreciating sunsets

Though a cinematic sunset may have little impact on our survival today, there is an evolutionary benefit to us evaluating and appreciating 'beauty'.

The decoy effect: how you are influenced to choose without really knowing it

Chamath Palihapitiya - how we put Facebook on the path to 1 billion users

Help your teammates navigate moments of self-doubt

How to Interrupt Someone’s Workday — Without Annoying Them

Befriending the Enemy: The Effects of Observing Brand-to-Brand Praise on Consumer Evaluations and Choices

Elizabeth Perez