After a career in market research, Graves delivers a stinging rebuke to his profession. "Market research is a pseudo science," he says, adding that "the beliefs underpinning it are false." Why does he make these assertions?

To his credit, Graves does more than just show marketers the error of their ways. He shows them a path to better insight. His critique starts with a number of high-profile occasions where market research has been wrong.

Graves argues that the reason research is so often wrong is that consumers act irrationally, based on their subconscious self, while research asks them to rationalise this behaviour and questions their conscious mind.

There is plenty of evidence, says Graves, that consumers are irrational. He suggests marketers should look at actual sales data or conduct full-scale product trials rather than using focus groups or other research methods. But these are often expensive or difficult to arrange. He says it's time for marketing departments to face up to this challenge and start thinking and acting differently.