Decisions sometimes tends to drag out. It’s often simplest and safest to not decide right now. But decisions can be triggered with the right stimuli – a technique called Immediacy Bias that moves your potential customer into something called “hot state”.
When we are flooded with information, our brain prioritizes information that is new. What feels good right now outweighs long-term importance. This leads to decisions favoring short-term pleasure, which in behavioral science is called Immediacy bias. With the right communication, you can influence the decisions of potential customers and, most of all, shorten the decision time. In short: sell more and faster.
What is then Immediacy Bias? It’s our brains habit to stick to new information. It explains why sales of insurances increases right after an accident — even if the odds for a new accident haven’t changed. It also explains why people eat fatty foods even when dieting. The brain is addicted to immediate rewards.
The most common tactic to use Immediacy bias is to add a time limit to an offering – e.g. “offer valid until XX at midnight.” This creates a sense of urgency and pushes the decision.
Hotel booking sites are masters of this. We you enter a search for a room you are flooded by messages like “12 people viewing this hotel right now”, “Last booking was 3 minutes ago”, “Only 1 room left!” — all messages designed to create a sense of urgency and trigger a decision.
And the result pages often starts with “This weekend is very full in XXX. If you are looking for a good deal, try other dates”. Do you recognize the bias? It’s a way to frame the price level, ie for you to realize that it will be more expensive than you expected. And it’s “your fault” since you picked the wrong weekend… You will find more about Framing in insight 22.
Immediacy bias for better business
A challenge today is that decisions can take time. Sometimes the simplest decision is to not decide. By using Immediacy bias as a technique you can get customers into a “hot state” where they feel the need to act now. Time-limit offers down to the minute is a good example. After a purchase, don’t forget to cross-sell or upsell — the timing is perfect.
Immediacy Bias checklist
- What new info can trigger immediate action?
- How can you shorten or make the decision process feel shorter?
- How can you show immediate results?
- How can you make small behavioral nudges visible daily?
Do you want to know more about how to push decisions, just reach out to ulf.vanselius@comprend.com