Do you follow Daniel Kahneman, Robert Cialdini and Rory Sutherland? If so, you’ve realized how important behavioral science is as a base for communication and marketing. If not, or as a helpful refresher, here follows a number of insights. Let’s begin with Daniel Kahneman.
When we humans face a problem – such as choosing between multiple options – our brains first seek a simple, quick, and intuitive solution. Quite often, this means we pick the option we’re familiar with or like. It’s this quick, intuitive decision-making process that gives a strong brand a major advantage.
Kahneman’s research shows we have two systems when making decisions:
- System 1 works automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and we have no conscious control.
- System 2 handles strenuous mental activities such as complex calculations and analyses.
System 2 dislikes effort and therefore often accepts decisions made by System 1. With practice, however, complex analyses that start in System 2 can become easier and eventually shift over to System 1. People then say they use “common sense” or “gut feeling” to make the decision. According to Kahneman, 98% of all decisions we make in our daily life and at work are intuitive through System 1.
Cognitive ease
A great example of how System 1 and 2 works is driving. You can easily drive on a highway while having a deep conversation. But when navigating dense city traffic, most people want silence around them. That’s because System 2 struggles to do two demanding things at once.
System 2 also avoids mental strain. So, make it easy for your customers to absorb your messages. One simple method is repetition: even by the just one second exposure, the message feels more familiar, truthful and easy to remember.
One example of use: The deceptive halo effect
The fact that attractive female students receive better grades than others is a documented psychological phenomenon. It’s called the halo effect, where one positive attribute leads people to assume other traits are also positive.
A practical application of the halo effect is when submitting a proposal. Imagine a buyer choosing between three quotes. Two were sent by email and are plain Word documents, maybe sloppy written. The third comes as a designed pdf with the your company logo on a nice cover page. The contents are the same, but the third version includes attractive visuals illustrating the proposal’s benefits. What proposal do you think have the best chance to win?
In weekly blog posts, I will highlight the 5 cognitive biases (also called Rules of Thumb) I feel is most relevant for B2B purchasing processes and how you can use them to get a competitive advantage through your communication. Keep your eyes open here during the Summer to learn more and get practical examples of how you can use a these 5 thumb rules to improve your communication:
- Status quo bias
- Anchoring
- Framing
- Immediacy bias
- Loss aversion
And if you want to discuss smart communication that drives sales, just reach out to ulf.vanselius@comprend.com