Experience
Choice-Supportive Bias
We recall more of the positives of our choices over any negatives
80 people were asked to choose between two used cars with an equal number of positive and negative traits. Two days later, they had to recall which features were for their car and which were from the other.
The results showed that they incorrectly chose more positive features for their choice and more negatives for the car they didn’t choose.
Remind customers of their good choice.
Embrace rationalization and use this to help people feel great about their choices.
Post-purchase, don’t just send an order confirmation, send an order celebration, like Fitbit do. Finish on a Peak!
Use as a platform for further steps.
Choices can also be validated by unlocking a new set of actions.
Joining the club, getting drip-fed how-to guides, booking an event ticket or sharing a referral code are all tasks that help support previous choices. Harry’s does this very well with its shaving advice.
What next steps do you want a new customer to take?
• Prime and capture positive sentiment.
Send a follow-up email a short period of time after product use with a simple call-to-action, such as a one-click star rating button with Social Proof evidence.
Conversion
Scarcity
We value things more when they’re in limited supply
There’s a reason this Nugget is #1 in our library.
The concept of Scarcity lies at the core of economics, and greatly influences perceptions of value, status and our competitive desire to attain certain items over others.
Unfortunately, it's also one of the more poorly-applied concepts out there, along with Defaults and Loss Aversion.
Mastering quantity scarcity
An airline stating that there's
“Only 3 seats left” may well be using accurate data and not simply using faux-scarcity to artificially suggest that there's less supply of seats than there actually is.
However, from the user's perspective, the buildup of mistrust around the use of scarcity means cynicism is higher, so one must be careful with information presented.
Similarly, hotel websites telling you that “30 other people are looking at this item” engineer stress to compel people into action without changing supply yet highlighting demand in a manipulative way.
Instead, use quantity scarcity to focus on the craft and high quality of what you're selling.
Make your scarcity feel valuable, not stressful.
Mastering time scarcity
Ensure that any time restriction is highlighted primarily for the purpose of maintaining the quality of your product or service, and not merely to cause stress that could be avoided.
As an example, use time scarcity to launch unique or experimental products that are only available within a particular window (say a week, month or season).
This use of time scarcity is positive and encourages brand exploration, used creatively to highlight your unique value.
There’s a reason this Nugget is #1 in our library.
The concept of Scarcity lies at the core of economics, and greatly influences perceptions of value, status and our competitive desire to attain certain items over others.
Unfortunately, it's also one of the more poorly-applied concepts out there, along with Defaults and Loss Aversion.
Mastering quantity scarcity
An airline stating that there's
“Only 3 seats left” may well be using accurate data and not simply using faux-scarcity to artificially suggest that there's less supply of seats than there actually is.
However, from the user's perspective, the buildup of mistrust around the use of scarcity means cynicism is higher, so one must be careful with information presented.
Similarly, hotel websites telling you that “30 other people are looking at this item” engineer stress to compel people into action without changing supply yet highlighting demand in a manipulative way.
Instead, use quantity scarcity to focus on the craft and high quality of what you're selling.
Make your scarcity feel valuable, not stressful.
Mastering time scarcity
Ensure that any time restriction is highlighted primarily for the purpose of maintaining the quality of your product or service, and not merely to cause stress that could be avoided.
As an example, use time scarcity to launch unique or experimental products that are only available within a particular window (say a week, month or season).
This use of time scarcity is positive and encourages brand exploration, used creatively to highlight your unique value.
146 people were asked to rate identical cookies that were either presented in a jar as scarce or in abundance. They were then asked how likely they would be to want to eat a further cookie.
When scarce, the cookies were rated as more desirable and having a higher value. They were also seen as more valuable when going from an abundant state to scarce than when always scarce.
Scarcity comes in 4 flavors:
Quantity, Time, Access & Rarity.
Control quantity.
To increase perceived value of your product, release it in smaller and diminishing quantities, emphasizing its finite nature.
Restrict time.
When the clock is ticking and we’re overwhelmed, we take mental shortcuts that speed up decision-making.
Motivate customers by emphasizing the limited time remaining in which to act.
Limit access.
Restricting access to your products or services will increase desire and perceived value. Do this selectively for certain features and / or customer segments.
For instance, you might want to design valuable, unique rewards that are only unlocked for very special efforts on the part of the customer.
Conversion
Time Scarcity
We're more likely to act if the clock is ticking…
90 people were asked to solve 50 puzzles in either 10 or 40 minutes. A time-saving notification stating that “This question isn’t worth any points. Press A to skip” would pop up for half the puzzles.
Results showed that the time-scarce group ironically were more likely to miss the time-saving notifications due to their heightened focus on task completion.
Time Scarcity increases conversion under a few conditions
Make sure your use of it is on-brand, authentic and not overly-aggressive to avoid harming long-term trust and loyalty.
A big clock with red flashing text may boost sales in the short-term but risks damaging brand perceptions in the longer term and will lead to Reactance in the more behaviorally-aware and in more mature markets with stronger competition.
Use time windows for excitement.
Particularly for experiments with new ideas or for seasonal Limited Editions. Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappucino was on sale for 5 days only. It sold out in just 3 and generated 160,000 Instagram posts.
Develop novel ways of saving people time.
People who spend money on time-saving purchases report greater life satisfaction (Whillans et al, 2017).
Amazon and Sainsbury’s are exploring no-queue, no-till shopping. Just scan on the app and leave. How can you free up even a few minutes of our most precious commodity?
Experience
Autonomy Bias
We have a deep-seated need to control our situations
88 students were told about an exercise training camp and split into 2 groups: either having a choice about the four fitness programs on offer or having one randomly assigned. They were then asked to rate their anticipated satisfaction of the program out of 9.
Those given some autonomy reported higher levels of anticipated satisfaction than those who weren’t.
Choice = autonomy = certainty.
For instance, giving people a choice to still use the old version of your software platform for a given timeframe will reduce anxiety and uncertainty.
Product type matters.
People desire autonomy for pleasure purchases (i.e. vacations) more than for practical ones (i.e. business trips).
Place more focus on the former in order to maximise feelings of control and consumer satisfaction (Botti & McGill, 2011).
Change behavior with the ‘4As’.
Feeling that any change originated from within is vital.
Ask about the behavior, advise them impartially of the facts and of better routes, but that they must make their own choice.
If keen to change, assist them to make a commitment to do so by a given date, and arrange a follow-up to support this behavior change.
Product Development
Goal Priming
When we’re reminded of our aims, we're more motivated to reach them
The food choices of 89 people both dieting and not dieting were analyzed in a cafe. Diners were given a menu with either information highlighting low-calorie options or not (the control).
Results showed that dieters primed with the reminder of their future goal consistently made healthier food choices than unprimed dieters.
Who is the target group?
They could be people who are motivated to protect the environment, improve productivity at work or improve the quality of their lives. Note: they must have already stated a desire for this goal. Your prime will merely aim to nudge their existing Commitment to meeting their own aspirations.
Where can you trigger these long-term motivations?
As well as environment, timing also matters, so make sure that you do so very close to the actual decision point, i.e. at the start of a meeting, at the ordering counter or on the inside of a restroom door.
Boost with the Spacing Effect.
What's the specific behaviour that you're allowing them to perform to help move them towards their long term goal?
It has to be obvious and easy to do, such as clearly identifying an eco-friendly substitute, bolting on a salad or opting for an equally-priced, dairy-free option.
