Qualitative Research Our team of exceptional qualitative researchers offer online groups, depths in the UK and across the globe. Talk to the Qual team today. Beware the ‘maximiser’ philosophy — Herbert Simon, a Carnegie Mellon Psychologist, suggests most people are ‘Satisficers’ (i.e., “It’ll do” mentality. They are not looking for perfection and are more driven to avoid the negative of a product being rubbish). However, most marketers tend to be ‘Maximisers’ – in that they are so obsessed with their product they focus on micro differences their brand has versus other brands. Frankly, that goes way over the heads of most people as consumers are not making that level of subtle distinction in their choices.

Match the bias to the task — Not all cognitive biases are effective for all subject matters. So again, one needs to test to find out which biases are most appropriate for the task in hand.A recent experiment showed that 45% of behaviour is habitual. Habits are contextual, therefore changing the context can loosen behaviours. Consumers are 21% more likely to change habits when they have undergone a life-changing event. Target customers who have undergone a life event like a birthday or a retirement. Get to know your consumers. Richard Shotton, takes many of the well know Behavioural Biases theory and puts into a practical test and validate it. The book came in as highly recommended one but I was quite disappointed, as there is no original theory proposed rather it focus only on the applications of existing theories to product marketing. If you already following researcher/authors like Daniel kahneman or Richard Thaler (both of their work were mentioned in the book) you will find this book less interesting. Nudges do not change all people, all the time. Different people will react to a nudge in different ways.

Behavioural science identifies a range of profitable pricing tactics. Test which one works best for you. A top-class guide for those who want to put BE to work, rather than just illuminate their journey to work. In fact, Richard’s book “The Illusion of Choice: 16 ½ psychological biases that influence what we buy” is a treasure trove of research and anecdotes which bridge the gap between the very technical world of academia and the “wild” application of behavioral science in real world marketing.Another aspect of this bias is behaviour patterns and rhythms. This is all about identifying the moment when a target audience becomes valuable. For example, there is a predictable spending spike around payday. According to Kantar Millward Brown’s global AdReaction study, among people with access to multiple devices, an average of 35% of TV viewing time was spent simultaneously watching TV and using another device. The best programmes to reach second screeners are either those with a social nature, Made in Chelsea being a prime example, or low involvement, such as daytime TV. As a result, many of my clients have witnessed an increase in sales while simultaneously reducing discounting. The below excerpts are widely available, and I have selected just a handful of the very influential nudges. I hope that you find it as helpful as I did.