THE NEW CREATIVE REVOLUTION

How To Turn Human Understanding Into An Unfair Advantage

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“It can help us improve marketing effectiveness and prevent millions being wasted on activities which run contrary to human nature.”

“This can be applied to virtually every area of business, from governance and employee relations to marketing and customer service.”

“The behavioural revolution is in full swing.”

“Brands and agencies have been watching closely to see how they can apply the science of persuasion to their own challenges.”

“Behavioural science is bigger than we thought, and more creative than we could have imagined"

“The new science of selling.”

“Where policies have been designed to reflect behavioural science insights they have substantially improved outcomes for individuals, families, communities, and

businesses.”

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CHANGING behaviour has always been crucial to success.

But over the past two decades breakthroughs in behavioural science have fundamentally altered our understanding of why we do what we do.

Today, in the right hands, these new insights are providing businesses with an unfair advantage and kick-starting a new creative revolution.

At Behave, we have experience in four continents using behavioural science to do more with less.

Here are 14 practical and profitable lessons we’ve learned.

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- Stewart Butterfield, Founder Flickr and Slack

“The best - maybe the only? - direct measure of innovation is change in human behaviour”

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How to win over more friends in less time

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Create calm out of chaos

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HOW does an product gain traction? Why are some companies admired and others despised? What is it that causes changes to decisions, habits and lifestyles?

In this age of distraction, mass media has become a blunt and expensive tool to change behaviour.

But there is hope.

The new toolkit offered by the behavioural sciences gives you the means to navigate this new world by creating frugal innovations - innovations that turn resource constraints into an advantage.

After all, personal and professional success requires being able to move others to action - customers, colleagues, investors, the media etc.

Has there ever been greater pressure to achieve more with less? Has there ever been more of a need?

By understanding the means to influence and change behaviour, you can break through the noise and create calm out of chaos.

Is human behaviour random? Or are we “predictably irrational”? Now we have a toolkit that explains why we do what we do.

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A new musical theory for the mind

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BEHAVIOURAL insights shouldn’t be viewed as scientific in the lab sense.

They’re scientific in the sense that use is based on definite knowledge drawn from direct observation of human behaviour.

They’re scientific in the sense that applications are based on consistent principles which have been demonstrated through repeated experimentation.

They’re scientific in the sense that outcomes can be achieved through a repeatable process that gets results without risks.

Think of it as a new musical theory for the mind. Now you can find the right notes to play to create change - rather than relying on imprecise methods such as surveys or focus groups.

Those able to turn insights into actions are already beginning a new creative revolution within business and society.

How to make the stairs attractive - understand the notes that create change and you may find a creative solution.

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Small things make a big difference

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THE difference between a no and a yes is often very small. Because we now know that decisions are made in systematic and predictable ways, the impact of “trivial” things can be dramatic.

WE’VE SEEN: A simple check-list half the rate of fatalities from surgical procedures.

A new form design increase organ donation rates from less than 10% to over 90%.

23% more patient’s take their medicine correctly as a result of a lottery incentive.

An SMS reminder result in 2.6 times more savings.

A clearer process result in 50% less violent and aggressive behaviour in hospitals.

A public pledge increase healthy eating decisions by 9.5%.

These were all from small interventions. And are a fraction of the 537 case studies we’ve collected and worked on around the world.

NEXT STEP >

CHECKOUT AS GUEST

A “Guest Checkout” button, like this one, added $300M per year to a US retailer’s balance sheet.

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Change perceptions before reality

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DIAMOND and moissanite are virtually identical stones. One “lasts forever”, the other is virtually unknown.

The ASUS X550CA and Apple’s Macbook Pro have similar designs and are assembled in nearby factories. One sells for £540, the other starts at £999.

Many business decisions are taken to make the reality better - lower price, higher volume, faster delivery etc. But why improve the food if the restaurant smells bad?

Focus on raising your perceived value and you will change your business reality faster.

Which is which? One will cost you £800. The other £8000. Based almost entirely on perceived value.

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Context matters as much as (maybe more than)

motivation

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DECISIONS are not just based on motivation. The context of the decision plays a huge role, often subconsciously. Timing, mood, the layout and environmental cues all influence behaviour.

A supermarket has found they can sell more German wine when they play German music. And more French wine when they play French music.

A shoe company found sales of one product went up by more than 10% when they sprayed the sole with an attractive scent.

A school found they can shift 18% more healthy food by making it the first choice children see.

Try changing the context before trying to increase motivation. You’ll find it much easier.

Want to get children to eat their greens? Don’t nag them, nudge them by changing

the choice environment.

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How to make your marketing budget work harder

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With a behavioural objective you can do more with less

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MARMITE’S “End Marmite Neglect” campaign has a behavioural objective: get people to take the product out of the cupboard and use it more frequently.

How much has the campaign cost? A few million?

This problem could have been solved for much less and in a way that permanently shifted the sales curve up.

How?

Well, the fridge is the most looked at place in the kitchen. So add a sticker to the label saying “keep me fresh in the fridge”.

The product goes in the fridge, gets seen more and used more.

Sales of Marmite go up, sales of rivals go down.

When you start thinking about a problem in terms of behaviour, you can find ways to out-think your competition rather than out-spend your competition.

At Behave., that’s how we define creativity.

KEEP ME FRESH

IN THE FRIDGE

Is creativity making a multi-million campaign? Or is it making a sticker that gets the job done?

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Measure behaviour, not attitudes, to find out what

people really want

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ON May 6th this year the UK’s leading pollsters and experts all concluded the election would result in a hung Parliament.

On May 7th the Conservatives won a 12 seat majority with 331 seats.

What people say and what people do are two very different things.

Putting your trust in focus groups or attitude surveys is risky business.

And data, however big, can only tell you what people do. It can’t tell you why or what to do about it.

Only data plus behavioural insights can do this.

Put them together and 1 + 1 = 3.

“No need to pray, David. The pollsters had it wrong.”

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Make your advertising an involving and evolving story

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HOWARD Gossage was the Ad Man who set-up the first behavioural science practice, Generalists Inc., back in the 1960’s.

Unlike the Mad Men of the era, he understood how to create advertising that changed behaviour without the need for big budgets.

He, and his clients, became wildly successful.

His secret?

He created ads that talked to the audience, not at the audience. He involved them. When they responded, and they did in their thousands, he evolved the story. And his ads were so interesting they became the news, so they spread far beyond small paid media space he required.

Today, with social media and infinite online earned media space, this approach is more powerful than ever. But so overlooked.

Last year £19.4BN was spent in the UK on advertising. Research shows 89% of it was completely ignored. That’s £17.27BN that could have been put to better use.

Likability: How Gossage sold Fina, the petrol brand, to the American people.

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Three “Irrational” Roads to Success

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– Jeremy Bullmore, WPP Advisory Board Member

“People differentiate instinctively and rarely on a rational basis.”

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Emotion beats reason

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HOW do you sell a charge card with an annual fee, that requires full payment each month and isn’t widely accepted?

In 1974 American Express tested a two-page letter opening:

“Quite frankly the American Express Card is not for everyone. And not everyone who applies for Card membership is approved.”

It worked.

That same letter was mailed over 250M times over the next 25 years and brought in over $2BN in new business.

All because it appealed to the prospect’s emotional desire for status and respectability.

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How can a two-page letter be worth $2BN? With emotion.

Shape beats size

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HOW do you sell a drink that’s 24% smaller by volume and costs 75% more per ml than the market leader?

Red Bull may be known for the tagline “it gives you wings”, but their can design is their genius.

On a shelf it makes a Coca-Cola can look short and fat.

Hardly desirable when your customer is thinking about what the product may do to their waistline.

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Taller and thinner: An irrational (but effective) way to compete

Personality beats price

11

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HOW do you sell an identical product for more than a larger rival…who’s just one click away?

Economists predicted that the internet would mean the cheapest retailer would always win.

Clearly nobody told Zappos, the online shoe retailer. They outsold Amazon on many product lines and at higher prices too.

Amazon’s efficiency is impressive. But their service is impersonal.

Zappos differentiated themselves with friendly customer service and human touches to surprise and delight.

Their success forced Amazon to buy them out for $1.2BN.

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Why deliver efficiency when you can deliver happiness? How Zappos beat Amazon at their own game.

Want better results now? Here’s where to start…

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Start at the end. And work backwards.

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801 online conversion rate experts were recently asked where they found the biggest wins when making changes.

Their answer?

The checkout.

This thinking applies across your business.

Work backwards from the purchasing decision. The checkout. The menu. The order form.

Remove any barriers to “yes” and you will see a better ROI from every penny spent beforehand.

After all, what use is it spending money on advertising if the rest of your funnel is leaking?

TOP OF FUNNEL

BOTTOM OF FUNNEL

Why apply more force if the bottom is blunt? Start at the end. And work backwards.

We call this Corkscrew Thinking.

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Re-think how you present choices

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WHEN offered, “Red or White?” have you ever responded, “Dry Martini”?

The way choices are presented to us can have a huge impact on our decisions.

What’s the default option? What’s the most popular option? What do people like your prospect do? How many choices are you offering? How do they compare with each other? Are you presenting a “yes or no” or a “this or that” decision? In what order are the options presented?

All of these matter.

Present them right and you unlock hidden wealth immediately. Present them wrong and you make a costly mistake.

“Red or white?” An example of a “this or that” choice. Difficult to say no to. Or “dry martini” to.

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Make it easier to do business with you

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THE manager of a New York City mattress made a mistake. Rather than ordering their usual monthly stock from the wholesaler, he ordered more than his warehouse could hold.

To make room fast, the store began offering to collect people’s old mattresses. Within seven days they sold more than in the previous seven months. They soon became the No. 1 mattress company in New York City.

The decision to buy isn’t just about your product. It involves a series of decisions (and how difficult these are perceived to be).

Every decision involves cognitive effort. The simplest most attractive choice will always win. Take Amazon One-Click as an example.

In fact, research published in the Harvard Business Review found that companies that were easier to buy from sold 58% more than their competition.

Whether trying to sell a product or trying to persuade people to do something, it pays to start by making it easier for them.

You may find you hit your targets in days, not months and leave your competition for dust.

Are your customers looking for a better night’s sleep? Or an easier way to get one?

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Is this all we know?

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THERE is only so much we can reveal here.

There are dozens of practical ways behavioural science can provide you with an unfair advantage.

But only when implemented with care.

At Behave, we’ve developed a comprehensive approach that applies across business functions.

This special information is shared exclusively with our clients.

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hello@behavelabs.co

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