The Choice Factory: 25 behavioural biases that influence what we buy

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Social proof: State the popularity of your product regarding the specific niche or region to ensure relevancy to the audience. Don't assume your audience understands your popularity. They were so focused on the pressing engagement that it crowded out their ability to fully process other information. Think creatively — Find an angle that you are number one on (e.g., dark chocolate bars). If not #1, try to create the illusion of your popularity (e.g., when Apple launched the iPod, all the earphones were white, making them appear more common). Focus on Profit — The end goal for most brands is profit. Therefore, experiment your way to success. The more times you experiment, the greater the chance of hitting on the right ‘formula’.

If you’re in the business of influencing people then Richard’s book is a must read. It provides a welter of practical advice on how behavioural science can be harnessed by businesses . When is it suitable – If you work in a category typified by overly positive descriptions, such as luxuries, cars or cosmetics, then this approach might be suitable. Turn consumer overconfidence to your advantage — The same applies to the general public, so appeal to their ‘expertise/generosity’. Setting a naive target encourages behaviour that superficially meets that goal rather than the underlying objective.Shift the mindset — Our actions are shaped by the way we think others might behave in that situation. However, we are often inaccurate. So state the surprising positive. Nudging works at the margins. It does not sway all the people all the time, in all areas. It also cannot be abused due to things like the Advertising Standards Association. Target contexts as well as target audiences. Use experiments to support your assumptions about what the 'right context' is. Ensure your message is distinctive in that context. Avoid mimicry and 'safe' norms.

When we are in a good mood it signifies an absence of danger and, therefore, mitigates against the need to think critically. After the students had heard the recording, the Stanford psychologists questioned them as to how far their views had shifted. Those who had heard the argument at the same time as the silent film were more likely to have changed their opinion.

Target contexts as well as target audience — Where and when the ad is placed heavily influences message take up. In Hanoi, there was an outbreak of bubonic plague. To try to contain it, the French Colonials offered a small reward for every rat’s tail. This led to people cutting off the tails and then letting the tail-less rats go free 18. The Pratfall Effect In a recent study, Professor Brian Wansink of Cornell University created an experiment which gave out 175 brownies each with the same ingredients, even with the same powdery topping. The brownies were served in one of three ways, snow-white china, a paper plate and a napkin. The brownies rated “ok” when served on a napkin, those on a paper plate as “good” and those served on a white china paper plate as “excellent”. Even more interestingly, consumers were willing to pay twice as much for brownies served on a china plate. Context is everything.

The experiment is not an historical anomaly. In 2015, during the UK general election, Jenny Riddell and I surveyed 1,004 nationally representative voters about their views on raising VAT by a penny to fund 10,000 extra nurses. The results were then split by political affiliation. The twist was that half the respondents were told it was a Conservative policy and half were told it was an initiative by Labour.

Ad design suffers because the way brand managers approve ads is at odds with how consumers experience them. Richard is the author of The Choice Factory which explains how behavioural science can solve business challenges. The Choice Factory was voted best sales and ... The danger of confirmation bias is just one of the topics in Richard Shotton's new book, The Choice Factory, as he explains in this excerpt for Campaign.

The most important finding from this experiment is that contextual factors are often more influential than personality in determining behaviour. Bid shaving — Decide what is the maximum you are prepared to pay to buy a thousand impressions on-line. Then deliberately bid less. I have a lot of interest in behaviour science, cognitive biases and psychology. I have read most of the popular books. But I have struggled to put them to use. In my life as a marketer and product and business leader.Nudges do not change all people, all the time. Different people will react to a nudge in different ways. Everyone assumes that brands are fallible, so if a brand is open about its failings, it can persuade consumers that its weaknesses lie in inconsequential areas.