Making a change in a choice situation that causes a person to behave in a desired way, known as nudging, can be an effective marketing method. In this blog post, we look at how you can use nudging in your communication. We are also joined by a nudging expert!
What is nudging?
Nudging is about making a change in the choice situation that makes a person behave in a desired way, without prohibiting or removing any options. It is usually said that you give individuals a nudge when you use nudging methods.
How does a push work?
Target behaviour: How a person behaves now
Diagnosis: What could be the problem? Are there any obstacles?
Design: What can we do about it?
Experiment: Looking at different options, trying different things, does it have an effect?
Analysis: Did it work?
Behavioural strategy for further work: How will the new behaviour be maintained?
Read more Part 1 if you want to learn more about what nudging is.
How can you use nudging in your communication?
One area where nudging has become increasingly common is e-commerce. For example, by displaying customer reviews of their products to persuade (nudge) potential customers to make a purchase. Seeing that others are satisfied with a product can be crucial for the customer to click on the buy button.
Releasing something in a limited edition or having an offer for a limited time is something that often makes customers more inclined to buy. There is a FOMO (fear of missing out) in all people that kicks in when the customer sees such offers. Something businesses capitalise on.
There are many books that go into depth on what nudging is and how it works. There are also manuals on how to use nudging in practice. Behavioural labs released one such goat 2019.
Why should you use nudging?
- Nudging allows us to identify the behaviour of our customers. We can then influence and change a behaviour to a more desirable one.
- Nudging makes choices easier. We simplify decisions and thus increase the motivation of our customers. Which often makes customers feel more satisfied.
- Nuding can reduce costs and increase profitability for your business. Small nudges can have a big impact (if used correctly).
Nudging expert Linus helps us answer some questions!
How has the pandemic affected nudging?
To answer this question, we have drawn on Linus Olsson Collentine who is a nudging expert. Here's what he says:
"Corona has mainly had a positive effect on nudging as a field. Much of the solution to the pandemic is behavioural - cough into the crook of your arm, wear a face mask, wash your hands, keep physical distance from people - which has increased people's awareness of the importance of knowledge about how to change behaviour."
What is the future of nudging?
This is what Linus says:
"Nudging (or perhaps rather the psychology underlying nudging) will go from a "nice-to-have" to a "must-have". The amount of information and the number of decision options that a person needs to take into account is growing all the time, and to succeed in attracting people in that noise, the need to meet people in the way they work best will increase. This trend is already visible in the fact that more and more companies are creating the position of Chief Behavioural Officer."
We conclude this blog series on nudging by recognising that nudging does not guarantee results, but it does increase the likelihood of the customer making a particular choice. This was the third and final part of the blog series on nudging, what it is, what the opportunities and risks are and how we can use it in our communication. Part 1 and Part 2 are available in the knowledge bank.
