Using Behavioral Science to Drive Impact in a Digital World

Do you remember the last time you shopped online? Calmly browsing through endless potential holidays or perhaps for a dress to wear to that party on Friday. Until you notice that 34 other people are viewing the same item. Uh oh. Your mind starts racing. What if it sells out? But wait, do I even really need this item? 6 people already have this item in their basket! Quick. I’d better get it just in case…

We are surrounded by behavioural science; from airfare prices to booking a cinema ticket. Behavioural techniques are powerful tools to influence behaviour, especially in a digital world. It is becoming increasingly important that designers understand the value, and the ethical implications, of using behavioural science in their designs.

Emotional design has the power to truly drive impact. Whether we want someone to join our online community, buy our product or like and share our content, it first starts by understanding individual motives and the science behind human decision making.

Moreover, marketers are turning to science and data for ideas around how to drive results. In order to motivate someone to take action, effective marketing and emotional design go hand in hand. Effective marketing means engaging with the human behind the digital interface.

Here, Rebecca Kidston, Art Director and Beatrice Andrew, Behavioral Science Consultant at VERJ share 3 behavioural insights to help drive your engagement strategy.

Challenge your users

We are motivated by progress

Did you know what people become more motivated the closer they are to their goal? In other words, motivation increases when the end is in sight. So just by making it visually clear how close a user is towards goal completion could increase the chances of them actually completing it.

This unconscious need to complete a goal is known as the Zeigarnik principle and can be used to increase engagement across a journey. The idea is that we like to complete incomplete things – we like to get to the end of something or complete a whole task.

For marketers, anything that visualises how many steps there are in a process is appealing to the users’ unconscious need to complete a goal. Some examples of ways to achieve this online include gamification, progress bars and step by step instructions.

Feed people’s egos

We are motivated more by emotional, unconscious rewards than rational, conscious rewards.

Going with your gut is not a random phrase. We are intuitive beings who make most of our decisions with our unconscious, irrational mind. That’s why first impressions are so important as it takes just one-tenth of a second for us to judge someone and make a first impression (Source 1). Not only are people quick to form first impressions, they are also fairly accurate when the target presents him or herself genuinely.

Intuitive thinking has its benefits, e.g. the cognitive effort required to make a decision about someone is reduced, but it also comes with its negatives. Our unconscious mind is rather dominant when it comes to decision-making. Humans’ minds and thought processes are lazy, which means decision making can lead to biases.

From a design and marketing perspective, understanding what we are motivated by helps us decode what is going on in our minds on an unconscious level. This helps us create messaging that is highly relevant, engaging, sticky, and memorable. If we can tap into audiences’ real drivers, we are more likely to drive engagement and decision making.
For example, knowing that your customer is influenced by how they are perceived online by their peers might shift your strategy towards social proof and community.

Use the surprising science of novelty

We like the unexpected.

In a digital world, everything demands your attention. So how do we stop the scroll? Understanding that people crave the unexpected can help you design with surprises in mind. Designing something novel increases the likelihood of getting attention. This is why surrealism art is so successful. The juxtaposition of uncommon imagery appeals to our imagination. The incongruous style of imagery creates a novel spin on our reality. Providing something completely unexpected not only gets our attention, but it’s also more likely to be memorable. Breaking the mould really does work when you’re trying to drive impact in a digital world.

You can have even more impact by including microinteractions in your designs. Bursts of movement can create a welcomed moment of surprise within online journeys. A great example is used by ‘Honey’, the coupon money-saving Google Chrome extension. As you near the end of your shopping journey, you get an unexpected pop up telling you how much money you could save. This pleasurable surprise is made even more enjoyable with the little dancing Honey mascot. Happy microinteractions like these create a great experience.

We shouldn’t underestimate the power of small design features that provide joyful moments as they are more impactful than we think in driving action in a digital world.

Likewise, because of the impactful nature, we need to be responsible for the potential impact that behavioral science has on users, to ensure we are creating experiences that are helpful and ethical.

This article was authored by Beatrice Andrew and Rebecca Kidston:

Beatrice Andrew is a Behavioural Science Consultant at VERJ. She holds a BSc (Hons) Neuroscience from King’s College London and is undergoing Executive MSc in Behavioural Sciences at the London School of Economics. Bea has been developing LAB’s neuromarketing processes and leading consulting projects at LAB for 3 years. She has 6 years experience working in Digital and creative. She was previously a digital planner for the Google account at Essence, working in branding and design at Elmwood & Honey. Beatrice is a Keynote speaker at industry events including Sitecore Symposium, InOrbit, Women of Silicon Roundabout and Figaro Digital. She is a member of the BIMA Human Insights Council.

Rebecca Kidston is Art Director at VERJ. Her degree in Digital Media Design alongside an understanding of Psychology allows her to design with emotion and purpose. She is passionate about creativity for good projects and using her skills to drive positive behavioural change. At VERJ, she works closely with the behavioural science team to come up with creative solutions in digital.