On my website and in other recent articles I have written in long, and shorter form about the many valuable applications of behavioural science in market research.

Those of you who have read some of these – and perhaps articles by other behavioural science practitioners – may be persuaded of the value of behavioural science…

…but how do YOU then go about convincing sceptical colleagues or clients THEY should also embrace it?

This article contains three short, proven tips:

1. Keep it simple

2. Show - not tell

3. Identify allies

Let’s begin with the first tip…

1. Keep it simple

“Far from homo economicus, we often seem closer to Homer (Simpson) economicus” (Corr/Plagnol – Behavioural Economics: The Basics)

People are generally curious to learn more about the world.

Especially people working in market research.

However, time is scarce.

Crucially, so is people’s mental ability to take in lots of new information.

As the quote above suggests, like it or not we are not always the most efficient processors of information.

Tip one is therefore: when communicating to others about behavioural science, keep it simple.

Drip feed relevant behavioural science information to colleagues and clients in short chunks over time.

Use videos.

Write short, engaging emails.

In short, remember we are all like Homer Simpson: so keep it simple.

2. Show - not tell

One of the great things about behavioural science is we can all relate to it – after all, we are all humans!

So make the most of this by helping people SEE its value instead of simply TELLING them.

Back in January I showed how to demonstrate three everyday heuristics and biases, using simple questions.

Almost everyone admitted falling victim to each of the following:

• Sunk cost bias – the tendency to stick with something unfavourable

• The familiarity heuristic – preference for the known over the unknown

• Present bias – the tendency to give more weight to present over future rewards    

Once people see biases like these in themselves, they are more likely to consider them when it comes to their customers / market research respondents.

So help people to see their own biases.

In summary, show – not tell.

3. Identify allies

The final tip is to identify allies – within and / or outside your organisation – to help you sell behavioural science to others.

After all, unless you’re the CEO of your organisation, you’re probably going to need some help!

So who are the best allies?

Those with similarly inquisitive, experimental, evidence-based mindsets to you are likely to be most receptive to behavioural science.

Further, it can also be helpful if your allies come from different functions within the business and / or different academic backgrounds.

Lastly, why not create a regular time for you and your allies to get together to discuss all things behavioural?

Or even a formal network of champions if you work in a large organisation?

So the final tip is to identify allies.

Conclusion

This article has presented three tips on convincing sceptical colleagues or clients they should be using behavioural science:

1. Keep it simple

2. Show – not tell

3. Identify allies

If you’d like to know more on this topic – or anything else behavioural – check out our Consultancy, Training and Project offers.  

Thanks for reading!