Are you being noticed?

The consumer in the digital age is bombarded with an endless stream of messages, most of which is filtered out, as she just does not have the processing ability to absorb all the messages. The communication has to be carefully designed to capture her reflexive attention, and construct and reinforce positive brand associations.

Persuade or nudge?

Most of the time, consumer is not even willing to his attention, let alone use his cognitive resources to compare or evaluate different brands. Marketing thinkers believe that we need to move from trying to “persuade” to trying to “nudge”. Nudging is not just based on rational arguments or demonstration of superiority, it may include any element of choice architecture, which could potentially lead the consumer to your brand.

System 1 or System 2?

In the current digital world, with limited consumer attention span and a deluge of information, it is more likely to be the spontaneous and automatic System 1 which may guide the consumer. However, this may vary by product category and situation. Also, all consumers are not the same – some are inclined to be more spontaneous and others more deliberate. Additionally, the balance of the two systems may vary by context.

Comparative evaluation or heuristics?

As in most situations the consumers are hard pressed for time and resources to do a complete or thorough evaluation, they use shot-cuts or “heuristics” to guide their choice. There are hundreds of heuristics used by consumers, and these vary by the type of decision as well as the consumer. The key to deciphering and influencing consumer decision making is to identify the heuristics. Once identified, the task of marketing is to create a choice architecture that will lead the consumers to your brand when they apply the heuristics.

Positioning or choice architecture?

Yes, positioning is still important. It is important that the brand is associated with a few desirable and easy to recall positives. However in today’s complex consumer journey, the consumer may pick up the brand, without really having any positive perception about it. It may be the most visible brand, or the one her favorite KOL recommended, or the one that pops up while checking out. There are scores of points in the consumer journey that well-designed choice architecture can use to nudge the consumer to your brand.

Optimizing or satisficing?

Even if the consumer deliberates a bit on the decision, i.e. uses System 2, it does not mean that she will compare all the options available and evaluate them comprehensively to choose the optimal one. It is difficult to do that because she may not have all the information or the cognitive resources required for the task. The consumer is more likely to use a handful of criteria to shortlist the options and efficiently select the one which sufficiently meets her key concerns. This process is called “satisficing”.

What are the applications of behavioral sciences approach to marketing?

Understanding and changing consumer behavior is the core of marketing. With this thinking, we apply this approach to any area of marketing – from opportunity evaluation to strategic pricing to branding and communications.

Do you use qualitative or quantitative methods?

We deploy an eclectic set of methodologies, embracing both qualitative and quantitative tools to study and analyze consumer behavior.

Do you have special tools and techniques to collect and analyze the insights?

We have developed a range of tools to collect and analyze consumer insights and convert them to marketing advice.