6 things I learnt at the MRS Behavioural Science Summit

I jumped at the chance to attend my first Behavioural Science Summit hosted by the MRS. 

And as you’d expect there was lots to learn from.

In a room of behavioural science practitioners, it was especially reassuring to hear how many brands and marketers are trying to unlock what drives choice using behavioural science techniques. 

Here are 6 things I learnt:

1. Social proof - how genuine is it really?

With the widespread use of social proof in marketing - where brands show products or services with their ‘star’ ratings and reviews, it begs the question how genuine are they? 

Savvy marketers leverage authentic social proof to establish trust, steering clear of deceptive practices, but how can audiences spot the deception? Can products that appear relatively new really have 3000+ reviews from actual customers? 

2. Basics, bonuses and balancing acts

Every marketing interaction hinges on consumer decisions, making an understanding of these processes essential. I enjoyed Google’s simplification of what brands, especially in ecommerce, need to get right online:

• Basics: get the simple things right. Customers miss these basics when they are not there. Clear pricing, delivery details,  - these are the basics, and they are expected by shoppers.

• Bonuses: extra ‘bonus’ features enhance the experience massively. Things like alternative, complementary options or transparency over despatch and delivery. The power of certainty is huge.

• Balancing acts: Striking the right balance is crucial, sometimes experience improvements can actually have a negative effect on some and a positive effect on others. The idea is to keep experimenting.

3. Subtle interventions can significantly impact consumer actions

McDonald's work on the ideal recycling bin illustrates how small, subtle changes can be hugely effective.

Customers had up to 60 decisions to make as they approached the recycling area in the restaurants (and let’s face it, most people want to leave quickly as well).

The solution made it easier to recycle items and harder to dispose of everything in go. The result was a 137% increase in recycled items. Bravo McDonalds.

4. Understanding the cultural drivers behind behaviour helps change it

Keep Britain Tidy have used semiotic research and expertise to tackle cigarette butt littering by understanding the cultural drivers behind the behaviour, paving the way for more effective interventions to stop it. 

For example, accepting that smoking is coded as a way of breaking social rules, means smokers need a good reason, beyond rules, to even consider tidier behaviours.

Likewise, smoking is coded as a sort of aesthetic performance (!). So building attractive new rituals to the disposing of cigarette butts, is likely to be more successful. 

5. Measuring real behaviour change? Or just intent.

Traditional metrics often fall short in capturing genuine behaviour change, and marketers are often guilty of simply measuring intent, which is not the same as measuring actual actions.

A definite watch out!

6. Simplifying complex choices

Vodafone shared a brilliant example of the power of how managing choice is critical to sales growth.

With literally billions of tariff combinations, Vodafone faced a daunting challenge. But behavioural understanding gave them the tools to realise that all their customers are doing is making constant choices, in context.  This highlighted the importance of framing options effectively against one another, and not getting caught up in the volume of tariffs in existence.

Conclusion

Behavioural science’s potency is in its ability to empower marketers to understand, predict, and influence consumer behaviour. 

By harnessing the power of behavioural insights, you can elevate your marketing campaigns, foster brand loyalty, and drive sustainable growth.

The most successful brands are those that truly understand their consumers.

And an extra nugget for marketers:

Behavioural science insights can be instrumental in securing stakeholder buy-in.

Because they are backed by robust data, the business case for behavioural interventions becomes seriously compelling.

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If you want want to chat about how to bring the power of behavioural science into your marketing, get in touch with us today.