Status Quo bias
We’re creatures of habit, we tend to stick to what we know.
What is the Status Quo bias?
When it comes to making decisions, we often subconsciously have a preference for things that are comfortable and familiar.
Things like our beliefs, previous choices and set routines stick with us like glue to form our own personal Status Quo. Which means we value what we know and navigate towards pre-set options even if other, perhaps better options are available to us.
The evidence it works
The Status Quo bias was introduced by Samuelson and Zeckhauser in 1988. They created a series of controlled role-play experiments that found that people show a disproportionate preference for choices that maintain the status quo.
As part of the experiment, participants were asked to take on the role of a decision-maker in situations faced by managers and government officials and asked various questions.
They then asked the participants questions that required a decision. They found that most of the time people chose the option that kept things as they were – or maintained the status quo.
How it builds brand memorability
One of the key drivers of brand memorability is ‘Ease’.
If you make your brand easy to access, deal with and buy from, you’re going to build strong, positive connections that lead to memorability.
At the point of purchase, or during the journey to purchase, customer’s decision-making can be made easier by leveraging behavioural biases. And METRIC is our tool for harnessing the power of these biases - snap judgements that help the brain make quick decisions in context - for clients.
METRIC organises the biases into six categories - because these are the key ‘resources’ we always have to spend when make decisions. They are Money, Effort, Time, Risk, Individuality, and Conscious thought. Which handily spells METRIC.
So presenting choices in one of these six frames can tip the balance in comms.
How we've used it with clients
AUTO TRADER
Auto Trader is the leading car marketplace, but most vehicle retailers feel like they aren’t getting enough from the platform – even resenting it for giving buyers more power.
We created a campaign to take advantage of retailers’ desire to stick with what they know – the status quo bias, and at the same time fend off emerging competitors.
By reframing the benefits customers might not be taking advantage of, we demonstrated that there’s more sales and more profit to be made if you stick with Auto Trader’s powerful suite of tools.
Great examples of Status Quo in marketing
HEINZ
Heinz uses the Status Quo bias throughout its advertising campaigns. Lines like ‘Beanz Meanz Heinz’ and ‘It has to be Heinz’ cement in customers’ minds that they’re the only choice worth having. So they should stick to what they know.
LLOYD’S BANK
Like Heinz, the language Lloyd’s language to talk to their customers is all about sticking with the bank they know.
Heritage lines like: ‘By your side for over 250 years’ and ‘For every generation’ reinforces customer belief that they should stick with them – because, they always have.
