Page 97 - Decoding Decisions ~ Making sense of the messy middle

97 CHAPTER 6 INHABITING THE MESSY MIDDLE

We’ve also sounded a gentle note of caution. Behavioural science is a
powerful tool, and marketers not using it responsibly could find themselves
doing long-lasting damage to the brands they represent. Humans tend to be
quite good at remembering grievances, after all.

But what if everyone who reads this report takes our research and applies
each of the cognitive biases we’ve identified? Won’t that just create an
elevated-but-level playing field, leaving the middle just as messy?

From the consumer perspective, the answer is a definite no. The better
brands get at anticipating shoppers’ needs for information and guidance,
the better customer experience will become overall. Exploration will be more
efficient and evaluation will be simpler – the shopping journey will shorten
and result in better outcomes and experiences.

Fortunately, for marketers the answer is also likely to be no. In our simulation,
each bias was given a basic execution, with no attention lavished on design

or copy. In the real world, brands will hopefully take our indicative examples
and test them in-market, bringing their own ingenuity and insight to bear.

Ultimately, our research provides not just a framework for decoding
decisions and navigating the messy middle, but also a springboard for
creativity. Brands that are able to integrate the lessons of behavioural science
into their marketing toolset will have everything they need to flourish.

The better brands get at anticipating

shoppers’ needs for information

and guidance, the better customer

experience will become overall.