Using Behavioral Science in Marketing

1. Emotions Drive Decisions, Rationality Justifies Them

The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action, while reason leads to conclusions.

Emotional vs. Rational. People make decisions based on emotional reasons, then justify those decisions with rational reasons. This applies to both B2C and B2B marketing. Emotions are processed faster than rational thought, focusing attention and aiding memory.

B2B is still P2P. Even in B2B, personal emotions matter. Executives care about how they'll look to their boss, the board, or their peers. They worry about their professional reputations and egos. Don't assume your target is solely driven by objective, unbiased decisions.

Injecting Emotion. Inject emotion into your marketing by prompting prospects to imagine positive outcomes, using evocative visuals, highlighting pain points, making customers feel special, offering proactive help, emphasizing social proof, telling compelling stories, and focusing on the experience of owning or using your product.

2. Loss Aversion: The Pain of Losing Looms Larger Than the Joy of Gaining

When directly compared or weighted against each other, losses loom larger than gains.

Loss Aversion Defined. People are approximately twice as motivated to avoid the pain of loss as they are to achieve the pleasure of gain. This principle, known as loss aversion, suggests that marketers should balance benefits with the potential losses that can be avoided.

Fear Sells. Fear can be a powerful motivator. People don't want to miss a good deal, fear a product running out, or worry about being less popular. Loss aversion can drive sales by highlighting what customers stand to lose if they don't act.

Applying Loss Aversion. Use tactics like indicating limited stock, highlighting deadlines, offering free trials, framing messages in terms of loss, and using phrases like "Don't miss out." Be ethical and responsible, paying off the concept in your messaging and avoiding clickbait.

3. Scarcity Creates Urgency and Exclusivity, Boosting Desire

Opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited.

Scarcity's Power. People place more value on things that are harder to get and not widely available. This principle has two components: urgency (limited supply or time) and exclusivity (available only to some).

Urgency Tactics. Create urgency by highlighting deadlines, implying limited time, showing countdown clocks, and using words like "now," "today," "hurry," and "flash sale." Combine urgency with loss aversion to warn that offers may not be repeated.

Exclusivity Tactics. Create exclusivity by offering VIP codes, reserved access, special discounts, early previews, and language that makes people feel special, such as "just for," "private," and "not available to the general public."

4. Reciprocity: Give to Get, a Hardwired Human Response

We should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.

Reciprocity Defined. Humans are hardwired to respond to others in kind. When someone does something for us, we want to do something for them in return. This principle, known as reciprocity, can be a powerful tool for marketers.

Give to Get. Instead of focusing solely on getting something, devote a portion of your marketing efforts to giving to your customers and prospects. Provide them with something they'll value, whether it's tangible or a service.

Applying Reciprocity. Use tactics like sending personalized gifts, providing helpful information, offering free trials, and reducing friction in the customer experience. Fundraisers often use reciprocity by including small gifts in their solicitations.

5. Social Proof: People Follow the Crowd for Safety and Validation

If many people do something or think something, their actions and their thoughts convey information about what might be best for you to do or think.

Social Proof Defined. When unsure of what to do, people look to others, especially those similar to themselves, for guidance. This decision-making shortcut, known as social proof, provides a sense of comfort and confidence.

Leveraging Social Proof. Marketers can use social proof by featuring customer testimonials, highlighting the number of users, showcasing positive ratings, and partnering with influencers. Make your target feel like they are making a popular choice that no one will blame them for.

Avoiding Misuse. Be careful not to highlight the number of people who aren't doing what you want them to do. Instead, focus on those who are taking the desired action.

6. Storytelling: Engage Brains and Hearts for Persuasion

When you want to motivate, persuade, or be remembered, start with a story of human struggle and eventual triumph. It will capture people’s hearts—by first attracting their brains.

Stories Engage. Stories are engaging, involving, and memorable. They help people make sense of the world and make important lessons easier to remember. Stories can be magically persuasive for marketers—and science shows us why.

Brain Activation. Stories engage more parts of the brain than factual statements. They create empathy and emotional connections, releasing hormones like dopamine, cortisol, and oxytocin.

Applying Storytelling. Use stories to land your message and motivate your desired behavior. Paint a mental picture, involve emotions, and make your audience care. Structure your story with a beginning, middle, and end, and make it relatable.

7. Autonomy Bias: People Crave Control and Choice

The existence of a choice means a person has autonomy, and the existence of autonomy gives a person confidence that they are in control.

Autonomy Defined. Humans have an innate desire to be in control of themselves and their environment. This need for autonomy is a powerful driver of behavior.

Providing Choice. Marketers can tap into autonomy bias by offering customers choices, such as product options, service levels, or payment methods. Remind people that they have a choice and that they are in control.

Avoiding Overload. While some choice is good, too many choices can overwhelm customers and lead to indecision. Offer a manageable number of options and guide customers toward the best choice for them.

8. Commitment and Consistency: Leverage Past Actions for Future Sales

Once we have made up our minds about an issue, stubborn consistency allows us a very appealing luxury: We really don’t have to think hard about the issue anymore.

Commitment and Consistency. Once people take an action or take a stand, they like to remain consistent with it. This principle, known as commitment and consistency bias, can be used to influence future behavior.

Small Commitments. Get people to agree to a smaller request first, then follow up with a larger one. This can be done by asking for a small commitment, such as signing up for a newsletter, before asking for a purchase.

Applying Commitment. Use tactics like offering free trials, asking for public commitments, and reminding customers of their past actions. Make it easy for them to remain consistent with their previous behavior.

9. Information Gap: Curiosity Drives Action to Fill the Void

Curiosity can exert a powerful motivational force.

Information Gap Defined. If there is a gap between what people already know and what they still want to know, they will take action to close that gap. This principle, known as information gap theory, can be used to pique curiosity and drive engagement.

Creating Curiosity. Marketers can create curiosity by posing questions, hinting at secrets, and offering incomplete information. The goal is to make people want to learn more.

Applying Information Gap. Use tactics like numbered lists, intriguing headlines, and open-ended questions. Be careful not to mislead or resort to clickbait.

10. Authority Principle: Respect and Respond to Expertise

Information from a recognized authority can provide us a valuable shortcut for deciding how to act in a situation.

Authority Defined. People are conditioned to respect and respond to authority. This principle, known as the authority principle, can be used to influence behavior.

Projecting Authority. Marketers can project authority by using titles, mentioning awards, featuring endorsements, and partnering with well-known brands. The key is to choose someone your audience perceives to be an authority.

Applying Authority. Use tactics like featuring testimonials from experts, highlighting certifications, and using authoritative language. Be sure to use the authority principle ethically and responsibly.

11. Choice Architecture: Guide Decisions with Thoughtful Presentation

There is no such thing as a ‘neutral’ design.

Choice Architecture Defined. The way choices are presented influences the decisions people make about them. This principle, known as choice architecture, can be used to guide customers toward desired actions.

Influencing Decisions. Marketers can influence decisions by using defaults, descriptive words, and visual cues. The goal is to make the desired option the easiest and most attractive choice.

Applying Choice Architecture. Use tactics like pre-checking desired options, highlighting key benefits, and removing friction from the customer experience. Be sure to offer enough choices to prompt a decision, but not so many that you overwhelm customers.

12. Labeling and Framing: Words Shape Perception and Behavior

Different ways of presenting the same information often evoke different emotions.

Labeling and Framing Defined. The terms marketers use to describe their audience and their products can impact buying decisions. This principle, known as labeling and framing, can be used to shape perception and behavior.

Influencing Perception. Marketers can influence perception by labeling customers as part of a group that would naturally buy their product or service. They can also frame products in a way that makes them more appealing.

Applying Labeling and Framing. Use tactics like referring to customers as "trendsetters" or "gourmets," and framing products as "investments" or "experiences." Be sure to choose labels and frames that resonate with your target audience.

13. Automatic Compliance: Triggers and Reasons Prompt Action

A well-known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor, we will be more successful if we provide a reason why.

Automatic Compliance. People are more likely to comply with a request if it's accompanied by a reason. This principle, known as automatic compliance, can be used to prompt action.

Providing Reasons. Marketers can prompt response by offering the reason why customers should buy their product or service. The reason doesn't have to be amazing, but it should be legitimate.

Applying Automatic Compliance. Use tactics like including the word "because" in your marketing copy, highlighting key benefits, and providing a clear call to action. Be sure to make it easy for customers to take the desired action.

14. Maximize Impact: Copy and Language that Resonate

Consuming stories influences our beliefs, teaches us facts, alters our future behaviors, and changes our personalities.... They [stories] effortlessly bypass logical and conscious defenses, and shape our closely guarded core beliefs.

Words Matter. The words you choose for your marketing messages can make a significant difference in the reaction your customers and prospects will have to your sales proposition.

Cognitive Fluency. Use language that is easy to understand and process. Avoid jargon, acronyms, and technical terms. Choose common typefaces and clear layouts.

Literary Devices. Use literary devices like alliteration, repetition, metaphor, and simile to make your marketing messages more memorable and understandable.

15. Availability Bias: Make Your Message Memorable and Top-of-Mind

A good way to increase people’s fear of a bad outcome is to remind them of a related incident in which things went wrong; a good way to increase people’s confidence is to remind them of a similar situation in which everything worked out for the best.

Availability Bias Defined. People will judge the likelihood of an event happening based on how easily they can recall a relevant example. This principle, known as availability bias, can be used to make your message more memorable and top-of-mind.

Triggering Availability. Marketers can trigger availability bias by prompting customers to think of a time when their product or service would have been beneficial. Use vivid, emotional language and imagery to make your message more memorable.

Applying Availability Bias. Use tactics like referencing current events, sharing customer stories, and highlighting the negative consequences of not using your product or service.

16. Stand Out: Context, Rewards, and Unpredictability Capture Attention

When you want to motivate, persuade, or be remembered, start with a story of human struggle and eventual triumph. It will capture people’s hearts—by first attracting their brains.

The Von Restorff Effect. People will pay attention to and remember the item that is different from the others around it. This principle, known as the Von Restorff Effect, can be used to make your marketing messages stand out.

Creating Distinction. Marketers can create distinction by using unusual formats, unexpected visuals, and surprising messages. The goal is to capture attention and make your message more memorable.

Applying the Von Restorff Effect. Use tactics like sending dimensional mailers, using bold colors, and creating unexpected content. Be sure to link your message to the product you sell.

17. Time's Effects: Landmarks and Discounting Influence Behavior

People are more likely to take action when they encounter a temporal landmark.

Temporal Landmarks. People are more likely to take action when they encounter a temporal landmark, such as a birthday, anniversary, or holiday. This principle, known as temporal landmarks, can be used to prompt action.

Temporal Discounting. People put off behaviors when they perceive the payoff to be too distant. This principle, known as temporal discounting, can be used to create urgency.

Applying Time's Effects. Use tactics like sending marketing messages around temporal landmarks, highlighting deadlines, and offering immediate rewards. Be sure to make the benefits of your product or service clear and tangible.

Last updated: February 8, 2025