Harnessing Action Bias in Marketing

Have you ever been in this situation? You have a tough decision to make, there are pros and cons on both sides. In short, there’s no clear-cut answer. What to do?

For many of us, not deciding – not moving forward – is just not acceptable. Instead, we make a decision and immediately feel better. There’s a dopamine rush in our brain. This is all happening because as humans we are hard wired to favor action over inaction. This psychological phenomenon is known as action bias. It’s our tendency to respond even when there’s NO solid rationale to support it.
 

 

What is Action Bias 

As humas we crave action over inaction. Research has discovered three reasons for this.
 

1. It helps us create value in our lives.
2. It provides a way to gain greater rewards when we’re acting on behalf of others.
3. It offers opportunities to learn (and grow).

And if the right decision is made…that means another hit of dopamine. Boom!!

There is, of course, a problem to this. Taking immediate action may not be the best approach. The decisions we make can make us feel good in the short term…but may have longer-term negative impacts.

Consider professional sports. One down year can result in replacing a head coach. This brings temporary approval – but many times is just a band-aid on a much bigger problem.

So, why care about action bias?

Because we all are susceptible to it in some form. All of us.

On top of that, consider the state of the world -- we live for instant gratification.  If a website doesn’t load on our phone in two seconds, we’re pissed, and we move on.

For marketers, this bias also means more opportunities to close business.

 

4 Ways to Put Action Bias to Work for You

Marketers can leverage action bias in several effective ways.

#1 Create a Sense of Urgency

A time-tested way to put action bias into play is by creating a sense of urgency. Consider the impact of Black Friday, and more recently, Amazon Prime Big Day Deals. Side note, Big Day Deals is coming up so if you need a new kitchen appliance, that’s the time to go hard.

Back to a sense of urgency.

These limited time offers work so effectively because they push a customer to acting vs. delaying. You can juice the orange by also limiting the product.

Amazon is the master of this. They do a great job of showing the number of product remaining. In other words: limited time + limited product = the need for action. We can’t help ourselves!

#2 Remove Friction

The path to more sales is to make it as easy as possible to buy. Think one click buying. But if you can’t do it in one click…then understand where can you streamline the process?
 

• Is your call-to-action clear and obvious?
• Is your product information easy-to-understand?
• Is the process for ordering clear and obvious?

If you haven’t gone through the entire buying process in a while, consider going through to see where the friction points are.

#3 The Consequences of Inaction

Not deciding comes at a price. To help move a prospect to action, marketers should focus on the potential negative outcomes of not acting. Marketing and sales professionals can highlight the dollars being left on the table.

Another effective tactic is to show the costs a customer will pay down the road. For example, a new website costs this now, but next year for the exact same site the price may be this. 


#4 Lower the Risk

To help move a customer to act, consider lowering the risk bar. This could be done through a free trial, spec work, or a free audit. This approach helps ease the customer into the overall process. It’s also a foot in the door providing both parties the opportunity to assess whether they’re a good fit to work together.

#5 Bonus Tactic: Use Social Proof

We are pack animals, most of us want to do what others are doing. Given this, use social proof to get others on the bandwagon.
 

• Display customer reviews and ratings
• Show real-time purchase notifications
• Highlight trending products
• Emphasize testimonials

These are 5 ways to tap into the power of action bias to improve your business, but how can you avoid being presuaded by action bias yourself? 
 

5 Ways to Avoid the Action Bias Trap in Your Own Life 

#1 Pause and reflect

Before making an impulsive purchase, pump the breaks. Give yourself time to think through the decision. Avoid rushing into action just for the sake of doing something.

#2 Evaluate options

Consider multiple alternatives, including the option of not making a purchase at all. Look at the pros and cons of each option.

#3 Seek More Info

If you’re feeling stuck, unsure what to do, consider getting more information. This might be include getting additional quotes, doing your own research, and/or reading reviews.

#4 Set A Waiting Period

If it’s a major purchase put a waiting period in place before finalizing the decision. This allows time for the initial excitement to simmer down and for more rational thinking to take over.

#5 Get an Outside Perspective
Discuss potential purchases with friends, family, or advisors to get objective input and challenge your thinking and assumptions.
 

Finally, maybe the biggest step you can learn is this: be comfortable with not acting – when it's appropriate.

These steps aren’t foolproof, but test them out next time your faced with acting vs. holding tight and utilize the tips in this article to put action bias to work for your business.