Nudge

60% of us think spending +3 hours a day on the web is unhealthy. Yet the UK average time spent online is +4.5 hours. We’re hooked to our devices and suffering. The mere presence of a smartphone can reduce performance in memory tasks by 11%. In today’s show, I’m joined by Elisabeth Costa, senior director at the Behavioral Insights Team, who talks through how nudges are used to manipulate us online....

It’s not easy applying behavioral science. You can geek out on Thinking Fast and Slow and listen to Rory Sutherland rave about nudges, but that won’t mean you feel comfortable applying it in your job. To help, I spoke with Melina Palmer, host of the Brainy Business, and author of What Your Customer Wants And Can’t Tell You. Melina explains her approach for applying behavior science, how to build a...

In today’s special episode you’re invited to enter a brand new clinic. Instead of a waiting room, there’s a bar with live jazz. Instead of a doctor, there’s a marketer in a tweed jacket. Today, we’re entering the Rory Sutherland Nudge Clinic, the place people go for counter-intuitive ideas. Listen to learn the smartest way to run a cafe, how to stop people drink driving, and how to persuade your p...

Throughout our lives, we’re taught to think rationally. We’re taught to consider the evidence. To make forecasts. To follow the economic models and stick with the trend. This rational thinking is a core part of our education, our government policies, and our businesses. But in a world where everyone thinks rationally, it can pay to think irrationally. At least that’s what my guest Rory Sutherland...

We’ve all heard advice on beating anxiety. We’re told to vent our frustrations, to break down and analyze the problem, sometimes we’re told to try and forget about it or move on. But what does science say? Today I’m joined by Ethan Kross, author of the national bestseller Chatter. We discuss the surprising truths about beating stress and anxiety. Ethan's book Chatter: https://www.ethankross.com/ch...

What do you do when you get stressed out? Do you work through exercises and routines to solve the problem, or do you hope it’ll go away? Most of us wait for the experience to pass, but we shouldn’t. In today’s show, bestselling author Ethan Kross talks through why we get stressed and three proven tactics to beat it. Ethan's book Chatter: https://www.ethankross.com/chatter/ The Science of Marketing...

Speaking to customers isn't something that comes naturally to many marketers. We're not researchers. We're not trained to interview. And yet it's a vital task for all of us to master. My guest today helps marketers with this. Louis Grenier is a bit of a customer interview expert. He’ll explain how many customers you need to talk to and what to ask.  Louis' podcast: https://www.everyonehatesmarkete...

As little as 16% of marketing is remembered and recalled successfully. That means that as much as 84% of marketers’ work is wasted. To capture consumer’s attention we’re told to stand out. To be different. But how? In today’s show, Louis Grenier explains how to be radically differentiated - to capture attention and grow your business. Louis' podcast: https://www.everyonehatesmarketers.com/podcast...

You might be surprised to learn that a 5/5 star review isn’t the best, or that an imperfect cookie tastes better. The science behind this weird phenomenon is the Pratfall Effect. In this episode I chat to Joseph Marks about how the effect improves ads, wins court cases and can help you get a second date. The Science of Marketing Course: https://scienceofmarketing.teachable.com Link to Joseph's boo...

Charm pricing (also known as 9-ending prices) is one of those marketing tricks that is known by all. It has left the marketing textbooks and is used by everyone from kids selling lemonade to businesses selling smartphones. With such widespread adoption, it's worth exploring if the nudge still affects consumers. In today's episode, we take a look at the history of charm pricing, explore case studie...

Wondering why your latest product won’t sell? Well it might be due to lazy, scared and overwhelmed consumers. These are the three big barriers stopping customers from making a change and buying your product. In this episode, my guest Bri Williams talks through her model for behavior change highlighting some crucial marketing tips. Bri’s website: https://www.briwilliams.com/ Bri’s Influencing Actio...

Could highlighting a product weakness increase sales? In today’s show, I join Adam Ferrier to explore the negativity bias and attempt to understand why we are drawn to negative events over positive ones. We chat about how newspapers use this bias to write their headlines, how some of the best marketing campaigns leverage negativity, and why negative thoughts stick in your head for longer. Adam’s b...

Customers lie all the time. In fact, we all lie, often without even knowing it. When asked, 25% of high school seniors say they’re in the top 1%. Often talking to customers can lead to bias, unreliable results. So my latest guest has a solution … stop talking to customers. Today, Adam Ferrier and I discuss why companies like Apple and IKEA don’t listen to their customers and how market research ca...

Think about all the decisions you’ve made in your life. Deciding where to work, agreeing to go on that first date with your spouse, asking for fries with your burger. We like to think all of these decisions are considered and thought through. In today’s show, Tim Ash explains how most of our decisions aren’t rational. Instead, they are dictated by evolutionary traits developed thousands of years a...

Many hate building IKEA furniture and yet tend to value it higher than pre-built furniture. In fact, many prefer it to expert-built furniture. Tune in to learn why we irrationally value Super Bowl tickets, how Betty Crocker became an overnight success and why so many investors make dumb decisions. The Science of Marketing Course: https://scienceofmarketing.teachable.com Sign up to the Nudge Mailin...

Following the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, commentators began to claim that highly targeted personalized ads had helped swing the 2016 election in Trump’s favor. In this episode, I speak to Patrick Fagan, a former Cambridge Analytica employee to discuss whether personalized ads work, what effect advertising has on our life satisfaction and why digital advertisements may be an improvement on t...

What is the best way to learn about someone's personality without meeting them. Is it by talking to their spouse? Or is it by looking at their Facebook profile? Research suggests that Facebook knows more about our personality than our closest loved ones. Data about each of us on Facebook can be used to predict our behavior helping marketers learn what we buy, what we like, and what we believe. But...

For many, marketing is about getting as many people as possible to sign up for your product or service. It’s about getting people through the door. However, that’s just part of the process. To run an effective business you have to make sure the customer sticks around and you have to make sure you attract the right customer. In this episode, Ramli John walks through his tips to help customers onboa...

All too many companies struggle to position their product. They pick the wrong market, highlight the wrong features or fail to spot the right competitors. But get positioning right and something magical happens, all your work improves. In today’s show, the great April Dunford will talk through how to identify true competitors, tips for picking the right market and examples of successful positionin...

Most marketers have spent years studying the profession either on the job or in education. And yet, when it comes to positioning, something which is fundamental to every aspect of marketing, most of us struggle. In this episode, I chat with positioning expert April Dunford on why that is and her plan to solve it. The Science of Marketing Course: https://scienceofmarketing.teachable.com April’s boo...

The Science of Marketing Course: https://scienceofmarketing.teachable.com Marketing is tough. 25% of all marketing budget is wasted. Most marketers don't know the science behind what works. The Science of Marketing course, created for Nudge listeners, is here to solve that. This four-part course reveals how behavior science and consumer psychology can boost each stage of the marketing funnel. In t...

In this special end of year episode we revisit some of the best insights shared on the show in 2020. We hear how to ask your customers the right questions, how to plan for 2021 and how to overcome burnout and stress in your job. Sign up to the Nudge Mailing list: www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list

There’s endless advice for entrepreneurs out there. It's overwhelming. With so many success stories it’s hard to know who to follow. In this episode, I debunk many of those stories and reveal the real science behind success. I’m joined by Melina Palmer, host of the Brainy Business podcast and we discuss three lessons, backed by science, that every entrepreneur should know. Melina’s podcast, Brainy...

Why will a free 72-ounce steak draw in hoards of customers for one restaurant but zero customers for another? Nudges are loved by many marketers across the globe, yet they don’t always work as expected. In this episode, I chat with Dr Michael Hallsworth, managing director of the BIT North American about some empirical evidence that reveals if nudges really work. Michael’s book Behavioral Insights:...

Does money motivate you? For most of us, we’d probably say yes. We work 9-5, five days a week for money. We can’t live without it. It’s normal to think that money therefore is the ultimate motivation. If you want someone to do something just pay them, right? My guest today, Dr Michael Hallsworth managing director of the BIT North American unit shares a different point of view. Michael’s book Behav...