top of page

Join 1123+ Readers

 Discover Why Our Words Work.
​​
Tap into our natural instincts and the Psychology behind effective communication.

Join a Community of 1123+ curious business leaders and communication professionals

How to Get Your Status Quo Clients to Change their Behaviour


PG TIPS
PG TIPS

Happy New Year — How's your New Year Resolutions Going?

 

Not to be a Debbie Downer but did you know 80% of people give up on their New Year's resolutions by February?

 

If you like me have set your goals with all good intentions only to find a few weeks later that you've already reverted back to your old ways then maybe you're doing it all wrong.

 

Let me explain: Habit Stacking

Habit stacking isn't a new concept - in fact you're probably doing it without knowing.


It involves connecting a new habit to an existing one.

 

The idea is to increase the likelihood of consistently performing the new action by implementing the new behaviour into your daily routine and linking the desired habit to an already established one.

 

This concept takes advantage of the neural pathways already created for the existing habit. In his book Tiny Habits, BJ Fogg, a behavioral scientist, explains that when you pair a new habit with a familiar one, the brain is more likely to associate the new behaviour with something already ingrained in your routine, making the new habit feel more natural and easier to adopt.

 

Habit Stacking also builds on success that is the success of the existing habit acting as a foundation for the new one. This positive association increases motivation and the likelihood of long-term adherence to the new behaviour.

 

For example, if you set a goal to listen to 50 audiobooks this year you could listen to them while you're in the car driving to work or when you're loading the dishwasher.


In the early 90s users of the gents at Schiphol airport were encouraged to practice their aim. 


A fly was printed on the urinals with the airport giving men a simple challenge to hit the fly helping them to keep to the centre, and reduce 'spillage'. 


This simple change in behaviour led to a measurable reduction in cleaning time and costs to the airport.


So how does this relate to your copywriting?


Self-persuasion they say is, “the holy grail of persuasion research.

  

And depending on your industry marketing goals - great copywriting should stop us in our tracks, make us feel a range of emotions and change our beliefs or behaviour.

 

But it’s this considerable influence that makes copywriting so challenging.

 

Inspiring change in our passive audience especially when it comes to forming new habits can seem near impossible - simply because people are wired at a default.


They're happy to put up with the shaky duct tape solutions because the effort needed for change often seems to outweigh the current status quo.


If you influence action, you influence perception

 

To encourage motivation and change behaviour you need to show the ease of performing that behaviour.

 

The underlying logic is that the best way to persuade someone is to get them to persuade themselves – and this often happens naturally when you nudge people to act in a way consistent with a previously desired behaviour.



Here's what you can do:

 

Tethering is a lot like habit stacking and is one of those writing techniques that makes it easier for the reader and the writer to visualise. By attaching the desired behaviour to an existing one you can target influencing their action rather than just motivation.


  1. Identify existing habits: 

Determine what routines, activities, or thoughts are already established in your target audience and see how you can tag the new behaviour on. PG Tips tethers itself to when we put the Kettle on (essential during ad breaks) while KitKat reminds us to have a KitKat when we have a break



  1. Small habits, big impact:

    Encourage readers to start with small, manageable changes. Show how these tiny improvements compound over time to create significant results


In Paula Green's breast cancer awareness campaign, she tethers the new habit of self-examination to an existing daily routine (taking a shower). She then shows the easiness of the new habit and the impact it can make "A few minutes once a month = early detection and higher chance of survival."



  1. Align with positive habits: Connect your desired new habit with an existing positive habit or a shared value that resonates with your audience.

Bell
Bell

#BellLetsTalk's simple, and brilliantly effective campaign encouraged people to talk about mental health on one day while they text.

 

And a campaign that began in 2011 with Bell donating 5 cents per post has seen them donate over £100m to mental health initiatives.

 

83% of Canadians reported believing attitudes about mental illness have changed for the better since Bell Let’s Talk began helping to create visibility around an issue that was often ignored



  1. Create a seamless transition: Write your copy so that the shift feels effortless and intuitive.


Whatever the new habit or behaviour is you need to show how easy it is to implement and achieve. Confusing or difficult steps make your customer more resistant to change.


  1. Reinforce the connection with Positive Rewards: Reinforce good habits by emphasizing the positive outcomes and satisfaction of achievement.

 

That Counts! skillfully communicates how people can easily incorporate 30 minutes more ‘activity’ in their everyday routines and encourages its audiences to feel proud that they achieved their target in everyday settings.

They used terminology that resonated with their audience. For example using "moving" instead of "exercising", and making sure all elements of the messaging were inspiring and motivating rather than instructive and authoritative. 

 

The campaign saw incredible results with 82% of those who saw the campaign becoming ‘more active" and top-of-mind recall doubled from 7% to 13%.









Take a look at the next 2 ads - while we're all aware of the don't drink and drive message it can become lost in audiences that are complacent with drinking and driving with drinking part of their routine.




A sizable part of the market will drink and justify that they need their car because they feel it impractical to find an alternative to driving especially if they need their car the next day.


Which leaves copy like this easy to dismiss.


Now compare it to Heiniekin's ad. Making the subtle change and placing it as part of your routine makes the message hit harder.


It's just a simple change in the routine. If you're driving don't drink. There's no ifs or buts no excuse There's no "but if" situation. No "but I'm only having 1 drink."

no confusion. The message is clear: If you drive - don't drink. There's no amibiguity as to who the message is for. It's for anyone who is driving.


heineken
heineken

And turn that action into a habit




I train and advise B2Bs on their messaging and narrative arcs and help them connect with their customers on a human level.


Want your team to find their own A-ha moments? — forward this edition of Why Our Words Work! and invite them to subscribe



bottom of page