Introduction: The Power of Behavioral Economics in Wording
Announcer: You are listening to the Brainy Business podcast where we dig into the psychology of why people buy and help you incorporate behavioral economics into your business, making it more brain friendly. Now, here’s your host, Melina.
Melina Palmer: Hello. Hello, everyone. My name is Melina Palmer and I want to welcome you to the Brainy Business Podcast. Way back on July 6, 2018, nearly eight years ago, when this episode airs, this show went live with its first three episodes. It’s been weekly or twice weekly ever since, and we’ve never missed an episode. Something I’m very proud to say. And, that has definitely taken work to maintain over the years.
This episode focuses on the top five Wording Mistakes Businesses Make. Well, one of the first three episodes was this one, which was voted in by my audience on social media at that time as, the topic they were most excited about. And I called it the top five Wording Mistakes Businesses Make. I didn’t realize how foundational this would be to my approach and perspective over the years, but one thing I can say is this. I believe this even more today than when I recorded it, and I’ve got so much more insight and research and work to back it up.
The words you choose shape how people understand what you do, how quickly they get it, what they remember, whether or not they take the next step, and so much more. Small tweaks can make a much bigger difference than people realize. And the mistakes businesses make are common. As you’re going to hear through this episode, I’ve put the top problems into five categories so you can be on the lookout for them and start fixing them in your own work immediately.
Platforms may change, trends can come and go, and tools may evolve, but human brains are still human brains. And when messaging isn’t framed in the right way, people don’t take the action you want them to. And in business, that’s everything. As you listen today, I encourage you to grab a piece of content you’ve shared or sent out in the past in your business. Could be an email, an advertisement, a social post, a, page on your website, anything. Really have it around so you can evaluate it as we go and have an optimized version ready to share soon after.
Really quickly, before we get into the episode, I want to be sure you know that there are links in the show notes for my top related past episodes and books, ways to get in touch, and more. It’s all waiting for you in the app you’re listening to and at thebrainybusiness.com/576. Now let’s jump right in and learn about the top five wording mistakes businesses make.
Wording Mistake #1: Being Too Literal (and Outdated)
Melina Palmer: So what are these top five wording mistakes? I have them in two categories. So the first is too literal. The second is too boring, too much, too vague and too confusing. All right, if you’re ready, we’ll go ahead and get started with our first category of too literal. And this could also have maybe been called too outdated.
But essentially I use the example of a nail salon that I go to in my hometown. I get my nails done regularly. It’s a nice, ritual for me. And the. When I moved to this area about 18 months ago, I needed recommendations because I didn’t want to be driving the 50 miles to or even further to the salons I had been going to before we moved to be on, a, you know, every two weeks to get my nails done. And, and so when I was asking people for recommendations, this one location came up a lot. And they, like I said, highly recommended. And I know why.
When I’ve been in there, they do a fantastic job. They’re very nice. They’re also affordable and they offer beverages, including wine and mimosas every time you’re there. And it’s in a, you know, Safeway parking lot outdoor thing. You know, it’s not like it’s inside of a big spa or something like that, but they also have sodas and water and things like that. And they give you massages while your nails are drying. They’re just really top notch. But I have been distracted every single time I go.
And for me, before I knew I was going to be doing the podcast and have a good outlet for this, every time I went, I was seeing this sign and thinking, ugh, I have to share about this because this is just such an example of something I see all the time. And it is so obviously wrong, but it’s something that actually it’s, it’s obvious to me your subconscious picks up on it. But it’s not something that would always register consciously for people. And probably most of the time it doesn’t because. And I know that because I see this all the time and more than just in my nail salon.
So they have a sign outside of their building that’s hanging up loud and proud saying they were voted Best of the South Sound 2009, 2010, 2011. If you’re not listening to this when it is airing live on July 6th and you’re listening to it later, you might not know what year it is. So I’m going to tell you right now. It is currently 2018. And so having the third year in your list there being seven years ago, that is not a great message. That is not helpful information for you to be having out there in the way that it’s worded.
Because our subconscious brain, even if somebody doesn’t realize they’re paying attention to that sign outside of the building, your brain, your subconscious is picking up on all that’s there and doing all these associations of what could be affiliated there. And, you know, what do you think your brain is asking itself when it sees this? The most common question your brain is probably asking is, well, what happened these last seven years that you don’t have a new sign? How far downhill have you gone in seven years that you weren’t voted the Best of the south sound in any of them, or that you didn’t feel the need to update your sign, or all of these different aspects?
And it could be something legitimate. Maybe the organization that put them out there that you won through doesn’t do that anymore. Maybe you did win in some other years, but they weren’t in a row. And so you feel like this looks the most impressive, that it was three years consecutively there. And then you don’t want to say, you know, 2009, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18. But sometimes that isn’t a sign. And again, that is too literal. What people need is to have the message framed properly for their brain.
And, the problem that comes up when I ask people about this is they say, well, that’s still true and it was a good thing, so it can’t hurt, but it absolutely can. And the better way to message this is to buck up and buy a new sign. It’s like $100 maybe to change out your sign and just have it say, voted Best of the South Sound three years in a row. It’s still true, it’s accurate. But it doesn’t have to be those years because that’s not helping you. And in this case, it’s a hindrance once you get past. So in 2011, that was a great sign.
In 2012, it’s acceptable because I’ll probably give you the benefit of the doubt and think that the numbers haven’t come out for the next year yet, and maybe you’ll get that same grace in 2013. But 2014 and beyond, no, people are worried and concerned. And, especially when it comes to new business I’m not going to go in there if I’m not getting a referral. And even if I am, I’m just concerned. I’m expecting then. So I’m coming in expecting that the experience might have gone downhill than even what I’ve seen in Yelp reviews or any other research I’ve done.
Because there’s this long gap of time where I assume you haven’t been doing as well as you did once. So again, that thought of it’s still true and it was a good thing then. So it can’t hurt to have this old messaging up. And I don’t want to pay for a new sign when nothing has changed. And the truth is the environment has changed. Everything around you has changed when those years have changed. And keeping that old sign up, which was effective then, is. Is damaging your reputation now.
It makes you look careless and, like I said, like, you’ve gone downhill. And just in reality, especially if this is a physical location that has been hanging outside. So in this case, this sign has been outside their building for seven years. It just is dirty and dingy and it becomes white noise. People don’t notice it anymore. If you think about your drive to work and you drive by the same businesses and things every single day or whatever, when you’re taking your kids to school or whatever it is, do you notice the same sign that’s on the window of a business that’s been there every single day for years?
No, it doesn’t stand out to you like it did the first or the second time. But if they were to change it and it was going to be a bright color or something different or an interesting shape and it’s very different than everything around, it’s going to stand out and your brain is going to be drawn to it. But that old boring sign is not going to have the same impact. So knowing that literal translation that worked once, finding a new way to frame it is what’s going to help you to stand out and be more effective.
And, one more note on this. Just because the window cling hasn’t fallen off of your building doesn’t mean that it still looks good. Consider having an objective party coming in to see if whatever’s around is still effective or if it’s just extra stuff that they don’t want to be looking at. It’s. We have a hard time being objective in our own businesses. That’s, you know, a reason why people hire me to look at things in general as a consultant, because I have a perspective of asking the question and say, why do you still have this here?
Why do you have an award that you won for being green and energy efficient 10 years ago in the lobby of your building? When it again, it makes it look like nothing has happened since. So being able to say you have been, you know, multiple years versus the exact years, because you feel like you have to be as precise and accurate as possible. You still want to be truthful in everything that you’re saying, but being so finite and literal can make it to where it’s actually a negative message if you’re not careful.
Features vs. Benefits: Relatable Stories Over Technical Data
Melina Palmer: The other example that I would go into for too literal is this understanding of features and benefits, which if you’ve ever done any work in marketing or taken a class or read a book on marketing, I’m sure features versus benefits has come up. Essentially, the features are the list of things that are attributed to the account, product, service. Whatever happens to be one of them that comes up a lot would be something like 24 hour claims, 24 hour call center, something like that.
That’s a feature. And because everybody else offers it, it just doesn’t stand out. It doesn’t matter. People don’t stop and go, Ooh, 24 hour claims. That’s great to know. But think back. Do you remember a commercial from, oh man, it’s been years now, maybe five years or something five years ago, where the woman is coming down the stairs, it’s in a dark room and she can hear her husband talking on the phone . he’s sort of like snuck out of the room and he’s saying, oh, yeah, well, okay, how much?
What’s that gonna cost me? What’s that like? And she flips on the light and says, who are you talking to? And he says, it’s Jake from State Farm. And she says, jake from State Farm at 3 in the morning, you know, and who is this? And he says, of course, it’s Jake from State Farm. And she asks what he’s wearing because she thinks it’s a joke and he says he’s wearing khakis. Ha.
So it’s funny, and a little bit of a humorous take on this, but what do you learn from that? If you’re up in the middle of the night because you can’t sleep because you forgot to update your insurance policy, or you are a night owl, or you’re taking long hours because you have too much going on and the only time you could call to get Something fixed is 3 o’ clock in the morning. State Farm is there, they’re able to take that call, they’re able to help you.
And that is a relatable experience that you’re able to take from the why. Why do I care that, that you have 24 hour call center or 24 hour claims department? What does that mean to me? And what’s the why of your customer versus the literal thing of 24 hour claim service? You know, they were able to take and dedicate an entire commercial to this one feature, that they offer as a company. Obviously State Farm has a lot of stuff that they offer, but they were able to really bring this concept to life in a way that people can relate to and understand instead of getting to that literal definition of having 24 hour claim support.
The problem is features and literal translations of what it is that you do or, awards you’ve won. Whatever it is, they rarely break through the clutter and they don’t get remembered when you’re too literal. It’s just noise. So use interesting, catchy wording to break through the clutter and, and help people to remember you and understand the point that you’re trying to make and why it’s important to them.
Wording Mistake #2: Being Too Boring (The Lesson of Cotton Candy Grapes)
Melina Palmer: And that concept actually leads me to the next mistake, which is being too boring. And it’s maybe not fair to say I can’t think of anything more boring than grapes. But I am going to tell you a story about grapes. I’m going to talk to you about the fruit, grapes.
And when you think about them, you likely think that there are green grapes and there are red grapes and there’s wine and maybe your kids drink grape juice or there’s grape soda. But when it comes to, if you’re in the fruit and vegetable section at the store, you are thinking you want red or green, seedless or not, and that’s it. There aren’t other varieties. Grapes are grapes. Who cares which farm they came from? It doesn’t matter.
But what if it did matter? What if similar to different varieties of apples, there were different kinds and flavors of grapes? What if someone, a, farmer somewhere had come up with a, genius new grape that is actually an organic hybrid and it has a really deliciously sweet flavor? How would you message that if you were going to say, if you were this farmer and you had come up with these extra sweet grapes, you might just call them extra sweet grapes or surprisingly sweet grapes or something along those lines, which is different than regular grapes, I suppose.
But it’s still kind of boring. It’s just a thing, you know, sweet grapes. Grapes are sweet. Some are Tart. And you get this issue in the brain where I don’t really know where you’re starting from and you don’t know where I’m starting from. My brain is trying to associate, you know, extra sweet compared to what and does that mean there’s extra sugar? Does that mean they’re extra bad for me to where I might as well just go eat some chocolate and hey, chocolate sounds good. I’m gonna go over there, right?
your brain makes these associations and jumps really quickly where you don’t even realize it, that your subconscious brain is just sort of all over the place. And honestly, in a world where you might say something like extra sweet, your brain might make the association to get extra, gum, the brand of gum or something like that to where it’s already left, this grapes world. And because it’s a, ah, boring name, it’s not going to stand out. You’re not going to talk about it. Even if you bought the extra sweet grapes, even if they’re your favorite, you’re probably not going to go tell everyone that you bought extra sweet grapes.
And you know, you’re not going to call your mom and say, score, I just got extra sweet grapes at the store today. Amazing. Yay. For me. The difference is what if you were walking through the grocery store and you saw a display in the fruit and veggie section that looked like cotton candy? They had big pictures of cones of fluffy cotton candy in front of the grapes into one specific section of grapes. And you, when you pick up the box of that container of grapes and it’s next to plain green grapes, but these green grapes have a pink label on them with picture of cotton candy on it.
And they’re called cotton candy grapes. Well, I’ll tell you what happens, because these have been around, they are a thing. And people are going bananas for cotton candy grapes. That’s what’s going on. If you search cotton candy Grape Watch now there are actual websites dedicated to cotton Candy Grape Watch 2018, people on the search and trying to find where they can get cotton candy grapes because apparently they have hit the shelves early this year and, and people are so excited about them that they’re out almost, you know, six weeks earlier than they usually come out.
And they are selling out like crazy. And in the first year, I did some research on this when, when the farm, the guy who created them, who by the way tested over 100,000 hybrids of grape to be able to come up with this one, and he did them in test tubes and, and they’re actually just different varieties of grapes that come together and tasted sweet and delicious and have, a vanilla sort of a flavor to them. And he thought they tasted like cotton candy, but they’re like a pluot, if you’re familiar, where it’s, plums and apricot mix to make this new fruit.
Essentially, he did the same thing with grapes because he thought that fruit’s already sweet and people should love and want to have fruit that is organic and delicious. And so he was trying to make, a more delicious grape. So in the first year, I think he said it said there were two acres, and then they had to upgrade and do 100 acres. And it’s just been going on and on and on that there’s a lot that goes into growing these grapes, but everyone loves them when they come out.
And it goes crazy for cotton candy grapes. And I can tell you. So in prep for this episode, and, we actually. It was my daughter’s birthday this week, we, went through and did a search and bought some cotton candy grapes, which the weekend before, my husband was excited because we saw them and he wanted to try them. We talked about them, and there was. There were pallets of them at Costco. And then we went. I went back on Thursday, and they. There were none.
None at Costco, none at Fred Meyer, and there were only three left at Trader Joe’s, where there had been a ton before when we went there. So I actually looked at cotton candy grape watch to see where I could find them. And we all tasted them together and were excited to be able to taste and see what we thought. And they really do taste like cotton candy. But the question is, what if we hadn’t all been prompted with that cotton candy imagery and suggestion?
Like I said, what if they had just been called extra sweet grapes? What if they had been called vanilla grapes? Because, like I said, the hint of vanilla is one of the things he said that came up that made him think about that cotton candy flavor, because that’s prominent apparently in cotton candy. Would we all have come to the same conclusion of, yes, they taste like cotton candy, and you’re thinking about cotton candy? If it hadn’t been placed in our minds first, would I have maybe thought, oh, they kind of taste like frosting, or, oh, they taste extra sweet or they taste like vanilla, or they taste like cupcakes or any other sweet item, or would I have just thought they tasted like a grape?
Because it’s a grape, right? And what happens here in this setup is Priming. So we have all been primed with the concept of cotton candy, with the imagery with the pink label with the word cotton candy grape to make us. So we all stand around. You’re going to take a taste. Does it actually taste like cotton candy? And it’s placed the suggestion there that even if we wouldn’t have gotten there, very likely we wouldn’t have all said it tasted like cotton candy.
But now we did, and we think that. And I’m sure we will end up buying them again year after year and get the kids to eat them. And I have heard they taste great frozen, so people want to get them.
Expectations and Dopamine: Why Anticipation Matters
Melina Palmer: The other concept that comes up in this case of something really interesting and not boring wording is the, concept of expectation. In his book Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely has a really great quote on expectations. And this comes after a study where he’s talking about a study they did on coffee. So they had the same coffee in two different setups.
In one, it was just a really bleh blah display where you had, kind of like if you were at a rest stop coffee bar with not a lot of condiments per se, just, you know, your, your plain sugar and your cream and the coffee in dingy sort of cups and stain table and whatnot. And in the other setup, it was up more upscale cups. It was very well cleaned and maintained, and they had extra condiments like cinnamon and nutmeg available to put in the coffee.
Well, I’m sure you could expect that the coffee itself was exactly the same. But, but in the two different tastings, people said that it was much better experience. They would like to have these ones in the cafeteria versus the other. When it had the extra condiments and looked better than when it looked bad, they thought it tasted worse. So the quote is, you know, when we believe beforehand that something will be good, it generally will be good. And when we think it will be bad, it will be bad.
And that is because of this expectation more than the flavor itself . and in the case of something like cotton candy grapes, where you hear so many people talking about how amazing they are or anything, and, there’s this excitement that’s built up around it, and websites dedicated to trying to search and find cotton candy grapes, this expectation, they must be good if everyone is so excited and your brain also builds, this expectation of this grape has to be so sweet, they couldn’t say it tastes like cotton candy if it doesn’t taste like cotton candy.
Right, it must be this super amazing Fantastic experience. You build this expectation and you really can’t imagine that it’s going to be bad because it wouldn’t exist . how would they have broken through the grape commodity clutter if it was just a sweet grape? Somebody had to be have been doing quality control and not allowed them to put that on their label or whatever it happens to be . your brain is making all these associations behind the scenes and creating extra expectations for you, making you that much more excited and thinking it’s going to be good and influencing the likelihood that your perception will be that it actually is good.
The last thing I’m going to say about cotton candy grapes, and I think I could probably do an entire episode dedicated to them, is this concept of anticipation. So we all, you likely know that dopamine is responsible for enjoyment in the brain and it drives a lot of our behavior that if, you know, people tend to say, you know, if you get something you like or something goes, well, you get a rush, a flood of dopamine. But studies have shown actually the anticipation amplification is where the dopamine is released versus getting the treat itself.
There was a study done on a group of monkeys where they had a signal that went off letting them know that it was time to press a bar. And if they pressed the bar 10 times, then they got a treat. And in the first example, the first structure, the first study, they every time they hit it 10 times, they got a treat, guaranteed. And what you would expect, theoretically, is when you receive or taste the treat, is when the dopamine comes.
But actually what the study showed is from the moment the signal went off through all 10 times that they hit the bar was when they had the dopamine release. And the minute they got the treat, it actually shut off. So there was a lot of more the dopamine camera in association with the anticipation, not the reward itself. And secondly, then, so there was an additional piece of the study where there was a 50, 50 chance that they would get a reward.
So one time there was the signal. They push the bar 10 times, they get a treat. The next time there’s a signal, they push the bar 10 times, they get no treat. And so what happened? The dopamine release doubled when there was this extra anticipation of, am I going to get a treat or not? And so building this sort of excitement and anticipation about what it’s going to be like, what am I going to get? How’s that going to be?
That anticipation creates additional dopamine release, which makes you more likely to Enjoy the experience as a whole and, and want more and want to experience this than to have no anticipation and just have a, one for one thing that you get. So cotton candy, grapes, again, are fascinating and a really great example of taking a commoditized thing that could be very boring and just slightly changing the wording and the explanation and the imagery to have a huge impact for this particular grower on something that they could just be like everyone else.
But actually, now people know their name, they’re looking for them specifically. I know there are requests for them to turn it into a wine, which would be very interesting if you’d have to really like a super sweet wine, but sodas and things like that, all sorts of things that they could be doing. And they have now allowed themselves to stand out and in a world of grapes, which is pretty hard to do.
As a side note, before I step into here, the next topic, the next, wording mistake, I just want to note I’ve referenced a few studies and books and things like that, as I will in every episode, and I’m not going to call it out every time. But essentially, if I reference a study, if I talk about something, I will put it in the show notes. I try not to say after everything, and that’s in the show notes, and that’s in the show notes, but assume that it’s there.
If you go to the show notes and are trying to learn a little bit more, if you want to read the study or you want to learn more about what was actually put together, it should be there. If for some reason you were expecting a reference that’s not there, please do email me. Melina, the brainy business dot com, and I would be happy to put some, some things together for you. I try to reference everything that I need, think, needs a reference without being too overwhelming for you. But if you’re missing something that you think should be there, please let me know. All right?
Wording Mistake #3: Too Much Information and Decision Fatigue
Melina Palmer: So, speaking of things that are too overwhelming, the next wording mistake, that businesses make is including too much. Oh, too much. There is too much everywhere. We have all been to that website, seen that ad in a magazine or on tv and thought, nope, I am not reading, listening to, paying attention to that because there is just way too much there in tiny font and big words and yuck.
And that is because our brains get overwhelmed incredibly easily and way quicker than you would think. And honestly, if you tuned out at all through some of this, I would say, listen to this one. This is the most amazing. I Love this study, I think it’s fascinating. But I would also say the top mistakes I have here are not necessarily in order. So it’s not like the first one is the most common or anything like that.
However, I will say this, too much wording is potentially the most common offense . so you should listen, you’ve probably done this and if you have a question of is this too much wording? It probably is. If you think, are there too many words? There probably are. So, okay, I’m going to give you an example here that will show you just how ridiculously influential overwhelmed brain has on our decision making ability.
So there was a study that was done and there were two groups that were in this lab environment and so they had, the first group was asked to remember a two digit number and the second group was asked to remember a seven digit number. Not too much difference in between those things, you would think. But they were asked to remember these numbers and then they had to go through a series of rooms and then when they got to the final room, then they were to recite the number to the person there.
And in a stop along the way they were to choose their snack that they would want to have a snack that they were going to have presumably in the final room. And you wouldn’t think that there was going to be any difference or influence here, but what they found was the people who were remembering the two digit number were more likely to choose the healthy fruit salad as their snack. And the people remembering the seven digit number, only five more digits note, were more likely to choose chocolate cake as their snack.
And what happens there? So when your conscious brain is bogged down with information, you know, too much information for it to be easily remembering, it can’t block and help with, you making good decisions essentially. And so sticking to your diet or things like that, when your brain is overwhelmed or making a decision of any kind, you know, in that case you, your brain is thinking, I have to remember these numbers. Remember, remember, remember. And your subconscious says, chocolate cake. Oh yeah, that looks delicious, I want that.
At least that’s what my brain would say, I’m sure. And so then you think, oh yum, I want chocolate cake. Your conscious brain is too busy remembering these five extra digits to stop you from impulsively ordering chocolate cake instead of fruit salad. And, and then you end up having made this bad decision. And in the context of a business, if your website has too much information, if, when somebody is interested in buying from you and you just sort of word vomit on them, or if you have brochures that are just full of stuff, words and things where there’s just so much and you feel like you have to put everything out there because eventually they’re going to want it and they’ll never pick up something else.
Stop doing that. No, just don’t, don’t do that. Because really all that you need to do and one of the things that I have said for years and years and anyone who’s worked with me one on one already or my old staff would be able to say this very simply, that the thing that I always say, you know, the point of marketing is to get people interested enough to go to your website, pick up the phone or come into. In that, in my case, you know, it could be a branch for a credit union or something like that in my old work.
But the thing that you are trying to get them to do is to take the next action to be interested enough to do something. And if you’re putting everything possible on your brochure, they won’t even care enough to read it to be able to make an action. And that too much. We go, oh, I’ll have to look at this later and have to look at this later or oh, I have to go talk to my husband. I’m going to go think about this tonight, whatever that is.
If you’re getting that response a lot, it’s because you’re giving people way too much information for them to make a decision. Their brain is overwhelmed and they can’t process and make a choice. You need to make it easy for them to understand what’s going on, what they need to do and, and the action that they should be taking. And too much information is a, back button on your computer or you say nope, or you flip the magazine onto the next page because there’s no way you’re going to pay attention.
And think back to that example I gave about Jake from State Farm where again, they took one point, that 24 hour call service, that someone is always here for you and put it into an entire commercial dedicated to that. And I bet somebody said, no, we also need to talk about this and that and the other thing and, and we also have these great high rates and whatever it is, you know, the, the, all these other things they wanted to say.
But it was more effective to just have one message that you’re trying to get across to get someone interested enough to learn more so that this mistake we’ve all made in some fashion, I’m sure of it. But too, too much gets your Brain too overwhelmed. And, you know, the stores are sold out of chocolate cake around you or donuts or whatever happens to be. So you’re just feeding business to those, unhealthy places. Maybe if they had the option of cotton candy grapes, they would have chosen those instead of chocolate cake. That would actually be an interesting study. I might have to. I’ll put that in the to study pile for myself. Into the future.
Wording Mistake #4: Being Too Vague (The Snickers Anchor)
Melina Palmer: Okay, moving on to our next example. The next mistake that the businesses make that I see all the time is being too vague. And the specific example I’m going to give here is based on a study that was done in a grocery store. And if you have ever heard me talk about the one word that made a really big difference in advertising, I’ve talked about this in some of my videos on YouTube and in all sorts of, different live videos on Facebook and things like that.
So here we are. You’re going to get to hear the study itself. And there is of course a link to this one in the show notes. So in this case, it was in a grocery store and they were. It was an advertisement on a end cap display. And half of the group saw one ad and half saw another, and there was only one word difference between the two.
So in one case, the sign said snickers, buy them for your freezer. And the other said Snickers, buy 18 for your freezer. Of which I think everyone can agree that 18 is a ridiculous amount of Snickers to be offering to people. Who is wanting to go and buy 18? It’s. Unless you’re buying for a lacrosse team, most people are not buying 18 at a time, let alone 12 or 10 or whatnot.
So it seems like a really high number. It seems like it’s really arbitrary. And in a world of messaging, you would likely make the argument that them is plural to where them could be anything, them could be 100, somebody could get as many as they want, whereas 18 could be limiting. And people are going to ask how we came up with this number. And it’s arbitrary. And I’m going to have to defend this, that and the other.
And it’s just easier to say them, you know, buy them for your freezer. But what happened in the case of this test was a 38% increase in the sales of Snickers bars when the number 18 was used instead of the word them on the exact same display, on the exact same sign with the same look to it. Just changing the word them for the number 18 was a 38% increase. In sales.
Let that sink in for you. That is huge. And so what happened here is that when you see the word them one, somebody might not have even consciously registered what was on the sign because it’s just another thing and more words. They saw maybe Snickers and then stopped and thought, oh, yeah, I’m gonna get a Snickers or two or three. Maybe if they did see the word them, I’ll get two or three, and they’ll pick them up and then go on their way.
Whereas if somebody was to look and see the number 18, their brain will stop. Because that’s really interesting, you know, going back to the, you know, cotton candy grapes of not being boring. So 18 is a lot. It’s a really big number. And they might think. Think something along the lines of 18, I’m way better than everyone else. I don’t need 18 Snickers bars. I’ll just get six. And if you notice in the them world, you end up with two or three.
And in this case, I’m saying, you know, I’ll just get six, you know, as you round yourself down. So this concept is our brain will latch onto an anchor that it’s provided, even if it’s arbitrary. It’s even if it’s actually associated with something else altogether. Our brains are really funny the way that they kind of tag onto numbers and that that will hold in the space for a while.
So in this case, you go 18 and go down versus in the world of them, you have nothing to move off of. And so you are going to go to last time you bought a Snickers or thinking that you probably shouldn’t eat them and not wanting to have your, you know, significant other give you a hard time about buying more Snickers bars or whatever it happens to be, or knowing that you don’t want to cheat on your diet or whatever it is.
In the case of this wording example, in your business, look for times when you can get to something specific that’s not really tied to something, literal. So we’ll go back to number one. If you have noticed here, a lot of these examples have some crossover, and there are ties between all of this. The thing. One of the things I find so fascinating about the field of behavioral economics is how much nuance there is between all of these concepts.
So you can’t just say, I know about anchoring, and so I don’t need to know anything else. I’m just going to do anchoring. And it will always work. It should, you know, the anchoring is something that our brains do. But what about if you’re doing something wrong in another way? Then it’s, it could be overpowering the benefit you could get from something like that.
And so understanding how these concepts work together is really important as well. If you’re trying to be implementing some of these. Which is why I didn’t just give you the one wording mistake people make, because a lot of these work together to help you to be either effective or a lot less effective if you were doing all of these things incorrectly. So in, as an example, if you were to put in this the number 18, but it was buried in a lot, you know, way too much text, you know, people would never get to it, versus just a sign with very large letters that have this information on it.
Wording Mistake #5: Too Confusing and the Need for Guidance
Melina Palmer: So move on to the last concept here for you of the wording mistakes that businesses make, which is being too confusing, and in this case it’s not. This is where you as a business need to put in the work to understand what your ideal client or avatar, whatever you, whatever term you like to use, your target market, whatever that is, what are you wanting them to do?
And when I work with clients on this, the thing I always say, and when I’m asking here, what you want to ask yourself is if they can only get one thing, there’s only one item that can come out of this piece that I’m putting out there. I only get them to do one thing. What do I want that to be? And not the 25 features I want to list about the product, but what is it that I want them to do and how can I make it easy for them to understand what that is and then take the next step?
I don’t need to get them from A to Z in this one piece. I need to get them to take a step, and then the next piece they get to will get them to take another step, and then the next will get them to take another step until to move them slowly through the process. Because a lot of times people need some guidance. And by a lot of times, I say pretty much always, people need guidance to get to what they’re supposed to do.
And our brains are busy and they’re quick to move on if what is there is confusing. And people aren’t going to be searching for how they can pay you money and buy the thing unless they already really, really, really want it. And oftentimes it’s, you know, they’re doing research on a lot of different competitors and what they might be needing. And if your site’s confusing or your materials are confusing and they don’t know what they should do next, how to contact you and which way is best to get a hold of you, they’re going to move on.
So understanding what they’re supposed to do and then help them through it. And that concept of a drip, I guess, has been really popular now in the world of lead magnets and drip email campaigns. So what do I want you to do in this first email that you get, and then what will you do when I send you the second one? And what will you do in this next event and this next thing that you get?
And just having one task, one goal for everything that you put out there so that it’s not confusing for them and it’s really clear what they’re supposed to be doing. They that is key, paramount, critical to getting people to understand your business and move forward is to not be too confusing.
Final Thoughts: The Importance of Context
Melina Palmer: So what got, your brain buzzing as you learned about wording mistakes today? For me, I was pleasantly surprised at how the content still aligned, with the points I preach with my clients and audiences and listeners. Still to this day, it’s always interesting to go back and refresh something. From this early on in the podcast, you can’t help but ask, do I still agree with this thing? Would I change it? Was I nuts?
First off, I do want to assure you that if that were the case, I wouldn’t blindly refresh it and I’d look at even pulling it from the back catalog. Luckily, I haven’t had to do that yet. But you never know. It’s okay to change minds. Research evolves, things like that. So when I listened back to this one as a reminder, it was episode two on the podcast and came out on launch day with two others, I was looking to see if there was maybe a sixth category I would recommend or if one of these needed to change or they should merge together or go away.
And after that, close listen, I feel good about these top five categories I chose of being too literal, too boring, too much, too vague and too confusing. If, I were going to change anything about this now, pressing myself here, as I said, it wouldn’t be replacing one of the five. Instead it. It would be about reinforcing something that sits underneath them all. Context.
You need to make sure your message doesn’t just say the right thing, but that it lands at the right moment, in the right way for the right person, at the right time. All these things, right? So, because even the best wording isn’t going to work if it doesn’t match how someone is thinking and feeling in that moment. Research shows we humans move through multiple identities throughout the day.
When I’m in mom mode, I’m not going to respond the same as I do when I’m in podcaster mode or keynote speaker mode or powerlifting mode. Understanding the identity and the context and those little behavioral elements that factor into the mindset your ideal customer is in makes all the difference in getting the results you want. As I tell my clients, you need to know who you’re talking to, what you want them to do, what they’re doing now, the smallest move on the path to that ultimate goal, why they aren’t doing it yet, and then determine the behavioral elements in the messaging and execution to make that most likely.
And if you’re realizing there are places where your messaging isn’t working as well as it could, you’re not sure how to apply this in a way that actually drives results. You’d like some help. That is exactly the kind of work that I love to do. Even after a decade of doing this or more, I still love it.
Whether it’s through my speaking or training consulting, I help organizations make their businesses more brain friendly so customers buy and employees buy in. So if you want help thinking through how this applies to your business, whether it’s your messaging, your offers, your pricing, your mindset, or how it all comes together, I’d love to work with you. Even if you’re just on the fence and wondering if it might make sense. Let’s talk.
I’d love to connect with you, learn more about your work, and more. So please do Visit the Brainy Business.com contact to schedule a time to chat. And of course, if something stood out to you from this episode, I always love hearing what resonated. So please come share it with me on social media. You’ll find me as the Brainy Biz pretty much everywhere.
And as Melina Palmer on LinkedIn. There are links in the show notes to make it easy, along with my top related past episodes, books and more. It’s all waiting for you in the app you’re listening to and at, the brainybusiness.com 576. And just like that, episode 576 on the top five wording mistakes businesses make is done . join me next time for another brainy episode of the Brainy Business Podcast. It’s going to be a lot of fun. You don’t want to miss it. Until then, thanks again for listening and learning with me and remember to be thoughtful.
Announcer: Thank you for listening to the Brainy Business podcast. Melina offers virtual strategy sessions, workshops and other services to help businesses be more brain friendly. For more free resources, visit thebrainybusiness.com.
