Small Behavioral Tweaks Drive Massive Marketing ROI
“The culmination of enough small changes on their own can be transformational.” What strikes me about Will Guidara ’s words are how they apply both to hospitality and marketing. When you add behavioral science to your marketing creative, the incremental increases really add up to impact your ROI. In fact, at #fbforum , Will spoke about several behavioral science tactics without explicitly naming them: -Reciprocity ( Chewy ’s bereavement bouquets) -Von Restorff Effect ( Five Guys Enterprises ’ peanuts) -Surprise (serving a hot dog to guests who’d wanted to experience a NYC weiner) -Peak End Rule (leaving a bottle of cognac with the check) Will observes that “excellence is table stakes.” Similarly, so are marketing best practices. What will elevate yours is blending them with behavioral science. During my The Financial Brand Forum presentation, I shared 2 campaigns from my agency. One generated $6.7 million in incremental sales. The other generated $68 million in incremental sales. Both tapped marketing best practices plus behavioral science. Curious what adding these powerful tactics can do for your bottomline? Let’s talk.
75 Words Max: Boost Email CTR by 37%
75. 75 words or fewer. Because if it looks too long, people won’t read it. Brain scientists call this the duration heuristic. People prefer things that are easy to skim and scan. So it’s no wonder that Jay Schwedelson and...
Behavioral Science Unlocks Proven Ways to Motivate Action
Psyched to do a book signing at SXSW today. 4:45 at the SX Bookstore at the Hilton (6th floor). Using Behavioral Science in Marketing reveals surprising, proven ways to motivate action. At an earlier SX signing, I had a brush...
Cumulative Ratings Buffer Negatives, Incremental Highlight Them
The same ratings look better or worse, depending on the format they are presented in. Researchers find: “Cumulative formats tend to buffer negative feedback, making poor scores appear less severe. This can help reduce customer churn and maintain trust in...
Use Hours Not Days to Boost Email Opens
“Hours” works better than “days” in email. Why? Present Focus Bias. Humans are hardwired to want instant gratification. We don’t like to wait. According to Jay Schwedelson of SubjectLine.com , you can increase your open rate by 24% by using...
Frame Price as Cost per Wear to Boost Sales
Selling a high priced article of clothing? Increase purchases by framing the price in terms of “cost per wear.” New (2025) research shows this tactic works, but you need to do the math for people because they may not get...
One Simple Tactic to Boost Engagement From 25 Strategies
288 pages. 17 chapters. 25+ proven tactics. 1 easy way to increase engagement and response.
Too Many Options Paralyze Buyers—Present Choices Strategically
Choices are good. Customers love having a choice. Until they don’t… Behavioral scientists know that people crave autonomy. We don’t like to feel forced or pushed. We like to call the shots. So, for example, giving someone 2 choices vs....
Free Beats Discount: The Irresistible Power of Zero Cost
A $10 item for $5? A $5 item for free? Both save you $5. But more people are motivated by the second option. Free can be magical. There is no risk. And free, as Dan Ariely points out, creates an...
Create Buy-In Conditions, Not Just Sales Pitches
Stop selling and start creating the conditions for buy-in. That’s the advice of Howie Chan , who recently hosted me on his Influence Anyone podcast. It sounds like a smart strategy. But exactly how do you make it happen? Howie...
Use Behavioral Science to Instantly Boost Marketing Engagement
Have you heard of behavioral science? But you’re not sure how best to apply it to your marketing? Here’s what you need to know to start automatically increasing engagement and response.
Limited Choices Boost Response; Three Is the Sweet Spot
The most overlooked way to increase response? Give someone a choice. When you have a choice, you’re in control. And all humans crave control. We want to feel some agency. We don’t like to feel forced… Or backed into a...
Authentic Storytelling Beats AI for Customer Advocacy
I nearly barfed on the boat. Why did I tell American Marketing Association CEO Bennie F. Johnson this on his podcast?! To illustrate a point about storytelling. And emotion. And the type of authenticity AI cannot conjure. (Also the type...
Formatting Numbers for Fluency Boosts Recall
Does something look off about this phone number? Or does something seem really right? Usually we see the last 7 digits break into a group of 3, followed by a group of 4. But here, they break into a group...
Framing Your Words Determines Whether Customers Buy
Sometimes it’s not what you say, but how you say it. Or, as a brain scientist would would say, how you frame it. The words you choose can make the difference between someone liking your product or not. Someone agreeing...