The Powerful Influence Superstition Plays in Customer Decision Making

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Most of us have superstitions that we equate to common sense despite all the evidence to the contrary.? For example, some airlines don't have a row 13 because people don't fancy sitting in it—including me if I’m honest. So, I thought we could discuss how these superstitions influence our decisions as customers today.?

I have a couple more of these superstitions (that I am willing to share). First, I always wear red underwear when I speak at a conference. It may be too much detail for you, but I do.? Then, I go through a series of exercises that I learned activate your mind, including rubbing my tummy and patting my head simultaneously. I have to go to the restroom and lock myself in a cubicle and do these because I look bloody stupid.

I know I am not the only one that does things like this. Some sports fans have lucky socks they wear when they watch the team. Some people won’t walk under a ladder. Others always throw the salt over their shoulder in the kitchen for good luck.?

We Like To Pretend We Have Control More Than We Do

Customers have superstitions, too. I have seen it. Once, we were with a client selling large construction equipment in Asia. A group of customers came to look at one of the machines, picking the one they wanted delivered. They walked up, opened the hood, paused, closed the lid, and moved on to the next machine.?

Puzzled, I asked my client why they moved on to the next machine. She said the customers were looking at the serial number for lucky numbers, and that model didn’t have enough.?

People have superstitions to exert control over environments they have little control over. So, in my example of construction equipment purchases in Asia, if you invest in an expensive piece of equipment, you want to ensure it is the best. If the equipment doesn’t work well, it can be very detrimental to your business. So, you wish you could control that because you can't know which construction gear will not be good until you've used it for a while, and often, then it’s too late.

So, picking the one with more lucky numbers in the serial number is a way to exert control over that scenario, making the customers feel better, even if it isn’t rational.

We Also Really Like Patterns

Humans are pattern-matching machines. We do that very well, and we often do it subconsciously. Our memories frequently form when two ideas appear together consistently. Our unconscious mind knits them together into a memory. Superstition works the same way but a bit more deliberately or consciously.

However, some superstitions are passed through the culture. For example, few people have had anything bad happen associated with the number 13, particularly on a plane. But we have learned it’s unlucky vicariously, so we avoid it. It affects our behavior.

They believe you can’t leave the house right after sneezing in India. It’s bad luck. In the US, and UK, people say “Bless You” after a sneeze because they were worried that you sneezed out your soul. After a sneeze, you were particularly vulnerable before it could get back in.

Other superstitions are just fun. For example, I was in a Spanish pub watching England in a football match, and this bloke ordered fries. When they were delivered, England scored. Another bloke ordered fries, and again, when they were delivered, England scored. So, we started ordering fries to get England to score and adding stipulations on how it works, like when you order them and from what part of the pub. Then, we were all catching on and participating. It was fun, if a bit silly.?

Remember Mental Models?

In an earlier edition of the newsletter, we discussed mental models: how we construct an understanding of how the world works or how we anticipate how people will react. We simulate that in our mind.?

Superstitions are a form of mental models. We developed this mental model that ordering French fries in a Spanish pub would have some causal force on England's ability to score a goal. We knew that was not true on a certain level, but that didn’t matter.?

In many cases, our superstitious actions are harmless or low cost. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t work.?

Let’s suppose one of us at the table decided cutting off a finger would allow England to score. Nobody would have acted on that, or at least I hope not, and England would have been shut out by their opponents.

Businesses Can be Superstitious, Too

We have focused on the customer, but businesses are not immune to this irrationality. Rather than throwing salt over their shoulder or knocking on wood for luck, organizations do other things without rational reason.

For example, I was working with an advertising agency about some ads we were running. They wanted to add a message right at the end of it but insisted it only be six words long. I asked if they had research that demonstrated six words were the most effective for listener retention, and they looked at me like I was crazy. They wanted six words because that’s how they always did it, and when they did, the ads succeeded.?

There was no research or anything to verify that it was the six words at the end, but six words was a rule to live by.?

There are a lot of rules of thumb like that, which I view as a version of a superstition. For example, you might have heard something like, “We need to send out X number of emails per quarter, or this won't happen,” or “We always need to start our sales on a Tuesday.”

The phrase, “That’s how we do it around here,” smacks of a form of superstition, too. Often, no evidence supports that these are the right things to do. However, when you suggest doing something different, people look like they might be offending the gods if they change that organizational practice.?

Sometimes, biases are people’s manifested superstitions. We feel like there are mandatory patterns, making certain outcomes more likely than others. But there are not. So, these biases are a form of superstition.

For example, the Sunk Cost Bias is that if you change what you have been doing for a while but isn’t working, changing will mean that all those resources will be wasted. However, those resources are already wasted whether you change your strategy or not.?

The same goes for the Gambler’s Fallacy, which is the belief that a win is due after losing so many times. However, if it was a dice game, no one told the dice what they rolled, and they have no self-awareness. The dice have no concept of what is or is not due. They roll what they roll.

Therefore, the only control a gambler has in that situation is to quit while they are ahead, or at least before they are even more behind.

So, What Should You Do With This??

?I can see two ways considering superstition could be valuable to a company or someone who cares about Customer Experience. First, recognize customers might have superstitions and acknowledge that some irrational things make them uncomfortable. So, skip having anything with a 13. If that makes some people feel better, there is no harm in being sensitive to that.?

Remember, if people have superstitions, educating them about how irrational they are is not your job.? Accommodating irrationality is a giant part of the Customer Experience.?

Occasionally, you can help people express their superstitious beliefs. Maybe there are certain things you could offer to become a part of somebody's traditional ritual or superstition by assisting them to feel like they’ve got more control over their lives and feel better about themselves.

Also, identify the superstitions you have as a company. Pull those out into the light and examine them. Some things you may have been doing for good luck might be worth continuing. However, some might not be and are a wasted effort that could be spent doing something better for the outcome.?

Superstitions are the human mind’s attempt to find patterns or exert control over situations where we feel like we have none. Superstitions aren’t rational, but, then again, neither are humans.?

So, if you can recognize and accommodate that, then why not do it? Everyone will breathe easier knowing that luck was on their side and they did what they could to have the best possible outcome.?

Colin has spoken at hundreds of conferences, including some of the world's largest brands. Talk to Colin about how he can speak ‘in person’ or ‘virtually’ at your conference. Click here.