The Fogg Behavior Model was formulated by Dr. BJ Fogg from Stanford University, who suggests, for a particular behaviour to take place three variables need to be present- motivation, ability, and a suitable prompt. If the desired behaviour does not take place, then it could be because motivation or ability is low or a prompt or trigger to act is not present. People need to be motivated themselves to perform a certain behaviour, this cannot be decided for them, but language and the placement of it at varying points of the shopping journey can be used to increase motivation levels and therefore desire to change. There is a trade- off between motivation and ability shown by the action line. The more motivated someone is to perform a certain behaviour, the less able they need to be able to carry it out.

Social proof can drive motivation. Reviews are heavily relied upon; research has shown that around 85% of people now trust reviews as much as opinions of family and friends. With one of our clients who is still growing in popularity, we used Trustpilot and Google reviews to instil confidence with the consumer that it is a trusted and reliable brand to purchase from. This was one of the primary aims set out before the design of the intelligent guided selling journey and helped them achieve greater online conversion rates.

Call to actions are needed for someone to change their behaviour. Placement of language descriptions such as ‘selling fast’ and ‘best seller’ across ecommerce sites encourage the consumer to purchase since a sense of urgency is created. Through this the item is portrayed as popular and that many other people are buying the item. Humans on a social level generally have a desire to fit in and are afraid of rejection or being different. However, it is important these product descriptions are presented to the consumer at the right time during the shopping journey and that they are used ethically- it would not be appropriate nor a Conversity best practice to describe a product as a ‘best seller’ on a product that was performing poorly.

Understanding the customer, their needs, how they shop and how they go about finding what they need is fundamental when considering the design of an intelligent guided selling journey. From here we can formulate different mindset categories that we believe most people would fall into. Mindsets are based on motivation and readily remind users at the start of the journey the reason they are shopping for a particular product in the first place.

Often the ability of the consumer is assumed and overlooked. An individual must have the ability to carry out the behaviour otherwise it will not take place. According to the Fogg Behavior Model there are three ways to increase ability: provide them with a tool which they can use to perform the behaviour, scale back the behaviour making it easier or train the person to carry out the task. Within our guided selling journeys, we frequently provide education through small pieces of information that can be accessed by the user, as and when they need them. This information is more likely to be taken on by the user since they have actively engaged by opening the modal containing the information. This leaves the customer with the knowhow and confidence on how to adopt the desired behaviour, increasing ability.

With one of our veterinary pharmaceutical customers, we designed a journey to guide people to adopt a regular preventative treatment for their pet and, in turn, purchase a particular product from their website. An initial question is asked to understand the mindset of the consumer, understanding how the intelligent guided selling journey could help them and what they are looking to achieve. By providing information to the user regarding the possible negative economic, health and personal consequences, motivation, driven by fear would hopefully drive users to adopt a desirable behaviour. The preventative treatment recommendation followed by dosage information is the last prompt at the end of the journey that gives the user the reason to convert.

In summary understanding the key motivations behind different purchasing behaviour is important, knowing the motivators means there can be careful consideration of language and placement of nudges throughout the journeys. Acknowledging the potential barriers that may prevent someone from converting at checkout allows us room to try and attempt to overcome any of these issues. Using the psychology behind decision making does not just enable a good customer experience and help the customer choose, but also unlocks the ability to drive business outcomes.

Conversity uses the principles that underlie the Fogg Behavior Model to ensure that we are designing online customer journeys that maximise conversion rates. Our team of customer experience experts ensure that our customers are provided with consumer psychology best practices that enable consumers to optimize their online experience while providing truly authentic recommendations that meet their needs and expectations. And what’s not to like about that?