One of the books I think about the most when making marketing decisions is not actually a marketing or business book at all.
“Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman, came out in 2011. I bought it then, read all 500 pages in a few days, then told everyone I knew to read it immediately. I probably use concepts from it almost every week.
The main ideas, backed by groundbreaking, Nobel-winning research, boil down to the fact that our brains are wired to avoid thinking as much as possible. We make fast, nearly automatic judgments all day long, which are usually good enough, but sometimes lead us astray.
Here’s maybe the most famous example.
A bat and a ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
Most people’s brains immediately say 10 cents. It jumps in our heads with almost zero thought. But the right answer is that a 5 cent ball + $1.05 bat = $1.10.
Our brains use shortcuts like this without us even realizing it. When we’re forced to think harder, we have an often-imperceptible negative reaction. We are biologically designed to save effort, so we prefer things that are easy.
For instance, we are less likely to believe text that is hard to read, and more likely to trust the same message in clear, high-contrast type - something I think about constantly when designing websites.
The critical point is that, just like the bat and ball response, most people don’t even know their brains are on autopilot. If you ask someone why they didn’t buy something, they might not even be conscious of what deterred them, whether a slow website, a clunky online form, or a confusing product page.
The takeaway is to make life as easy for customers as possible. Any bit of friction should be avoided, no matter how seemingly trivial.
Don’t give people a reason to think twice - or even once.
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