Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias, is a cognitive bias, that means that when a person holds an unambiguous believe about something, they will only retain information that confirms that belief. For example, if you believe that your local ice cream shop is the best value in your area, you are only likely to “see”, believe, and remember things you see that confirm that, such as a sign that says “We have the best value ice cream”, whilst having a blind spot for anything that may contradict this bias, such as another store reducing some of their prices to be lower than your local stores. This example is a bit on the nose, I know, but you get the idea.

So, how do we apply this to your marketing strategy? Well first, you need to understand your target audience. What do they believe? What is important to them? And most importantly, what is their first impression of your business? Conformation bias strongly relates to first impressions. Whatever your impression of the business is, it is likely that this will be a sustaining belief, and one that will inform your confirmation bias. 

Next, upon knowing what your consumers' main beliefs about your business are, you will be able to create content, and advertising that “confirms” this. By creating content that contains any positive beliefs that customers may have about you, they are likely to reinforce this belief, as the consumer is looking for content that confirms this belief! Really, the customer is doing all the hard work in cultivating a positive image for your business. 

There are a couple of other interesting ways that confirmation bias can be used in marketing. First, is stereotypes. If you work in an industry with positive stereotypes surrounding this (like an Italian run eatery, German engineering, or English tea makers), then it would be beneficial to your company to lean into the stereotype, and create content that confirms this, as this is a belief that many consumers are likely to hold. This will help you to seem more skilled, or trustworthy, and give you a competitive advantage.

The other big use of confirmation bias in marketing is using comments, reviews, or other testimonials. By posting or highlighting these, you will be able to demonstrate that you are a trustworthy business, through positive messages from real customers. However, you may find that these comments are confirming positive beliefs that consumers hold about your brand, but as they are from a source outside of the business, they are reliable and their confirmation power is strengthened.

This was a quick introduction to confirmation bias in marketing. This is a wide and varied topic, and there is no one way to persuade customers, however, the key is understanding your customers. From there, you will know, what biases you can take advantage of, to improve your marketing plan.

-- From Marketing to Mind --