Playing to the Magnetic Middle
People are conformists. They do what they think other people are doing. This is the basis of social norms theory and plenty of effective marketing.
What does this mean to you if you’re marketing greener behavior?
Don’t tell people to save the planet. Show them what their neighbors are doing if you want them to think about their behavior.
There’s a great analysis of a study that did just this at NeuroMarketing blog.
The study found if people think their neighbors are using less electricity, they lower their usage. If they think they are using more, they may increase their usage.
One of the smartest minds on marketing in the world and an expert on social norms theory, Robert Cialdini, calls this phenomenon the magic middle in his new book Yes.
If you’re marketing greener behavior, keep this in mind.
If you’re marketing anything, keep this in mind. The magnetic middle works for raising money, too.
Just wanted to say that I’ve seen this play out in all kinds of ways through my life. In particular, Grand Junction Design has been trying to lead by example in the “being green” department—it happened kind of by default, because since we’re not an environmental organization, it would seem a little random to start preaching our values to people. But we do talk about our values on our Web site, and we occasionally post news when we make new sustainable choices. I’ve found that it is really well received—probably about half of our clients have voluntarily mentioned it to me as being important in their decision to work with us, and have said that they share the same priority. So it’s a double win—not only are people encouraged to be mindful of their own habits, but we’re getting good business from it too.