3 Minutes 
In the world of marketing, when companies introduce new products, change features, or update packaging of existing brands, we often seek to understand what motivates people to change their habits and behaviors. Brand managers, for example, might want to introduce more environmentally friendly packaging or encourage a new daily routine such as washing clothes in cold water or the application of sunscreen. These changes require modification of customer behavior to succeed. Theories of behavior change are helpful to insights professionals dedicated to understanding motivation and how to change consumer behavior.
To illustrate the usefulness of a motivation-based research framework, let’s use a hypothetical brand wanting to encourage the daily use of sunscreen.
1. Personal Motivation and Ability:
Learning about personal motivation is fundamental to understanding potential behavior change. Qualitative research can help identify what might drive people to change. To inspire individuals to adopt new habits, we must first discover what motivates them on a personal level. Qualitative researchers can explore people’s long-term goals.
- For example, when encouraging the use of daily sunscreen, we want to learn the dominant goals: Is it the desire for healthy, youthful skin? Or the fear of skin cancer?
- For a behavioral change to last, people need not only motivation, but also the ability to make the change. Are there barriers to applying sunscreen daily? Perhaps there are financial or time constraints. Understanding and addressing the barriers to behavior change can be critical in designing effective products or packaging changes and marketing communications.
2. Social Motivation and Ability:
Social influences matter in motivating behavior change. People are often driven by their peers, friends, and social media influencers. Qualitative research can help uncover how the social situation or peers affect behavior. For our sunscreen example:
- Social norms: What do peers and influencers advocate regarding sunscreen use? Understanding the prevailing norms can guide messaging and campaigns.
- Social support: Are there support systems in place to encourage or discourage the desired behavior? Identifying sources of encouragement or resistance within an individual’s social network can lead to valuable insights.
3. Structural Motivation and Ability:
Structural factors, such as the physical environment and product accessibility, can significantly affect behaviors. Effective research into potential sunscreen use could reveal:
- Daily routines: Where and when do individuals consider applying sunscreen? This may vary by age, gender, or work environment. Exploring multiple demographic segments may be key. Knowing routines can help in product placement, advertising and communication, and packaging strategies.
- Storage solutions: How can products be stored conveniently for easy access? Identifying optimal storage strategies can eliminate barriers to use.
- Reminders and prompts: Do individuals rely on reminders to prompt the desired behavior? Understanding how, when, and where reminders are effective can inform marketing strategies.
Motivation-based research offers a holistic approach to understanding consumer behavior change. By examining personal, social, and structural factors, researchers can provide brands with valuable insights for designing effective communication, product, and packaging strategies. Whether it is encouraging sunscreen use or another kind of behavior change, this model can help uncover what might guide consumers toward lasting change. In a world where successful products and brands rely on fostering behavior change, motivation-based research can be a critical tool in the marketer’s toolkit. To learn more about this framework, explore the book “Influencer: The Power to Change Anything,” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillian, David Maxfield and Al Switzler.
