Choice architecture: Guiding consumers towards decision success

Marketing operates in a landscape that is ever-evolving. Social algorithms are changing before we can keep up, audiences are increasingly expecting personalised experiences, artificial intelligence (AI) usage is on the rise and influencer marketing is evolving beyond brand communication and celebrity endorsements. As such, success hinges not only on the quality of products or services but also on understanding and influencing consumer behaviour to take a desired action.

An average adults makes about 35,000 conscious decisions each day. Between what to eat, where to shop, what to wear and where to vacation, how do you ensure your brand, product or service is considered by your audience in the diverse realm of the choices they have to make daily? The art lies in presenting choices to your audience in a way that will impact their decision-making process otherwise known as choice architecture.

This behavioral principle is an effective tool as it allows one to structure the environment to subtly nudge your audience towards a desired outcome while allowing them to maintain their freedom of choice.

Good choice architecture considers how our minds work. Consumers don't always make rational decisions; instead, they are subject to cognitive biases, heuristics, and emotional influences. Because of the various choices we have to make daily, we don’t have the energy to make calculated calculations over every decision we make, hence we rely on our subconscious mind to make most decisions, often leading to biased and imperfect decisions.

Presenting a default option is one way to ensure that your audience is choosing the outcome you prefer without imposing overt restrictions. Research shows people are more likely to stick with the default option due to inertia and the desire to avoid change, even if other choices might be objectively better. By strategically setting a default option, you make it easier for your audience to pick you.

We see this play out in restaurants that set their tables with wine glasses and provide a wine list to select from, making wine the default beverage of choice. The decision then becomes white wine or red wine, not beer or a martini. Similarly, framing effects demonstrate how the presentation of choices can dramatically alter perceptions.

One can employ different approaches to framing such as Positive Framing vs. Negative Framing e.g. stay active for a healthier lifestyle (positive framing) or avoid a sedentary lifestyle for better health (negative framing). Loss vs. Gain Framing e.g. Protect yourself from illness" (gain framing) or "Don't risk getting sick" (loss framing) among others.

Leveraging on salience is also another method to capture the audience’s attention. Using bright colors, novel sounds, and graphical elements to highlight certain choices will help draw attention and make the choice stand out. Additionally, personalisation helps cut through the clutter with information that is more relevant to the audience. People are more likely to recycle a brightly coloured coffee cup with their name on it because it is unique and authentic to them.

It is also important to ensure you provide the right amount of information. Too many choices decrease our ability to make a decision due to choice overload while too few choices means people are not confident or informed enough to make a decision. There is no hard rules as to how many choices you should provide but it is necessary to ensure you are providing clear and relevant information that adds value to the decision-making process.

The author is a Group Account Director at Ogilvy Africa.