Last night, I meandered around the supermarket on autopilot, mindlessly picking the items I needed (and, if I’m being honest, some that I didn’t). I didn’t stop to have even the most fleeting thought about why I buy this jam, but not that jam.
On the return journey home – one which I’ve driven time and time again over the last 12 years since I moved to this area – I listened to a podcast. I arrived home able to recount the podcast that I’d listened to, but not really able to recall any other part of the journey that I’d just made.
Does this sound familiar?
This mindless, automatic approach to decisions and actions isn’t unusual. In fact, it’s human nature.
The power of the subconscious mind
Our subconscious mind offers us decisions and behaviours instinctively. It’s fast and automatic, operating on intuition. Our conscious mind, on the other hand, takes time to weigh things up and is slow, involving significant effort.
Think about a decision you need a client to make, and ask yourself what things will influence their choice.
Did you think of facts and evidence?
Or something else?
Most people, when asked this question, will think of the facts and evidence to consider.
Most decisions are made subconsciously first
The truth is that we overestimate the control our conscious mind has over us. The vast majority of the time (90-95%), our subconscious mind will reach an instinctive decision, and then our conscious mind will post-rationalise why we reached that decision.
What does this mean for veterinary businesses?
Clients make decisions in their subconscious, and then post-rationalise their thoughts afterwards. This means that when clinic teams are seeking to guide clients’ decisions, they need to be equipped with the tools to communicate with clients in a way that works with (and not against) their subconscious.
That means understanding what the key drivers of subconscious decision-making are, and knowing how to tap into them.
The key drivers of the subconscious are:
- Emotions
- Mental shortcuts (heuristics)
- Cognitive biases
- Habits
By equipping teams to speak not just in facts and evidence, but also to tap into the feeling that their communications make, we are able to create better clinical outcomes, happier teams, and better business results.
IF you would like to find out how we can help equip your team with the power of behavioural science, visit our Workshops page.