What we do

Behavioural Audit

A rapid overview of any given customer journey to identify weaknesses and opportunities from a behavioural perspective. 

1. Are the consumers likely to understand the best way forward? 
2. Are we missing ques where they could be nudged towards desired outcomes? 
3. Does the web content, in app messages, contact centre scripts create a coherent and consistent story?

The audit includes a short report outlining practical solutions for increasing user engagement. 

Consultancy

Our team of behavioural experts (behavioural scientists and economists) collaborate with client teams to design and deliver behaviourally informed services and communications plans.

Communications strategy and content

Since 2017, we have created thousands of emails, text messages, contact centre scripts, letters, in-app messages, infographics, web portals syntax and even envelope designs. We usually collaborate with the product, compliance and legal teams to get these comms signed off. 

On top of that, we love to get involved in the top level comms strategy, which will include channel selection, frequency and criteria design. 

Together, we’ve nudged millions of customers to do a variety of things, from signing up to debt treatment plans, budgeting, accepting credit limit increases, applying for balance transfers, using direct debits or simply paying on time. In the process, we’ve saved consumers a lot of headache and the clients well over 100 million euros. 

Behaviour By Design (Behavioural Works x Studio Certain)

We collaborate with Studio Certain, an award winning design firm based in London. Together, we blend eye catching design and behavioural strategies to motivate consumers to take positive steps on the consumer journey. For example, for one client, simply by re-imagining an application form, direct mail pack, emails and scripts, we were able to increase sign up rates by over 3%, which netted an additional £7.5m per year in profits. 

We call this collaboration ‘Behaviour by Design’. 

You can see some of Studio Certain’s work here https://www.studiocertain.com/

Consumer duty / Code of Conduct audits

The FCA brought consumer duty into effect in July 2023. The basic premise is that firms now have an increased duty of care for their customers. Ireland’s financial services regulator (The CBI) has a similar initiative with the Consumer Protection Code. 

Although the changes mandated in the new approach are wide ranging, the relevant part from our point of view is that firms are obliged to make sure that consumers must only receive “communications you can understand”, and “timely and clear information you can understand”. The onus is now on firms to make sure that the consumer can and will understand the pros and cons of any agreement they enter into. 

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/consumer-duty-higher-standards-financial-services

Many firms are still sending messages to consumers or providing information on websites in  a format and language that a non-professional could not be expected to understand. This puts the firm at a clear risk if disputes arise. In a typical audit, we will analyse the entirety of the documentation and web content that the average consumer will come into contact with, and grade this information for comprehension. Frequently we find technical or legalistic jargon that serves only to obfuscate meaning, thereby creating a potential liability for the firm. 

The basic question any firm should ask themselves is this: would it have been possible to explain this service in a simpler way so that the average person would be more likely to understand it?  If the answer is yes, but you didn’t do it, there is a liability. 

Workshops

Many of our clients use our workshops as a starting point for improving customer engagement using behavioural economics as the primary driving force. The first half of the workshop is spent learning the core principles of nudge theory. The second part is spent on working through your particular consumer challenge. 

In many cases, the client will already have an attractive proposition for the consumer. The issue is usually a lack lustre take up rates. For example, one of our clients had created a digital solution for their customers to renew their insurance. But the take up rate was disappointing. The solution lay not in changing the digital solution, but in changing how we talked or prompted the digital solution as opposed to calling the contact centre. When we change how we talk about a solution (rather than changing the solution), we change the context in which the consumer decides whether to engage or not. 

Lectures / keynote speeches

Our founder (Mark Molloy) is available for lectures on how behavioural economics can be used in the real world to stimulate real people into action. Mark has delivered lectures and keynote speeches on the subject of behavioural economics in communications in sectors, from banking, insurance, water, electricity, mutual (non-profit), optical industry to the tech sector.