Human beings are, generally speaking, creatures of habit. Routines and familiarity are comforting - they help people manage the hectic pace of today’s lifestyle. Habits can be beneficial even to marketers, who use habit to help predict where and how to reach people with their messages.

But sometimes habit begets complacency. Sticking to a routine often precludes trying new things, so consumers are less likely to diverge from the tried and true. Complacency is one of marketing’s biggest obstacles, particularly for a challenger brand. Is it reasonable to expect a consumer to try a new product or service when it involves changing daily routine? A brand’s promise is put to the test when it asks people to reset their habits. In consumers’ minds, change puts a drag on their day. Some changes are low-drag, and some are high-drag.

Trying a new brand of coffee is low-drag since the change is not onerous - it involves a decision at the grocery isle to simply put a different bag into the cart (the amount of choice in this regard is a whole different issue for another post). After that, it’s a question of whether the new brand delivers enough benefit to keep putting it in the cart.

Changing banks, on the other hand, is high-drag. It asks the consumer to spend a considerable amount of time and energy disentangling themselves from their current bank to invest their money with another, re-route auto-deposits and auto-debits, find the new branches/ATMs, learn a new online banking interface, interpret new statements and more. Even if one is unhappy with their existing bank, the thought of switching to a new one is unappealing. The promise from a bank brand needs to be very compelling to engender this change in habit.

Perhaps one of our most ingrained habits is using cars to get around - commuting to work, visiting friends, shopping. Commuting, in particular, is a routine that is painful for many, so people find what works and set the auto-pilot to make travel as hassle-free as possible. Changing this type of routine is tough, so we were intrigued by last week’s news coverage of a program sponsored by car rental company ZipCar. Named “The Low Car Diet,” the program will follow 30 daily commuters (in Boston as well as other cities) who have agreed to give up their cars for 30 days in order to try a combination of mass transit and ZipCar to get them around. It’s an interesting approach in that it offers up some “guinea pigs” that consumers can follow throughout the month to see how the change in habit impacts their lifestyles. Telling actual stories by way of example is an excellent way to convey benefits - hopefully media coverage will allow this type of follow through. We’ll be keeping an eye on it to see if the platform offers up a convincing argument for what many would perceive as a high-drag change in routine.

Read the Herald’s coverage of ZipCar’s Low Car Diet program here.

Posted by Steve Angel | Share: Twitter, Facebook, Del.icio.us, LinkedIn

Tagged: branding, grassroots, Public Relations, ZipCar