165. The Era of Applied Behavioral Economics, with Matej Sucha

The Brainy Business | Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy | Behavioral Economics

Today I am very excited to have Matej Sucha with me on the show to talk about the importance of applied behavioral economics and the work he has done to help shape the field. As you will hear in our conversation today, there are two fairly distinct camps in the behavioral sciences: the academic research and the applied. While many of us work together, there are different goals for each and there can be disagreement from time to time.

In general, I think most of us see the need for both sides and how they are necessary to help move the entire field forward. Matej is like me, an advocate for behavioral economics being used and shared in business as much as possible, which is why he recently founded and became the Editor in Chief of insideBE.com, which you will hear about on the show, in addition to his work as a managing partner at MINDWORX.

Show Notes:

• [00:06] In today’s episode I’m excited to introduce you to Matej Sucha, managing partner of MINDWORX and founder of insideBE.
• [02:56] Matej shares about himself, his work, and how he got into behavioral economics.
• [04:01] This year they launched insideBE which is an app dedicated to behavioral economics in business.
• [05:53] Behavioral economics doesn’t have the place it deserves in business. It is still in the phase of early adoption. It is not at the center of attention for businesses.
• [07:03] We have to put more emphasis on business applications.
• [08:43] People want to see more practical business applications.
• [10:27] Matej’s consultancy mainly focuses on the applications of consumer behavior.
• [11:16] They developed their own approach for a behavioral audit in order to know when we should create an intervention and move people in the direction we want them to move.
• [11:57] Matej shares one project he was fascinated by.
• [14:44] When they included social proof the probability that the person would send their CV went up by 130%.
• [15:14] Findings from research can inspire business solutions that are proven to work.
• [15:47] Matej shares about an insurance project he worked on that was offering their customers travel insurance one year for free.
• [16:56] One of the biggest mistakes that marketers make is that they only focus on how they can motivate their customers.
• [19:01] They increase the conversions by understanding and removing the psychological behaviors that stood in the way.
• [21:02] The problem is twofold. Companies, salespeople, marketers, and product designers don’t even think about understanding the problem and jump to creating the solutions. The second part is that they don’t know how to understand the customer and the problem.
• [22:29] One tiny insight can help you create amazing solutions.
• [24:34] It is about asking the right questions. Why aren’t customers doing what you want them to do?
• [26:08] Often the solution can be really simple.
• [29:08] Timing is more important than the message itself. Timing doesn’t require a deep knowledge of behavioral science.
• [30:27] When you’re a business person there is no better place to start than to learn from the amazing work of the greatest minds in the field.
• [32:01] There are a lot of great resources available.
• [34:16] The purpose of the content they are creating at insideBE is to first and foremost teach people how they can try themselves. The best way to get potential clients excited is to teach them as much as possible.
• [37:10] “The next big thing in marketing is not technology. It is psychology.” -Rory Sutherland
• [37:50] If companies want to gain a competitive edge, it is psychology they should focus on.
• [39:59] Melina shares her closing thoughts.
• [41:40] The Brainy Business was nominated for the best market research podcast of 2021. Vote for The Brainy Business here by August 31!

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I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation.

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More from The Brainy Business:

• 🎉🎉🎉 Buy Melina’s award-winning book, What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia 🎉🎉🎉

Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode:

• Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
• Ripple: The big effects of small behaviour changes in business by Jez Groom
• Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life by Rory Sutherland
• Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• FRICTION―The Untapped Force That Can Be Your Most Powerful Advantage by Roger Dooley

Connect with Matej:

• Matej on LinkedIn
• Matej on Twitter
• insideBE.com on LinkedIn
• insideBe.com on Twitter
• MINDWORX Website
• MINDWORX on LinkedIn
• MINDWORX on Twitter

Past Episodes & Other Important Links:

• The Annual Market Research Podcast Award
• Case Study: How Redesigning a Job Ad Using Behavioral Insights Attracted Three Times More Candidates
• Case Study: How a Job Search Portal Increased Conversions by 154% Without Changing a Single Word in Job Ads
• Case Study: How an Insurance Company Increased Conversions of Direct Emails by 300%
• A Conversation with Cass Sunstein on Behavioral Science and Using Nudges: Recommendations for Overcoming Covid-19
• Save More Tomorrow: Using Behavioral Economics to Increase Employee Saving
• Episode 101: Dan Ariely Interview: Discussing Shapa, the Numberless Scale
• Episode 131: The BIG Effects of Small Behavior Changes in Business, an Interview with Jez Groom and April Vellacott, coauthors of Ripple
• Episode 140: How Simple Nudges Can Save Hundreds of Millions, interview with Dectech’s Dr. Benny Cheung
• Episode 35: NUDGES & Choice Architecture: Introducing Nobel-Winning Concepts: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 16: Framing: How You Say Things Matter More Than What You’re Saying: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 126: The Most Important Step in Applying Behavioral Economics: Understanding the Problem
• Episode 87: Social Proof: How to Use Herding to Boost Engagement and Sales
• Episode 23: Reciprocity: Give A Little, Get A Lot: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 72: Friction – What It Is And How To Reduce It, with Roger Dooley
• Episode 78: How to Become Indistractible, Interview With Author Nir Eyal
• Episode 153: Only 1% of People Blow the Whistle at Work—How to Fix That, with Nuala Walsh
• Episode 109: Secrets of Motivation and Incentives, Tim Houlihan Interview
• Dunning Kruger Effect (coming soon!)
• Check out What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia