A Case Study for Change

Marketing is about change, right? We study and apply the best ways to connect because we want to move people to feel or do something.

Here is a case study of how a local pastor brilliantly applied the tips from a book called “Switch” to subtly influence and motivate behavior.

The situation was this:

• A mid-size Presbyterian church of about 110 weekly attendees was already known for its interest in social action and regularly gave the local food pantry 12-17 bags of donated food per month.

• Every week, the food pantry publishes a list of 10-12 items that it urgently needs. About 8 of the items on the list remain the same from week to week.

In Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, authors Dan and Chip Heath describe 9 “prescriptions for change.” The pastor applied 5 of those 9 presecriptions:

1. “Follow the Bright Spot:” Some people call this “low-hanging fruit” or apply the Chinese proverb to “plant where the soil is softest.” In this case, the church already had a solid track record of donating food for the needy, so the pastor chose to beef up that initiative rather than start a new one.
2. “Script the Critical Moves:” Tell people the one important thing you want them to do. The pastor took the list of 8 items that remained the same from week to week and started promoting just 1 of those items (with a picture of it) in the weekly church bulletin.
3. “Shrink the Change:” This meant that instead of hoping people would choose among 10-12 items, they just had to remember 1 featured item each week.
4. “Tweak the Environment:” As a visual cue, the pastor began to purchase a jumbo size of the featured item to display on the table at the front of the sanctuary. Church staff also put a shopping cart in the lobby as a reminder and a receptacle for donations.
5. “Rally the Herd:” The pastor was able to report back to the congregation that their giving had gone up from 12-17 bags to 42-47 bags a month.

Can you think of an initiative you’d like to move forward by about 250 percent!?

Kyndra Wilson, KW Brand Translation, LLC 

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