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A Case Study for Change

5/18/2016

1 Comment

 
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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 

1 Comment
Liz link
5/23/2016 10:37:19 am

The takeaway for me is the idea of giving people one thing, and one thing only, to remember in a given week. That makes so much more sense than giving them 10 or 12 options, none of which may stick or be paid attention.

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    Kyndra Wilson

    Culture geek. Proud Colorado native. 

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