Shaping Consumer Behavior Through Mental Models and Clear Messaging

In this episode of The Brainy Business podcast, host Melina Palmer welcomes Evelyn Gosnell and Dr. Isabel Macdonald from Irrational Labs. Evelyn, as the managing director, applies behavioral insights to help product teams drive business outcomes and customer value. She has collaborated with leading companies like Lyft, TikTok, Google, and more. Isabel, a behavioral scientist with a PhD in public policy from Harvard University, focuses on leveraging economic and psychological forces to guide the development of technology tools for social good.

The episode delves into a recent project with Lyft, where Evelyn and Isabel share key insights on using behavioral science to enhance user engagement. They discuss the Women+ Connect feature, aimed at increasing matches between female drivers and riders, and how different behavioral messaging strategies were tested to optimize driver opt-in rates.

In this episode:

• Discover the behavioral mapping process used by Irrational Labs to identify psychological factors impacting user decisions.
• Learn about the three messaging strategies tested with Lyft drivers and the surprising results that emerged.
• Understand the importance of being "uncomfortably specific" when defining key behaviors to change.
• Explore how behavioral science can be applied across various industries to improve product engagement and business outcomes.
• Gain insights into the challenges and opportunities of incorporating behavioral science into product development.

00:00:00 - Introduction Melina Palmer introduces Evelyn Gosnell and Dr. Isabel Macdonald from Irrational Labs and sets the stage for a discussion on applying behavioral science in business.

00:05:32 - Evelyn's Background Evelyn shares her journey from product management to behavioral science and her role at Irrational Labs.

00:10:45 - Isabel's Background Isabel discusses her transition from academia to behavioral science and her passion for applying economic and psychological insights.

00:15:23 - The Lyft Project Discussion on the Women+ Connect feature and the behavioral science approach used to increase driver opt-ins.

00:25:14 - Behavioral Mapping and Messaging Strategies Evelyn and Isabel explain the behavioral mapping process and the three messaging strategies tested with Lyft drivers.

00:35:47 - Results and Insights Analysis of the test results and the surprising effectiveness of the concreteness message in changing driver behavior.

00:45:29 - Importance of Being Uncomfortably Specific The significance of defining specific behaviors and how it aids in designing effective interventions.

00:50:12 - Conclusion What stuck with you while listening to the episode? What are you going to try? Come share it with Melina on social media -- you'll find her as @thebrainybiz everywhere and as Melina Palmer on LinkedIn.

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Connect with Evelyn and Isabel:

• Evelyn website
• Isabel LinkedIn
• Evelyn LinkedIn

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Check out and get your copies of Melina’s Books. 

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

• What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You, by Melina Palmer
• Alchemy, by Rory Sutherland
• Blindsight, by Matt Johnson and Prince Ghuman
• Using Behavioral Science in Marketing, by Nancy Harhut
• Immersion, by Paul Zak

Top Recommended Next Episode: Sudy Majd Interview (ep 444)

Already Heard That One? Try These: 

• A Behavioral Economics Analysis of Costco (ep 47)
• Disney (ep 292)
• Peloton (ep 338)
• Starbucks: A Behavioral Economics Analysis (ep 73)
• Amazon (ep 159)

Other Important Links: 

• Brainy Bites - Melina’s LinkedIn Newsletter
• Irrational Labs 3B Framework
• Case Study: Doubling New Engagement With Lyft’s Women+ Connect Feature